Pony Club Dengie Winter League Hopefuls Head To Championships
The Pony Club Winter League Show Jumping and Dressage Championships 2014, generously sponsored by Dengie Horse Feeds Ltd the UK’s leading manufacturer of fibre-based horse feeds, are being held at Warwickshire College, Moreton Morrell, during April 12-13th.
The hotly contested Championships will act as the high point of the Dengie Winter League for around 200 Pony Club competitors who have been taking part in qualifiers, at Novice and Open level, during the winter months. Near 500 preliminary rounds have been staged up and down the country, accommodating a substantial 5000 competitors; successful riders at the preliminary rounds go forwards to battle it out at one of nineteen Area finals in a bid to claim their golden ticket to the Dengie Winter League Championships.
The Dengie Winter League Show Jumping was first introduced in 1995 and has become a rite of passage for talented grassroots show jumpers, with the introduction of the Open level in 2006 allowing a pathway for those Members who have advanced the chance to tackle bigger jumping tracks. Isabel Lindsay, from the Fife Hunt, will again be making to long journey down to the Championships for 2014, hoping to better her 2013 placing “I am very excited to have qualified for the Dengie Championships again this year” comments Isabel, “it was so much fun last year and I am hoping to improve on my 4th place!”
The Dengie Winter League Dressage was introduced in 2007, and has gone on to quickly gain equal kudos to the show jumping, with many of its success stories going on to feature at The Pony Club Championships in the summer. Another Member hoping to make the long trip worthwhile is Katie Mcdonnell, from the *Duke of Buccleuch’s Hunt, who has qualified for the Novice Dressage Championship. “Dressage was a bit of a mystery until last year” laughs Katie, “but when I started doing Eventing I realised how important it was to get a good score, so I began to pay more attention, we have worked really hard and it has definitely paid off. I couldn’t believe it when we got through the first round of the qualifiers, then the Area and now the Finals. It’s amazing!”
“The championships are a real showcase of young talent and there is a terrific buzz about the entire event” comments Lisa Wilson, Marketing Manager at Dengie. “We will be bringing the Dengie weigh bridge along, presenting prizes to the winners and remaining on hand throughout the two days to provide dietary advice to competitors. It promises to be a really exciting weekend and we wish everyone the best of luck!”
Spectators are welcome to attend the event. Further information can be found on the website at www.pcuk.org
