British Showjumping National Championships – 9th August Roundup

Another day has been and gone at the British Showjumping National Championships, and approximately 500 combinations took to the two Arenas for a chance to become a 2024 Champion. 

The Unibed Championship Arena 2 hosted the Retraining of Racehorses Club League Championship Finals – the 75cm, 90cm and Bronze League. The horses competing in these classes have all come from the racing industry, taking on new careers and demonstrating their versatility. 

Milly Morrison and Davids Delilah Dances produced a double clear, winning the 75cm by 0.40 seconds over Deni Harper Adams and Be Home By Midnight.  

Milly  described about her journey with Dilly ‘We got her when she was 4, she’s never actually raced as she is too small…she’s done some training, but she’s only about 15 hands with a new set of shoes! We’ve done Pony Club together, but I’ve aged out so now we do BS.’

The 90cm went to Rachel Collins on her own Rebel Collins, who were the only clear in the class. 

‘I trained a lot with Nick Edwards which has been brilliant. Rebel, we’ve owned since he was 2 and he’s now 13. We had him in racing, hence why he has our last name! I knew he’d always be a rebel…but he’s come back from quite a serious SDFT injury a few years ago.’

The Retraining of Racehorses Bronze League Final went to Phoebe Mowatt Morris and Summer Angel. Winning in the jump-off by 4.5 seconds.

‘Angel doesn’t usually like to go fast, so we went in 50/50 – do we go for it, do we not? We decided to go for it, and it paid off! Angel is 9 now, she came off the track when she was 6. This is our first big competition, I’m just so happy with her. She’s such a trier’ said Phoebe

Over in the Sytner Land Rover Coventry Championship Arena 1, the National Children on Horses Championship Final saw Emily Victoria Gulliver and Glamor De Vie produce a solid double clear with a  jump-off time of 42.22 seconds. 

‘She’s getting quite good at jump-offs now as she’s only 8 years old…I’ve had her since December and she’s been really good for me’ said Emily.

The National Under 21 Championship came next, and Glain Watkin Jones piloted La Vie Est D’Or to the only clear round of 13 combinations. 

‘I was near the end, so I knew I just had to go clear. She was super, there were a few sticky moments but she’s just fantastic and really helped me out. I really wanted to win today as it’s my last year in Under 21s.’

The 128cm and 138cm Championship saw two young champions come forward, showcasing fast and  thrilling jump-off rounds. Anya Dewey Clarke and Kilcreene Snapdragon flew through the course, producing the only double clear of the class.

We asked Anya how she felt about her ride on ‘Snappy’ ‘He was absolutely amazing to ride, and he can be very excited! He absolutely loves his jumping, and whenever he comes out he always wants treats and polos.’

A busy Rafaella Uma Dawson and Churchfield Tulla Bluebell took the red rosette with just 0.20 seconds to spare.

’I had 3 in the jump-off…I was last to go on this one, and I said to my trainer, “I think I should do that turn that nobody else has done, because I’m in fourth [with another ride], so I’ll still be placed even if I do it”, and it paid off!’

The STX-UK Pony Foxhunter Masters was fiercely fought, and Hollie Gerken had two horses in the jump-off, taking both first and second spot on the podium. Velini’s Silver Star was her winning ride, with a double clear and jump-off time of 44.65 seconds. 

‘She’s actually only 7 years old so I wasn’t expecting this today. The jump-off was amazing, I knew I had to go clear to win so I did my nice turns, kept moving but didn’t do too much. We’re in preparation for HOYS now!’ said Hollie.

The Pony Restricted Rider 1.10m Championship Final saw Annabelle Dale on Carrickaduff Pet produce a double-clear to win in a jump-off of 9 riders. 

‘We haven’t won much recently at this level, so I just wanted to put it all out there and go for the win. I’ve had her about 9 or 10 months, and I was only jumping around 90cm before, so she’s brought me right up the levels.’

Our final class of the day, the I.C.E Horseboxes Pony Discovery Championship was hotly contested, Aimee Paxton aboard Madoghill Gorowny claimed top spot. 

‘It probably wasn’t our neatest round, but we were just trying to be as quick as we could, because we knew we had quite a few fast combinations after. I started riding him just at the start of this year, he belongs to Maddie Maher, and he’s just awesome.’ said Aimee.