GB Team Fairfax 2nd & 3rd in Bonheiden Nations Cups
Saturday 11 May 2013
Britain’s Juniors and Young Riders accompanied by Team Coach and Chef d’Equipe Corinne Bracken took 2nd and 3rd place in their respective Nations Cup competitions in Bonheiden today (11th May 2013).
Riding under the Team Fairfax banner, both the Junior and Young Rider teams put in some extremely solid performances to ensure Great Britain finished high in the placings.
The Junior Nations Cup saw Jake Saywell, aged 16yrs from Newark with Rachel Gascoine’s 12 year-old grey gelding Cornelius 27 take the role of pathfinder. Their foot perfect clear in the first round was replicated in the second giving the team a great boost at the start.
Laura Robinson, aged 18yrs from Northallerton with her bay gelding Jonti incurred an unfortunate 4 penalties in the first round. Their second round saw them put in a great performance and come through the finish line clear with zero penalties.
Carmen Edwards, who had celebrated his 16th birthday yesterday and was competing on his first Nations cup incurred 9 penalties in the first round. Riding Zarissa, a 9 year-old grey mare, their second round saw a great improvement with just one fence and a time penalty being incurred.
Emma O’Dwyer, aged 18yrs from Gloucester with her mother’s (Joanne) 10 year-old grey mare Miss Tonic incurred 8 penalties in the first round at both the water jump and the planks. They came back in the second round and proved their value as anchor by producing a superb clear round ensuring a joint 3rd placing for the team alongside Belgium. It was Italy who took pole position, a result that the GB Junior riders will be aiming to reverse in the Grand Prix tomorrow.
The Young Riders Nations Cup saw Clark Glasgow, aged 21yrs from Chipping Norton taking the role of pathfinder with the 11 year-old bay gelding Corlando of Cavallini. Their opening clear round put the team in a strong starting position, a performance that looked set to be matched, however having come through the finish leaving all the jumps in place, a time penalty was later awarded after much deliberation from the judges.
Chloe Winchester, aged 18yrs from Eye, Suffolk with her 10 year-old bay mare Avoca Valkyrie were second to go for the team. Their score of 8 penalties in the first round and 4 penalties left the team knowing that although faults had been incurred they were still in with a chance of a high placing.
Sally Hopkinson, aged 18yrs from Womersley, North Yorks with her father’s (David) 13 year-old chestnut gelding Theunis were the next to. But an unfortunate 12 penalties in the first round and 8 penalties in the second resulted in them being the drop score this time round.
Carian Scudamore, aged 20yrs from Cardigan, Dyfed with the 14 year-old chestnut gelding Larino 0087 were unlucky to have a foot in the water during the first round and incur 4 penalties as a result. Taking the role of anchor, Carian was well aware that she needed to jump clear if they were to get placed in the top three and once again, Carian delivered by coming through the finish line clear within the time allowed.
Finishing in joint 2nd place alongside Italy, it was Belgium who took the Young Rider Nations Cup title in this instance. There were also some other notable GB wins in the other classes running alongside the two Nations Cups with Carian, Chloe and Jake all winning classes ranging from 1.30m – 1.35m.
Corinne Bracken commented after the competition “Having come to Belgium with a young team in both categories, they have far exceeded my expectation. We have both young riders and young horses being produced here for the future, and with the depth of talent that has been shown today it is clearly evident that they have great competitive years ahead of them. We are now looking forward to the Grand Prix’s tomorrow where we are hoping we can replicate our success”.
The British youth teams are sponsored by Fairfax Saddles. It is Fairfax’s primary aim to improve the performance of the competition horse. All the saddles and girths are developed using the most advanced technology and are tested extensively. All research and design work is carried out under the direction of Vanessa Fairfax, an ex-International showjumper and University qualified designer. The company is based in Walsall and manufactures all its own products.
Team Fairfax are also strongly supported by the UK Sport Lottery funded BEFWorld Class Programme.
UPDATE:
12th May 2013 - Laura Robinson and Cree Cruiser kept GB with a presence in the Junior Grand Prix line up by putting in a brilliant double clear in an incredibly fast time to take 3rd place. There were fourteen combinations that jumped clear in the first round and come forward for the jump off. The sixth person to enter the arena in the jump off, Laura put in a foot-perfect and stylish clear but unfortunately just not fast enough to catch France and Italy who took 1st and 2nd place respectively.
Further information on the event and results once the event is underway can be found by visiting www.jumping-bonheiden.be
