Courtney 6 & Robert Bevis kick off the International Stairway Series
Saturday 23 May 2015
The 2015 International Stairway Series got underway yesterday at Devon County Show and the series is looking set to be an incredibly hard fought one if the opening leg is anything to go by. It was Rob Bevis with his own 14 year-old grey gelding Courtney 6 that took the eventual victory in what proved to be an extremely thrilling five-way jump off.
With all five of the horse and rider combinations that went clear in the first round determined to give it their best shot and start the series by picking up maximum points, Rob knew it wasn’t going to be an easy battle to win. Having weighed up the odds of going for a steady clear or pushing for a fast round that may result in taking risks at a fence or two, Rob decided that pushing Courtney up a gear was the strategic way to go. This definitely proved the right decision as they put in a foot-perfect performance that left all fences untouched, breaking the finish line in a time of 46.61 seconds to give them a two second lead over the rest of the field.
Closest to him was Preston based Nigel Coupe, a long term stalwart of the International Stairway series, with Susan Simmons’ 12 year-old bay gelding Golvers Hill who gained their double clear in a time of 48.80 seconds. Phillip Miller from Harpenden, Hertfordshire partnering Shirley Light’s 8 year-old chestnut mare Unbelievable Lady who produced their double clear crossing the finish line in a time of 51.63 seconds took 3rd place.
Timothy Davies from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk riding Barrett Watson’s 9 year-old bay gelding Braveheart V also produced a double clear but in a time of 52.26 seconds to slot into 4th place, whilst first competitor to go in the jump off Alfie Bradstack from Wantage slotted into 5th with KBIS Equestrian Insurance and Graham Fletcher’s 12 year old bay gelding KBIS Caicos as the fastest combination on 4 faults.
The second leg of the series now moves to the Suffolk Show on 28th May. The International Stairway which offers £7,500 of prize fund at each of the legs that take place throughout the summer season, also delivers three International Wild Cards for Horse of the Year Show in addition to identifying the British Showjumping National Champion.
This year sees the introduction of a League Final, at the National Championships in August, which will carry an increased prize purse of £15,000 to the £7,500 on offer at each of the earlier legs. There are seven qualifying legs to the 2015 league prior to the League Final with an additional leg hosted in September which will count towards to the 2016 League.
The three International Wild Cards for Horse of the Year Show will give competitors, who are eligible for British Team Selection, three possible ways of securing them. By either:
a) Being the International Stairway League Winner (or highest placed eligible rider) on the League who has also competed in the Final.
b) By winning (or being the highest placed eligible rider) in the International Stairway League Final. The winner of the Final will also be crowned British Showjumping National Champion for a 12 month period.
c) By winning (or being the highest placed eligible rider) on the National Championship Show League . This League table will be Rider based and will consist of three competition legs including and culminating with the International Stairway League Final.
RESULTS
Devon County Show – Friday 22nd May 2015
1. Robert Bevis & Courtney 6 – 0/0 46.61 seconds
2. Nigel Coupe & Golvers Hill – 0/0 48.80 seconds
3. Phillip Miller & Unbelievable Lady – 0/0 51.63 seconds
4. Timothy Davies & Braveheart V – 0/0 52.26 seconds
5. Alfie Bradstock & KBIS Caicos – 0/4 53.34 seconds
The International Stairway series is aimed at identifying and assessing both potential and existing British Team competitors, taking in eight of the largest County Shows in the country. Funded jointly by the British Showjumping Business Partnership and the County Show venues hosting the classes, the series has a purse of £60,000 prize fund. In addition to the prize fund available there is also the bonus of £45,000 worth of Rider Ranking Points to the eight highest placed competitors on the overall league table that sits behind the series.
.jpg "Laura Renwick Dominates in the Redpost Equestrian Senior Foxhunter Second Round at Felbridge Showground")
