Dodson & Horrell Celebrate Successful National Amateur & Veteran Championships

Monday 24 November 2014

Dodson & Horrell Celebrate Successful National Amateur & Veteran Championships

The Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships culminated with five busy days of exciting competition at Aintree Equestrian Centre (19th – 23rd November 2014). The Championships proved to be as popular as ever and over 1,500 rounds of showjumping took place. These Championships followed a successful National Amateur Second Round period in which we saw 1,600 combinations start out. 

The National Amateur Championships gave amateur riders and horses the opportunity to contest an end of year final across four different heights of fences – 0.85cm, 0.95cm, 1.05m and 1.10m and the Championships also played host to the National Veteran Riders Championships, which are spilt into minor and major categories. 

The Championships were all held under the Dodson & Horrell prefix and the results were as follows:

National Amateur 0.85m Championship
Forty-eight competitors battled it out for the 0.85m Championship title and after two hours of closely fought competition, it was 17 year-old Toni Evans from Southend-On-Sea, Essex who was victorious on the 17 year-old dun mare Caramel Twist, owned by Kerry Evans.

The jump off was contested by twenty-nine of the starters and it proved to be competitive after sixteen double clears were achieved. Toni and Caramel Twist went into the class as one of the hot favourites after winning the two 0.85m Grand Prix qualifiers earlier on in the week and they continued their domination after crossing the finish line in 28.54 seconds with two clear rounds in the bag.

After having been drawn twenty-fifth to go in jump off, Toni admitted that she couldn’t watch the remainder of the class “I was in it to win it, so my plan was to ride as quickly and as carefully as I could and then hope that the music was played to let me know that we had taken the lead. Once I knew we had done enough, I then waited outside until the class had finished. I’m so pleased with how Caramel Twist has gone all week; she really has had a fantastic show.”

National Amateur 0.95m Championship
This hotly contested 0.95m Championship was taken by 33 year-old Gemma Dickens from Loughborough, Leicestershire on Oakley’s Ace, a 23 year-old bay gelding owned by Lesley Dickens. This win saw the combination take back the title that they previously won in 2012.

Gemma and Oakley’s Ace beat fifty other competitors to the spot and they produced one of only three double clears, delivering theirs in 30.39 seconds. 

Gemma was once again thrilled with how Oakley’s Ace performed “He is an absolute superstar and he loves this show. Although he jumps throughout the year, we primarily target him at these Championships as he thrives here.

“We were drawn about mid-way through the jump off and after having seen a number of combinations drop poles early on, I focused on jumping a careful clear. Oakley’s Ace will now have a three month break, he definitely deserves it.” 

National Amateur 1.05m Championship
Hannah Thorne, aged 22, from Weston-Super-Mare, Avon took this Championship with her own 18 year-old grey gelding, General Maximus after they fought off the challenge from forty-six other combinations.

Twenty-nine of the forty-seven starters secured a first round clear and nine double clears were delivered in total. Hannah faced a nervous wait to find out whether she had been crowned Champion after she was drawn second to go in the jump off, but her double clear in 37.62 seconds proved to be good enough for the top spot. 

Talking about her win, Hannah said “My horse has jumped brilliantly all week and although he’s not exceptionally quick, his ability to turn is incredible. He had a bit of time off between the second rounds and the Championships as we weren’t sure whether to come or not, but I’m very glad that we did.

“This is his swansong Championship as he’s 18 now, so although he won’t be retiring completely, we’ve achieved an amazing result for him to go of Championship shows on.” 

National Amateur 1.10m Championship
Katie Shaw, aged 28, from Great Haywood, Staffordshire was victorious in this Championship after securing a quick double clear on It’ll Be Me, a 15 year-old chestnut mare owned by Emma Sargeant.

Thirty-eight started out across the first round and twenty made it through into the jump off. Just three double clears were eventually produced, the winning one being secured in 33.04 seconds.

Katie had two rides in the jump off and she said of her winning round “I am really pleased with how the horse went; it feels really good to have secured a Championship title. I was drawn early to go in the jump off with my first horse and after a pole down with him; I aimed for a steady clear With It’ll Be Me.”

Minor Veteran Riders Championship
Twenty-eight combinations came forward to contest this direct entry Championship and following on from a strong first round, eleven combinations then went through into the jump off. A total of five double clears were produced, the fastest of which was secured by 52 year-old Tracy Wright from Salt, Staffordshire on board her own 13 year-old grey mare, Silva Image.

Tracy and Silva Image delivered their double clear in 37.07 seconds and in doing so, they also achieved their first Championship win. A clearly delighted Tracy said “This is the Championship that I’ve wanted to win for such a long time and we’ve been knocking on the door, so to achieve it is amazing. We nearly didn’t make it to Aintree as the lorry wouldn’t start that morning, but my husband managed to replace the starter motor in time and we got here just in time!

“Silva Image is such a fantastic horse and I’ve been riding her since she was a five year-old. She was brilliant in the jump off as she covers a lot of ground whilst being able to make the tight turns needed to be up on the clock.”

Major Veteran Riders Championship
National Amateur & Veteran Championship stalwart Norman Proffitt from Cannock, Staffordshire regained the Major Veteran Riders Championship, this time on Valentino XIV, a 12 year-old dark brown gelding owned by Nina Emery. 

From the twenty-two starters, nine double clears were delivered in a thirteen horse jump off. Norman and Valentino XIV produced an early double clear and their time of 40.37 seconds was to prove unbeatable.

Norman won the Major Veteran Riders Championship back in 2012 and 2013 on board Patent and he was thrilled to have won it again “This is the first time that this horse has won this Championship and I’m really pleased with how he went.

“I love coming to this show, it has such a brilliant atmosphere and I’m really grateful to the team at Dodson & Horrell for all of their support. I am definitely aiming to be back next year and of course, I am hoping to retain my title.”

For a full list of results and further information about the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships, please visit www.aintreeequestriancentre.co.uk.

Dodson & Horrell:
Dodson & Horrell Ltd has been leading the way in animal nutrition for 75 years pioneering manufacturing methods and promoting nutritional research. Dodson & Horrell is particularly well known as manufacturers of feed for all types of horses from performance to leisure but also produces food for a range of animals from working gundogs to racing camels and ostriches.

The Royal Warrant of Appointment was first granted to Dodson & Horrell in 1985 for horse feed; and further extended in 2006 to that of Horse and Dog food Manufacturer to HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Dodson & Horrell Ltd apart from exporting horse feed to over 40 countries also and manufactures other dog foods brands apart from Chudleys, such as Autarky and Gusto and are proud to work with charities such as the Retired Greyhound Trust.

For further information, please visit www.dodsonandhorrell.com or call on 01832 737300.

 
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