Northern Pony Riders Excel in Fontainebleu

Riders from the North excelled at the first of the 2013 Pony Nations Cups which saw Great Britain win in superb style. The Northern riders that made up the team competing under the Team Fairfax banner and under the guidance of Katrina Moore, the GB Pony Chef d’Equipe were:
 

Alex Gill on Lynn Barker’s 9 year-old bay gelding Ammanvalley Santino who produced a double clear and Emily Ward on King Mac, a pony owned by her father (Nick) proved her talent once again. Aged only 13 years old she put in a superb performance to produce a double clear in her role of anchor. Finishing on a zero penalty score, the team were jubilant in their triumph. Germany finished on a total of 4 penalties and Belgium on 8 penalties.

 

Other Northern pony riders competing under the Team Fairfax banner then went onto take the top three places in the Pony Grand Prix. With forty four competitors taking on the 1.35m course, it was Millie Allen from Stockton-on-Tees with her father’s (Peter) 10 year-old bay mare Song Girl who took pole position with their double clear in a time of 42.62seconds.

 

The event at Fontainebleau saw Northern riders put in solid performances across nearly all of the classes with a number of wins. Friday saw Charlie Dawson with Raisa Cestani and Claudia Sear with Ilar Max take first and second place respectively in the 1.20m class. Saturday saw Claudia and Charlie reverse their positions in the opening 1.20m class of the day. Sunday morning saw Claudia and Ilar Max also win the 1.20 Prix Vishay PME. Emily Ward with Wizard VII took first place in the following class, the 1.20 Prix FFE, followed by a win in the next class for 6 yr old ponies by Leah McCrady with Westcoast Express.