Maia Andrews Wins Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round at Bicton Arena
Thursday 09 June 2016
The Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round at Bicton Arena in Budleigh Salterton, Devon proved to be popular, attracting a total of eighty-one combinations, all of whom were aiming to claim a place in the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Championship Final.
Up for grabs at this second round were two direct qualifying places for the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Championship Final at the Horse of the Year Show and this second round came down to a fifteen horse final jump off.
Five combinations went on to secure a treble clear on Saturday and competitors faced a nervous wait to see whether they had done enough to take home a Championship Final place.
Fifteen year-old Maia Andrews from Crowthorne, Berkshire won this second round by pipping her nearest rival by just 0.01 of a second. Maia took victory on board Tania Andrews’ 11 year-old dark bay gelding AKM Beech Comber and the combination took advantage of being drawn in the latter stages of the class. Having seen four treble clears produced ahead of her, Maia knew that she needed to ride with accuracy and speed and she did so to secure a treble clear in 42.71 seconds.
Megan Taylor, aged 15, from Tamworth, Staffordshire was narrowly beaten into second place after delivering a treble clear in 42.72 seconds. Megan achieved her treble clear on Novella II, a 9 year-old bay mare owned by David Wingrove.
With the top two taking the direct qualifying tickets for the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Championship Final at the Horse of the Year Show, the riders and ponies that finished in third to fifth missed out on Championship qualification this time around. They did however take home the chance to compete in the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Masters at the British Showjumping National Championships.
Bicton Arena – Saturday 4th June 2016
Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round
1st Maia Andrews & AKM Beech Comber – 0/0/0 – 42.71 seconds
2nd Megan Taylor & Novella II – 0/0/0 – 42.72 seconds
3rd Kiarra Hulme & Bombay III – 0/0/0 – 44.61 seconds
4th Lottie Tutt & Kanclaudius – 0/0/0 – 45.16 seconds
5th Alana Hood & Miami Sandyman – 0/0/0 – 45.70 seconds
NB: Qualifications will be updated pending grading of results.
The Horse of the Year Show 2016 will take place from the 5th – 9th October at Birmingham’s NEC. The British Showjumping National Championships 2016 will take place during the 9th – 14th August at the National Agricultural and Exhibition Centre (NAEC), Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.
Image Credit: ESP Photographic.
Blue Chip:
Blue Chip Feed Ltd produce the highest quality feed balancers and supplements available in the UK; there is a feed balancer for every stage in a horse’s life to ensure optimum health and well-being. Blue Chip products are exported worldwide. For more information please visit www.bluechipfeed.com.