Graham Babes & Boucheron win the Royal Highland Show leg of the International Stairway
Tuesday 26 June 2018
The fifth leg of this year’s International Stairway took place on Friday at the Royal Highland Show with Graham Babes taking home top spot on board his own 12 year-old bay gelding, Boucheron.
A testing first round course saw Graham, from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire become one of just four combinations to produce a clear round inside the time. Going forward to the strong jump off, Graham kept a forward pace to cross the finish line with the winning double clear performance over Andrew Palmer’s newly shortened course to finish in 57.11 seconds.
Finishing in second place was Helen Tredwell riding Larksong, a 13 year-old grey mare owned by Alan Tredwell. This pair finished with a double clear in 58.66 seconds. Third was secured by Keith Shore riding his own 15 year-old bay gelding, Mystic Hurricane. This pair claimed their double clear in 59.65 seconds.
The International Stairway takes place across a number of county shows where winning combinations accrue League Points that count towards the Final which takes place at the British Showjumping National Championships in August at Stoneleigh Park. The series culminates with a high profile championships where three Horse of the Year Show International Wild Cards are allocated as well as it being where the sports National Champion is crowned.
