Sussex’s Louise Simpson wins Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Championship

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Louise Simpson showcased all her experience to win the Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Championship for a second time at the Horse of the Year Show.

Louise launched the final day of action at the NEC in Birmingham with a stylish display on seven-year-old gelding Hello Vivendi, which is owned by Irish showjumping brothers Shane and Trevor Breen.

Sussex-based Louise, formerly Louise Pavitt, claimed the HOYS Grade C title five years ago on Don VHP Z, and this latest victory cemented her place on the long-established class's roll of honour alongside riders like current Olympic individual champion Nick Skelton.

Louise's jump-off time of 39.88 seconds took her inside the time of Robert Bevis and Etude, who had to be content with second place, while Richard Barton and Donata completed the top three.

"I am so happy," she said. "Although he's seven, he is actually very inexperienced. I got the ride on him about six months ago, purely because he was quite green and Shane and Trevor didn't have time with all the foreign shows they do, and didn't think he was ready.

"We've done a few local shows, and I thought here he would be a bit shell-shocked with the whole atmosphere, but he was like an old horse, which really surprised me. He was really good. "It is so special to win here. When you do your lap of honour it is always as good as at any other time."

Reflecting on the jump-off, she added: "The number 10 vertical fence jumped well in the first round, but for some unknown reason in the jump-off, it jumped terribly. It was the one fence as I went in when David (Louise's husband) said to me to give myself a bit more time to it, but he jumped it amazingly. "Where he is a bit inexperienced, he wouldn't have gone fast very many times, but the times I have gone quickly, he has actually coped with it really well. He handled it like he had done it 100 times."

For the audio interview with Louise Simpson, the Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Champion, please click here: http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/Louise%20Simpson.mp3.

The full results for the Speedi Beet HOYS Grade C Championship can be found via this link: http://results.scgvisual.com/2016/birmingham/r10.html.

 

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