Thrills & Spills at Saturday's HOYS
Sunday 11 October 2009
A packed house on the penultimate night of the prestigious Horse of the Year Show wowed crowds with breathtaking show jumping combined with the very best of equestrian entertainment. From youngsters to the professional show jumpers, audiences were on the edge of their seats throughout the day. The HOYS 6 Year Old Championship offered an insight into whether there are any potential Miltons in the early stages of their show jumping career. Nick Skelton won the class with Big Star who lived up to his name with a thrilling double clear in a time of 36.52 seconds. Laura Renwick and Parvati De Breve took second place in a time of 36.88, Simon Crippen and Wembley II finished third in a time of 37.04.
The youngest show jumpers at HOYS competed in the 128cms Championship class which is only open to riders under 12 years of age. Christie Pritchard rode the only clear to win the class on Grianagh Harley. Katie House took second place on her pony My Little Pumpkin. Third place went to Rory Aird riding Kingsland Bluebell. Next came the bigger ponies and bigger fences in the Gear Cut UK 138cms Championship. With only five in the jump-off, Darby Ward and More Than Milton, stole the limelight in the fastest time of 35.86 seconds. Jessica Mendoza and Dooneens Futute Star were just a millisecond behind and had to settle for second place. James Cameron L Thompson riding Dinki Diva followed in third place in a time of 36.30 seconds.
Today’s afternoon performance closed with the thrilling Philip Billington Memorial Cup, which saw eight riders through to the jump-off and culminated with Britain claiming the top four spots. Peter Charles rode an accomplished and stylish jump-off to clinch the title ahead of Robert Whitaker and Udo D.V. The course proved problematic for several of the top riders with crowd favourite John Whitaker retiring early with Utah Van Erpekom. Peter’s ride, Murkas Nevada, has only been lightly campaigned this season with Peter concentrating on his more established team for International duties, so Peter was delighted with this result.
Always popular with the audience, today’s Accumulator class didn’t disappoint the 9,000 capacity crowd. As the name suggests, competitors accumulate points for every jump they clear; double points are for the taking if they clear the Joker which is the biggest fence of the course. After some fast clear rounds and high scores, Nick Skelton knew he would have to be fast with his early draw. Riding Beverley Widdowson’s Nemo, Nick expertly produced a maximum score of 65 in 47.60 seconds to secure first place. American Olympic Gold Medallist, Laura Kraut, was his closest rival. Laura also scored maximum points but was under a second slower so had to settle for second place on Unique. Third place went to Ellen Whitaker riding CS Online.
High drama is the only way to describe tonight’s Puissance class; the commentary team led by Geoff Billington guided the eager crowd through this famous Saturday night tradition which proved to be an eventful spectacle! Twelve riders commenced battle against the formidable wall and only one was victorious. Ellen Whitaker and the notoriously tricky Ladina B cleared an incredible 7ft1in to clinch the title. Defending champion Robert Whitaker and new ride Draco could not quite pull off a back to back victory and had to settle for joint 2nd place with Paul Barker, Anthony Condon and Alex Barr. There were plenty of thrills and spills for the audience to relish with several tumbles over the course of the class, Paul Barker, Derek Morton, Ryan Prater and Will Funnell will all be nursing bruises tomorrow!
For full results, show information and to book visit www.hoys.co.uk or call the Box Office on 0844 581 8282.