British Showjumping National Championships – Thursday 3rd August Roundup

The first winner of the day was returning champion Ellie Kay riding Red Alert III in the National 128cm Championship Final over in the Tack & Tailor Championship Arena 1. A huge congratulations to the Yorkshire-based combination for winning the title! Ellie commented, “because I won the championship last year, I wanted to keep the title, but this brings added pressure!”

Following on from the impressive start to the day in UNIBED Champion Arena 2, the Pony Foxhunter Masters title went to Eleanor Archibald riding LCS Peachy Beachy. When asked about her round, Eleanor said, “my round went so well. I was nervous going into the arena as it was a big track, and I was first to go but my pony was on fire! She’s a very sassy pony, the sassiest on the yard. My older sister jumped LCS Peachy Beachy here last year, this is my first season with this pony. I have qualified for all my classes for next year so it’s great to continue.”

Emily Flocket with Silver Scott took the title in the Pony Restricted Rider 1.10m Championship Final in the Tack & Tailor Championship Arena 1. Emily had a successful clear round of 36.11, just half a second faster than second place. Emily commented, “the first round I thought I could move forward a bit more but watching my competitors in the jump off, I was sure I could beat the time! We were runners up yesterday in The National Pony 1.15m Members Cup Final. I have never won a rug before, so I’m really pleased I’m going home with one. I’ve had Scott for a year, he loves jumping at the shows and he is a lovely pony to have around the yard.”

This afternoon in the UNIBED Championship Arena 2, London-based Emily Gulliver claimed the National 138cm Championship Final title riding 16-year-old Tekila Du Bary. In a challenging first round against 43 competitors, Emily went clear in the jump off with the fantastic time of 28.49, two thirds of a second faster than second place.She commented, “the round went really well. Tekila was really good, she listened to everything I asked her to do. I knew I had to be quite fast because the other competitors had quick ponies. At the beginning of the season, I qualified for HOYS in our first qualifier, every class we have jumped she has been really competitive and jumped well.”

The final pony class of the day in the Tack & Tailor Championship Arena 1 saw Fynn Baker and Vinura Bobby claiming the Pony Discovery Championship title. Together since December 2022, this Cornish combination earned a double-clear, winning the championship by half a second. When asked about his round, Fynn said, “I was last to go so I kind of knew I had to go quick to actually get the position I needed to, but in the end it was good. He’s still quite young and loses his head a bit in the arena, so I just had to keep him calm.”

Ending off a competitive day of showjumping was the National 5 Year Old Championship in the Tack & Tailor Championship Arena 1, where Catherine Housman and Honky Cat claimed the championship title. The jump off saw several double-clears, but the Leicestershire-based combination ultimately claimed the victory by 0.21 seconds. Catherine knew that she and Honky had to be quick but “the ring is his favourite place. He’s so bold and I can turn him back to anything, we have been knocking on the door for a win for ages so to claim the championship title here is amazing!”

For the full result list from Thursday 3^rd August 2023 please visit: https://members.britishshowjumping.co.uk/Live/Show/10015148