Emily Gulliver hit top form with seven wins including Saturday’s Winter JA Classic at South View Equestrian Centre’s Large Pony Premier.
Wednesday 07 February 2024
Emily Gulliver hit top form with seven wins including Saturday’s Winter JA Classic at South View Equestrian Centre’s Large Pony Premier.
Emily, 13, proved the best in Saturday’s Winter JA Classic qualifier with Ben Gulliver’s Fleur De Nuit 8. Twenty-one competitors faced Neil Foster’s 1.30m 13-fence track, but only three jumped double clear to return for the jump off with Emily and the nine-year-old mare jumping the only treble clear.
Aimee Paxton on Las Vegas VI and Florence Marriot riding WKD GI Joe both returned four faults to fill the second and third qualifying places.
Undeterred by second place on day one, Aimee Paxton,15, went one better in Sunday’s Winter JA Classic qualifier, taking top spot with Lucy Simpsons Las Vegas VI.
Eight of the initial 17 jumped double clear around the 1.30m course with six returning for the jump off. Only two met their aims with another clear, Aimee and the 14-year-old stallion edging into first place by just 0.27 seconds. Second place went the way of Katie Bradburne & Westpoint Foreign Affair who provided the only other treble clear whilst Millie Davies & Armene Du Costilg finished third with the fastest four-fault round.
Saturday’s Blue Chip Pro Sparkle JC/JA Handicap fell to the on form 15-year-old Katie Bradburne, Gee Bradburne’s 11-year-old gelding heading a 13-strong jump-off by 1.41 seconds. Annabelle Dale steered Carrickaduff Pet into second whilst Evelyn Bond Smith secured third with Tregaron Gold.
Following on from her victory in the Children on Horses Under 16 1.20m qualifier at Morris Equestrian Centre’s Large Pony Premier in January, Emily Gulliver underscored her success to finish top in both Saturday and Sunday’s qualifiers with Ben Gulliver’s Billy Earp.
Saturday’s qualifier saw eight combinations step up with four providing double clears. Emily steered the seven-year-old mare into top spot by 1.50 seconds. Olivia Brightmore took second with Calle Caal, whilst Tabby Morgan Evans finished third with Bermudez BDA
Going one better in Sunday’s qualifier, Emily claimed both first and second with Billy Earps and Glamor De Vie, both new rides for Emily in 2024. Bella Wild slotted into third with Quintus W Z.
Rounding out a sparkling weekend, Emily also topped the Bliss of London Pony Coral Winter Qualifier with Fantastik Du Rieu. Five supplied the necessary clear to access the jump off with Emily using her penultimate draw to steer the nine-year-old mare across the line in unbeatable time, 4.67 seconds ahead of Emily Flockett and Neva So Kanny in second place. Zara Nicholls filled third place with Kingston David.
Hollie Gerken, 14, took top spot in Saturday’s Winter JC/JD qualifier with Jade Gerken’s Live Wire VI. Forty-nine riders tackled the 1.15m course with 13 jumping clear in the first round, nine jumping double clear to contend the jump off. Although a new partnership of only two months, Hollie used all her experience against the clock to keep her cool and cross the finished in the fastest time of 42.30 seconds.
Emily Irvine finished 0.73 seconds behind in second on Runard Lass, with Emily Gulliver jumping the only other treble clear to finish third with Lucky Choice 1.
Arabella Henderson, 14, is also bound for Hickstead after she secured victory in Sunday’s Winter JC/JD qualifier with Hannah Henderson’s nine-year-old Our Billy Eile. Thirteen combinations supplied double clears to contend the jump off with five jumping a further clear so the results would come down to time.
Arabella looked unflappable as she took a risk turning inside two fences to finish 0.39 seconds ahead of penultimate rider Sienna Palin, who chased hard on Mikado Van Den Dael but could not catch the wining time. Final rider Lola Thulborn also could not quite chase down the winning time, slotting Rooska Toby into third.
Image: Emily Gulliver and Fleur De Nuit 8. Credit: Phil Hillier - Lanscape and Horses Photography
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