Trevor Breen wins the penultimate leg of the International Stairway
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Buckinghamshire based Irish rider Trevor Breen won the penultimate leg of the 2014 International Stairway Series held at Oxfordshire Area show on Saturday 23rd August
With twelve combinations putting in a first round clear, it meant that all twelve progressed into the final jump off. Trevor partnering Loughnatousa W B a 15 year-old chestnut gelding owned by Patricia Brown were the sixth combination to go in the jump off. Seeing the competitors before him picking up faults, Trevor knew that a foot perfect quick round would leave him in a great position to be in contention for victory. It was exactly this that he achieved when only himself and two other combinations managed to put in a double clear; but with neither of them managing to catch him on time he was assured of pole position and maximum points.
The second fastest of the double clears was Graham Lovegrove from Retford, Nottinghamshire with his own and Sarah Hancock’s 9 year-old bay gelding Alfie 192. Ninth to go in the jump off, they were sitting in 2nd position on the league table at that point and knew that picking up points was going to be crucial if they were to climb further up the leader table. Putting in a quick time of 49.71 seconds they were not quite quick enough to take the victory from Trevor but must have been happy with the knowledge that they had accrued another 9 league points to put him at the top of the leaderboard.
Third place went to Tim Page with Sue Hodgson’s 10 year-old grey gelding Santa Cruise II. Going into the jump off after Trevor and Loughnatousa WB and seeing the first double clear having been jumped, Tim and Santa Cruise II also went on to put in a foot perfect round to gain the second double clear of the competition. Again, points were paramount for Tim who, with his 3rd place finish moves up from 6th place on the leader board into 4th
With the prize money and points going down the line, the rest of the line-up was taken by the combinations that picked up just four faults.
The series now makes its way towards the final at the Royal Berkshire Show on 21st September. The current league standings can be found on the link below.
RESULTS – Oxfordshire Area Show
1st Trevor Breen / Loughnatousa W B (0/0) 47.56 seconds
2nd Graham Lovegrove /Alfie 192 (0/0) 49.71 seconds
3rd Tim Page / Santa Cruise II (0/0) 53.06 seconds
4th Chloe Winchester / Avoca Valkyrie (0/4)
5th Phillip Miller / Sussex Carentino (0/4)
6th Nigel Coupe / Golvers Hill (0/4)
7th Robert Bevis / Pebbles IV (0/4)
8th Abigail Newberry / Valentino VII (0/4)
International Stairway League Table (after Oxfordshire Area Show)
1st Graham Lovegrove/ Alfie 192 (35 points)
2nd Nigel Coupe/Golvers Hill (29 points)
3rd Louise Saywell/Mr Darcy (27 points)
4th Tim Page/Santa Cruise (24 points)
5th Tim Davies / Valentijn O (21 points)
Robert Bevis / Pebbles IV (21 points)
6th Chloe Winchester/Avoca Valkyrie (18 points)
.jpg "Thrilling Weekend Kickstarts the STX-UK Pony British Novice Championship Second Round")
