Nicole Lockhead Anderson celebrates her 21st birthday with a big win on the Andalucía Sunshine Tour
Monday 27 March 2023
1dpajma08gqw.jpg "Nicole Lockhead Anderson celebrates her 21st birthday with a big win on the Andalucía Sunshine Tour")
Nicole Lockhead Anderson celebrated her 21st birthday in style to conclude the Andalucía Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, on a high with victory in the CSI4* Equipe Ladies Invitational on her own Emerald Irish Cruise.
The consistent partnership proved to be on a roll with wins every week, the final day marking their ninth win on this seven-week tour.
Forty-four competitors from seventeen nations came forward to face the testing 1.45m track and ten riders found the key to access the jump-off. Already with eight wins behind her, including a small grand prix triumph, Nicole, who hails from Kincardineshire, North-East Scotland, was confident in her trust with this ultra-careful Irish-bred mare she has produced for the past two years. The pair set off at the gallop as Nicole negotiated every tight line, the Ringfort Cruise x Mount Diamond Flag mare matching her fervour to win by half a second.
“I have no words to describe how much I love this horse, she is my hero,” said Nicole, who had stepped this eager eight-year-old up to world ranking classes on this tour and received a brand new Equipe saddle as her prize.
Eve McCoy secured victory in the Heusdens Schäffer 1* Grand Prix at the Sentower Park Youth meeting in Opglabbeek, Belgium, with Sir Anthony McCoy’s Cocktail d’Azur in a nail-biting jump-off.
Competitors from seven nations came forward in this Grand Prix and four riders found the key to the 1.30m track to access the deciding round against the clock. Eve adopted the speed her father AP McCoy is so famous for and guided the Prince Blue 13-year-old Cocktail into the fastest round of the class to win by an impressive three seconds.
Sophie Evans, 16, claimed third in the Aloga Auction Under 25 Grand Prix on ESM Equestrian’s Hatzidee PR.
Thirty-eight riders from the length and breadth of Europe tackled the 1.40m track with ten producing initial clears to contend the jump-off. Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire-based Sophie remained calm under pressure to guide the Spartacus TN x Indoctro 13-year-old into another foot-perfect clear round to finish two seconds behind the winner, France’s Stella Charbonnier on Jonami Van De Lindebos.
Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire-based Madison Seedhouse, 16, claimed a podium place in the Emmers Equestrian Pony Grand Prix, piloting ESM Equestrian’s Vaughann De Vuzit into third position.
Twelve of the original twenty-eight competitors returned clean rounds over a 1.25m course to make their way into the jump-off, Madison and the Dexter Leam Pondi 14-year-old gelding breaking the finish beams 1.87 seconds behind the winning time. Sweden’s Wera-Lee Bartoldsson Norrthon and Vertige De Belebat seized victory.
Darcy Breen made her first international show count with third in the Ashford Farm Children on Horses Grand Prix aboard Lea Popely’s Kunis.
Hickstead, Sussex-based Darcy, 13, had claimed third in the preceding day’s 1.20m on the Luidam x Le Tot De Semilly mare, a 10-year-old she first competed four months earlier. Under the expert eye of Dad and Ireland’s 5* rider Shane Breen, Darcy confidently tackled the 1.25m track to qualify for the 11-horse decider and provided a second clear to take third 1.68 seconds adrift of the winning time.
Andalucía Sunshine Tour Week 7 - Sunday, 26 March 2023
CSI4* Equipe Ladies Invitational 1.45m
1st Nicole Lockhead Anderson (GBR) & Emerald Irish Cruise – 0/0 - 34.20 seconds
2nd Imma Roquet Autonell (ESP) & Icenta Del Maset – 0/0 - 34.20 seconds
3rd Julie Welles (USA) & Greatfull – 0/0 - 34.84 seconds
Sentower Park CSI Youth/CSI1* Week 1 – Sunday, 26 March 2023
Heusdens Schäffer CSI1* GP 1.30m
1st Eve McCoy (GBR) & Cocktail D’Azur – 0/0 - 39.48 seconds
2nd Nick Nanning (NED) & Lazaro N – 0/0 - 42.48 seconds
3rd Louai Abdeldjalil Sad Laib (ALG) & Piedro Von Hary Z – 0/4 - 39.04 seconds
Aloga Auction CSI Under 25 GP 1.40m
1st Stella Charbonnier (FRA) & Jonami Van De Lindebos – 0/0 - 34.35 seconds
2nd Yana Jansegers (BEL) & Orlando Van De Afspenning – 0/0 - 35.26 seconds
3rd Sophie Evans GBR) & Hatzidee PR – 0/0 - 36.38 seconds
Emmers Equestrian CSI Pony GP 1.25m
1st Wera-Lee Bartoldsson Norrthon (SWE) & Vertige De Belebat – 0/0 - 36.89 seconds
2nd Jersey Kuijpers (NED) & Lafaletta – 0/0 - 37.17 seconds
3rd Madison Seedhouse (GBR) & Vaughann De Vuzir – 0/0 - 38.76 seconds
Ashford Farm CSI Children on Horses GP 1.25m
1st Leja Nakvosaite (LTU) & Caira’s Conamor – 0/0 - 38.06 seconds
2nd Clementine Lux (BEL) & Cash De Lecuyer – 0/0 - 38.37 seconds
3rd Darcy Honeybunn Daisy Breen (GBR) & Kunis – 0/0 - 39.74 seconds
Image credit: Andalucía Sunshine Tour
1svujitxhxur8.jpg "Great Britain command victory in the Pony Nations Cup of Compiegne")
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