British Juniors win Hagen Nations Cup
Thursday 09 June 2016
It was a brilliant victory for Great Britain when the Junior team secured a win in their Nations Cup competiton in Hagen, Germany earlier this afternoon.
The Junior team consisting of riders aged between just 15 – 18 years of age posted some extremely solid performances across a course that was both testing and required forward riding with the time not leaving any margin for extra strides to be put in.
First to go for the team was Robert Murphy (16 years) from Preston, Lancashire with Del Fuego a bay gelding a 10 year-old owned by Catherine Witt. Just one fence down in the first round saw them accrue 4 penalties to become the drop score in Round 1, a performance which they improved on greatly when they came forward in the second round and delivered a foot-perfect clear.
Scarlett Charles (15 years) from Alton, Hampshire with Sacree Du Rouet a 10 year-old bay mare owned by Peter Charles rode with talent and maturity far beyond her years when she delivered a superb clear in round 1 to match the three that she delivered in Opglabeek recently. They looked set to mirror this in round 2 but unfortunately, breaking the finish line just a fraction over the time allowed saw one time penalty awarded.
Next to go was Faye Adams (18 years) from Halesowen, West Midlands with Ciana, a 9 year-old bay mare. Again, the same as Scarlett before her, it was a time penalty that stopped her returning home on a zero penalty score in Round 1. Unfortunately, having produced such a solid initial round things didn’t quite go to plan in the second and an unsettled round saw them become the drop score as the result of an elimination.
Leonie Aitkenhead (18 years) from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire with Clane K a 9 year-old bay mare owned by Beverley Aitkenhead posted a zero penalty clear round for GB in her role as anchor for the team. Positioned as the last rider for any team always carries additional pressure, but Leonie embraced it well. Knowing that she needed to come home with less than two fences down she managed to keep her cool after a fence lowered mid-way through the course to jump the others with precision. Stopping the clock just outside the time allowed she returned home on 5 penalties which was enough to secure pole position with an overall score of 7 penalties.
It was Poland who were relegated into 2nd position on 9 penalties whilst France finished 3rd on 16 penalties. 4th place went to Italy on 19 penalties whilst Switzerland and Norway took 5th and 6th place respectively.
Taking after the event, Junior Chef d’Equipe Alan Fazakerley commented “There were fourteen teams contesting the competition and our team really were excellent. The time was set just about right today which meant you couldn’t dawdle, you had to be on the pace as if you started adding in strides anywhere you were going to incur time penalties. I’m delighted with them all today, they all played an important part in delivering a win for Great Britain and I couldn’t be prouder of them”.
Tomorrow we will see the Children Nations Cup take place and then Saturday, the Pony Nations Cup with all age groups also having their respective Grand Prix’s to contest. Further information on the show, and full results can be found by visiting www.psi-sporthorses.de
British Showjumping would like to thank their consortium of Business Partners who assist support the Youth Squads.
The British Jumping teams are also supported by the Equestrian World Class Programme. The programme, which encompasses both Podium and Podium Potential squads, focuses on identifying talent, developing potential and maximising medal winning performances on the world stage. The Programme has been funded by the National Lottery via UK Sport since 1998 and is a portfolio within the British Equestrian Federation.
