GBR TEAM NAF JUNIORS FINISH 2ND IN OPGLABBEEK
Sunday 29 September 2019
The British Junior Team, who compete under the title sponsor branding of Team NAF, finished 2nd in their Nations Cup Final this afternoon in Opglabbeek, Belgium with just a fraction of a second between themselves and Germany who took the honours after a nail-biting jump off. Finishing on zero penalties apiece there were some great performances posted from the team of four riders aged between 16 – 18 years of age.
With the top six teams contesting the final being invited to come forward, having qualified for it on Thursday, they all started with a clean sheet and a zero penalty score. Opening for the British team on the final day was Sienna Charles, aged 17 from Alton in Hampshire with the Hill House Equine Ltd owned 10 year-old chestnut mare Chinta van Geluut Z. Jumping a stylish clear they set a great standard for Allana Clutterbuck, aged 18 from Upminster in Essex to follow with the 10 year-old bay gelding Vykinbay owned by Sally Lane. And follow it they did when Allana returned home clear within the time allowed.
With two clears in the bag, it was Ben Clark, aged 17 from Southampton who was next to go with the Kim Clark owned 10 year-old bay mare Jancovica. Again it was yet another faultless round for the team when Ben jumped clear to keep Great Britain on a penalty free score with anchor rider Oliver Fletcher, aged 16 from Faringdon in Oxfordshire on his father Graham and Hammond Horsepower Ltd’s 15 year-old bay gelding Horst van de Mispelaere not needing to jump as the score couldn’t be bettered.
Finishing on a zero penalty score, which was matched by Germany the Brits were then forced into a two-way jump off where both penalties and time would play a factor in deciding the final placings. Yet again, two clears were delivered by the first two riders in the form of Sienna and Allana; performances which were duly matched by Germany and within a marginally faster time. For next to go Ben Clark, it was an unfortunate 4 penalties which saw GB fall behind Germany who posted a third rider clear.
The pressure was then on Oliver’s young shoulders to post not only a clear but also a fast one. Setting off from the start on a very forward pace he delivered a superb performance to not only return home clear but also as the only rider for the team that was to break the 50 second barrier when he stopped the clock in 49.19 seconds.However, it just wasn’t enough to claim the win which saw Germany take the honours by being just 0.39 seconds ahead.
Thursday’s qualifying round for the Final had seen 16 year-old Oliver Tuff from Totnes, Devon with Darino B owned by Justin Tuff and Jo Bishop take his place on the team ahead of Ben Clark who jumped in today’s final round. It was a solid performance for them which had seen them finish on just 4 penalties
It was home team Belgium that finished in 3rd place on 4 penalties with Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands taking 4th – 6th place respectively.
For full results visit www.online-equipe.com.
British Showjumping would like to thank NAF, title sponsors of the Senior Nations Cup Teams along with the Children, Junior, Young Rider and Veteran teams.
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occuring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu/uk/index.jsp.
The GBR showjumping teams are supported by the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Programme, funded by UK Sport through the National Lottery. The Programme focuses on identifying talent, developing potential and maximising medal-winning performances on the world stage.