Sunshine, Showers and Success at Pony Club Championships
The Pony Club Championships, kindly supported by Weatherbys Private Banking, took place August 15th- 18th at the fantastic venue of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire by kind permission of The Marquess of Cholmondeley; the organisation of the event is a joint collaboration between The Pony Club and Musketeer Event Management (MEM) headed by Alec Lochore.
The four day Championships enjoyed some sun, a good few showers, but mainly equestrian sporting action across the three Olympic disciplines of Show Jumping, Dressage, Eventing as well as Mounted Games, Polocrosse, Centre Equitation, Musical Ride, Horse and Pony Care and Endurance.
Highlights at Open Team level included Killultagh Old Rock & Chichester Harriers, who enjoyed some fantastic results across the whole Championships, taking the top spot in the both Virbac 3D Worming Show Jumping and the NAF Superflex Dressage; as the Flint and Denbigh stormed home with the highly coveted Stonar Eventing Open Team title.
Rachel Coulter, from the East Antrim, made the long journey more than worthwhile taking the win in the NAF Superflex Open Individual Dressage Championship with Gorsehill Maya; Rachel was also selected to be a part of The Pony Club’s Rider Development Pathway squad earlier in the year. Bethany Shipley, from the Middleton Hunt, produced three faultless rounds and was a full second clear of the competition to take the honours in the Virbac 3D Worming Open Individual Show Jumping, riding Coedfryn Top Notch.
In the Equi-Trek Mounted Games the Oakley Hunt West took the Junior championship win, whilst the Senior Games, offering two finals slots for the Prince Philip Cup finals, saw the Sir Watkin William Wynn’s and the West Hants Branches securing their places for the final at Horse of the Year Show in October. The Mounted Games also welcomed teams from USA Canada and Australia as the finale to the 2014 International Exchange, providing colour, sport and the chance for Members to forge friendships overseas.
The Musical Ride competition, supported by NAF Magic, yet again produced some incredible displays of ridden choreography and costume; with the West Lancashire reclaiming the coveted title with their ‘Super Steeds’ ride depicting different super heroes including Batman, Robin and Mr Incredible; the Branch previously won the trophy in 2012.
In the Windsor Equine Centre Equitation, Foxes Riding School produced a clear 10 point lead to secure the team top spot, and the North Warwickshire battled their way to the top to claim the Maldon Championship in the NFU Mutual Polocrosse final.
Pony Club Endurance also enjoyed the Championship’s with those taking part enjoying a fantastic scenic route around the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle and surrounding area at Novice, Intermediate and Open levels. Old Surrey & Burstow’s Novice Team enjoyed success over the shorter distance Novice competition, whilst Bedale & West of Yore retained their title on the longer Open route.
Focussing on the horse care aspect, the Blue Cross Horse and Pony Care competition yet again produced some excellent displays of knowledge from 40 teams, with the Chipping Branch retaining their title for an amazing third year by a considerable margin, and the Old Berkshire Hunt kept up the pressure in the Junior section which was tight at the top.
Pony Club Mentoring, supported by NFU Mutual, made a welcome return after being introduced to The Championships in 2013, and catered for all disciplines involved. On hand throughout the Championships in their distinctive jackets courtesy of Matchmakers International, Mentors chatted to hundreds of competitors, drawing on their experiences and using the mentoring resources to help competitors perform at their best in the electric Championship atmosphere.
“Huge thanks must go to our Championship title sponsors, Weatherbys Private Banking, as well as all our discipline sponsors, including Stonar, Virbac 3D Worming, NAF, NFU Mutual and Equi-Trek for their valued support which allows us to produce this amazing Championship site” commented Mary Tuckett, Chairman of The Pony Club. “As always it has been a pleasure to see our Members excelling in their early careers in their chosen areas of equestrian sport, and Cholmondeley Castle has once again provided us with an incredible backdrop to host the array of competitions across the four days”.
Full results for each of the Championship disciplines can be found HERE
Category: Eventing, News, Other, Pony Club, Results, Show Jumping
