Over half-term nine of our students competed at Keysoe International Equestrian Centre in the NSEA National Schools Championships 2021, having qualified at various County competitions over the previous year.
The Mochara Individual Dressage Championships took place on Saturday 23 October. In the Prelim 14 Test we had three qualifiers; Rachel Turnbull riding Davillon Sail Away, Mia Harrison riding Whitehawk White Mist and Grace Clarke riding UCS Sheffield. I am pleased to say in a field of 46 competitors all our riders were placed. Mia came 5th in her section of 23 riders and Grace placed 6th out of 21 riders. Rachel came 1st in her section and went on to compete in the overall final, placing 4th overall. An amazing performance for Rachel considering she has only has recently returned to competing after an injury to her horse earlier this year.
Later in the day Millie Caldecott riding Beaurepaire Frodo qualified for the more challenging Elementary 42 Test. Millie was certainly one of the youngest competitors in her class but this did not seem to faze her. She had a wonderful test and came away with a third place rosette. Well done Millie and she is featured at her prize giving on the right.
At a similar time to the Dressage Harvey Barfoot-Saunt riding Diablo competed as an individual in the NSEA Jump 4 Joy 70-75cm Arena Eventing Championships. He went clear in an impressive time and as a result was placed sixth in a field of over 90 competitors. The combination then immediately went on to compete in the first round for the NSEA KBIS 70-75cm Show-Jumping class in the outside arena. Here they impressed everyone, going clear with the fastest time of the day, 1.5 seconds clear of his nearest rival. At the end of the day Harvey competed in the KBIS 70cm Show-Jumping Final placing eighth overall out of over 150 competitors.
In the afternoon Harvey joined Grace Clarke, Rachel Turnbull and Lily Clarke riding Camills Muriel in the first round of the 80-85cm KBIS Show-Jumping class. Clear rounds from Lily, Harvey and Grace helped the team qualify for the Final. The 80-85cm Show-jumping Final took place late in the day. Both Harvey and Lily posted fast times but were unfortunate to each knock down a pole. Grace and Rachel followed, going clear which secured sixth place for the team overall. This was another great achievement in a competitive field of forty seven teams from around the Country. The team are featured with their rosettes above. All our KLB team who competed on Saturday are shown below.
On Sunday 24th October two teams competed in the NSEA Mochara Team Championships. The KLB Maroon team comprised of Lily Clarke, Grace Clarke and Katherine Lay riding Robin Hood, a new KLB combination. Our KLB White team consisted of Rachel Turnbull, Mia Harrison, Keaton Ball on Shady Lane and Ella Woolls on Davinci Z. The first two named riders in the team completed the Prelim test and the last members completed the more challenging Novice test. Out of 25 team entries our Maroon team came 17th and our KLB White team achieved fifth place overall, a fantastic performance. Special thanks to Ella Woolls and Keaton Ball who stepped in at late notice completing a challenging Novice Test for the KLB White team.
Following the success seen in the Team Dressage our 80-85cm Arena Eventing team (Harvey, Lily, Grace and Keaton) competed in a very challenging course. Harvey continued his good run of form, placing second as an individual in the class of over ninety riders. Our team placed second overall out of 22 teams from around the Country. A fantastic result, made even sweeter when the team won a Prestigious Jump 4 Joy Championship Jump. To win the Jump their team time for the eventing challenge had to be the closest to the optimal time over the whole Championships. All the riders who competed on Sunday are shown on the right.
There was no rest for Harvey and Diablo on the final day of the Championships, Monday 25th October. The combination competed in the 90-95cm class for both show-jumping and eventing challenge. Unfortunately he was unable to emulate his earlier success placing outside the rosettes.
Special mention to Mr Cromie for driving many miles to support our team on Sunday. His presence and expertise was appreciated by all riders and parents.
I am pleased to say all our team left Keysoe with a smile on their faces, featured on right, and arrived home safely with lots of memories to treasure. Everyone deserved a well-earned rest over what remained of the half term break.
Mrs Bates
