Derbyshire's Leigh Walker Wins Dodson & Horrell National Amateur 0.85m Championship

Wednesday 23 November 2016

The Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships (16th – 20th November) held at Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool are one of the highlights of the national showjumping calendar. Once again, six National Championship titles were up for grabs which accumulated in five days of ultra-competitive showjumping.

 

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. The Championships also played host to the National Veteran Riders Championships, which are spilt into minor and major categories.

 

Sam Horrell, CEO at Dodson & Horrell said: “The National Amateur & Veteran Championships are a fantastic event to be part of, we have been lucky enough to have supported it for a number of years and see it go from strength to strength. It’s great to see so many returning competitors and our congratulations go to all the championship winners. The event would not be such a success without the excellent organising team at Aintree Equestrian Centre, British Showjumping and of course all the competitors, friends and families. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.”

 

Forty-eight talented pairs battled it out in the 0.85m Championship and it was Leigh Walker from Bakewell, Derbyshire who prevailed on board her own 7 year-old chestnut mare Zolivia.

 

A thirty-two horse jump off played out and thirteen double clears were produced in total, but it was Leigh and Zolivia who set an unbeatable pace when they achieved their double clear in 29.24 seconds.

 

This win saw the combination pick up their first Championship title and Leigh commented “I’ve had Zolivia since she was a 4 year-old and have brought her on myself. She’s a sharp horse who tries her heart out and she was great in the jump off.

 

“With so many through to the jump off, I decided to go quickly as she’s so careful over the fences. We were able to make some good tight turns and we also took out strides where possible. It’s great to have won this Championship and Zolivia will now have a bit of a holiday.”

 

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

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