Dreams come true at the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships
Tuesday 22 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.”
The Championships were all held under the Dodson & Horrell prefix and the results were as follows:
National Amateur 0.85m Championship
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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.”
National Amateur 0.95m Championship
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A clearly delighted Angela Mills from Haswell, County Durham headed the 0.95m Championship on her own 12 year-old bay gelding Quids In II. Their victory saw them fend off fifty-three other challengers and they topped the thirty-two strong jump off with a double clear in 29.72 seconds.
Angela and Quids In II are Championship regulars and Angela was thrilled to be taking home a title “I’ve had Quids In for eight years now and I’m so pleased that we’ve won this Championship, I last won it back in 2009 on a different horse. Horses are my passion and I’ve got a great team behind me. My family are so supportive and a special thanks also goes to equine physiotherapist Mark Windsor who helped me out this week and kept the horse jumping.
“I’ve had a good week at these Championships and the 0.95m final was over a good technical course that was up to height. Quids In is an ultra-careful jumper, so we were just able to give the jump off and a good go.”
National Amateur 1.05m Championship
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Cambridge based Alice Ellison took an emotional win in the 1.05m Championship and she topped the table with Britney IV, a 10 year-old bay mare owned by Sacha Ellison. Forty one combinations contested the class in total and the victorious pair were drawn last to go in the nine horse jump off.
Alice was aware that only a quick double clear would do yesterday and Britney IV duly delivered when she blasted through the finish with all poles still standing in just 32.95 seconds.
“This is the Championship that I wanted to win” said Alice. “Last year, my time was good enough for the win in this class, but I had the last fence down, so I was determined to come back and try for the victory this year and I’m so pleased that we managed to do it. This is definitely one of my favourite shows.
“Britney and I competed in the Bronze League Final at Horse of the Year Show and since then, we have been focused on these Championships. I first had the ride on Britney when she was four years old and she came back to us last year – she’ll stay with us for life now.”
National Amateur 1.10m Championship
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Katie Shaw from Gayton, Staffordshire and Emma Sargeant’s 15 year-old roan gelding Fools Business retained their National Amateur 1.10m Championship title after they produced a double clear in a blistering 29.53 seconds. This class was contested by forty horses and riders and it was a sixteen horse jump off that played out.
Katie and Fools Business were drawn to go around the midway point of the jump off and an extremely pleased Katie said afterwards “This show and this Championship are a focus for me and the horse and we’d had a good week in the run up to yesterday’s class. I knew that yesterday’s jump off was going to be fast, but he’s a speed machine and he just loves to jump.
“This is the third consecutive year that I’ve won this Championship and also the 1.15m Challenge Final. We really enjoy coming back to this show.”
Minor Veteran Riders Championship
Campbell Thompson from Tarporley, Cheshire notched up his first Championship win on board Rubiroso JX, a 12 year-old chestnut gelding owned by Keith Shore and in doing so, he beat thirty-three other combinations.
Campbell took victory from a six strong jump-off in which just three double clears were produced and his time of 38.07 seconds proved to be unbeatable. Talking after his win, a thrilled Campbell said “This win is a personal highlight for me as I’ve never won a Championship title before. I had two horses in the jump off and after falling from my first ride, it was great to go on and win.
“I’ve had the ride on Rubiroso JX for seven months now and last week, everything fell into place and we clicked. He felt beautiful in the jump off and was really trying for me over a strong course. He’s a big striding horse who turns neatly whilst moving on.”
Major Veteran Riders Championship
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Sophia Cuthbert from Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland achieved her goal on Saturday when she became the Major Veteran Riders Champion on her own 13 year-old bay mare Walty L.
The initial starting field of fourteen was whittled down to four and a competitive jump off followed with three of four going on to secure a double clear. Sophia and Walty L took the jump off head on and they secured their double clear in 38.07 seconds.
Talking after her win, Sophia said “Before the jump off, I said to myself that I would really like to win this Championship, so I sat up, kicked on and Walty L really tried her heart out for me, she gave me her best.
“I’ve had her for four years now and she does a bit of everything. Showjumping wise, she’s been consistent all year and we’ve produced a lot of double clears, including in the National Team Jumping Final at the National Championships where we helped the team to second place.”
For a full list of results and further information about the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur & Veteran Championships, please visit www.aintreeequestriancentre.co.uk.
Dodson & Horrell:
Dodson & Horrell Ltd is a family run business that is proud of its heritage. The company is Europe’s leading specialist equine feed manufacturer and a worldwide authority on nutrition and feeding. A pioneer of manufacturing methods the company has been leading the way in equine nutrition and nutritional research for over 75 years and exports to over 42 countries.
As official supplier of nutrition to Equestrian Team GBR since 2009 Dodson & Horrell works closely with the entire team to deliver nutritional advice to both the Performance and World Class Programmes.
In addition Dodson & Horrell supports a variety of top equestrian athletes who make up ‘Team D&H’. The ambassadors play a vital role within the company by highlighting the quality of the feed and nutritional advice representing a variety of disciplines - carriage driving, eventing, para-dressage, showjumping and dressage. Dodson & Horrell’s Showjumping Brand Ambassadors are Lauren Hough (USA) and Yazmin Pinchen.
Dodson & Horrell were honoured to be granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1985 for horse feed and is proud to continue as Horse Food Manufacturer to HM Queen Elizabeth to the present day.
For further information, please visit www.dodsonandhorrell.com or call us on 01832 737300. For any further nutritional advice please call the Helpline on 0845 345 2627 or email enquiries@dodsonandhorrell.com.
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