Golden oldies of all forms took to the Vale View arena for another year as the much loved Veteran Championships supported by Allen & Page returned to Leicestershire last weekend (12 – 15 October).
Surrey based rider Krystyna Monks stole the show taking home two Veteran Rider titles scoring the highest score at the Championships en route to her wins. With two horses at the show Krystyna, a qualified Equine Cranio Sacral Therapist, not only won the Novice 37 with Favourit and Elementary 53 with Dubai (pictured) but placed in both with her two rides. However the week wasn’t without drama for Kyrstyna who took to Facebook to talk about her wins; ‘What a roller coaster of a week! After a lack lustre performance at the Home International, poor Squid developed a really bad attack of Urticaria on his return home from Wales. Thankfully he recovered enough to go to the Veteran Horse and Rider Championships at Vale View (me being the Veteran Rider!) and what a star! Not only did he win the Novice Championship with an amazing personal best of 78.52%, but he also claimed third place in the Elementary Championship with a solid 68.53%! Not to be outdone, Dubai won the Elementary Championship with 70.66% and came seventh in Medium with 64.10% - I will have to explain to him that flying changes aren’t required at Medium! My thanks to the staff (and Fiona) at Vale View Equestrian who excelled in locating an emergency farrier (for Squid, of course, who has an uncanny knack of removing shoes), the team at home who keep things running for me in my absence (Dee Smith, Lesley West, Samantha Woodhams, Natalie Wenman), Tania Grantham for her patience in training me and The Boys, and of course my long suffering OH who has become the most amazing groom and sponsor a girl could ever want!’
Representing the over 20s in fine style was the faithful BYRDS pony Radway Harlequin who danced his way to a Championship title with 12-year-old Molly Rose in the saddle. Molly, a member of Northern BYRDS, piloted the 21-years-young ‘Harley’ expertly around Prelim 17 to score 71.30% in front of judges Jane Ellis and Catherine Ellis. Owned by Nicole Nelson, Harley has nine years of BD competition experience under his belt and clearly shows no signs of slowing down yet.
Showing rider and judge Lynden Barrow won two titles with her partner of over 13 years Northlands Main Street. The handsome bay won the 15-19 Prelim class with 71.55% before going on to win the 15-19 Novice Championships with 67.87%. The 19-year-old gelding has enjoyed a great career with fantastic results both in showing and dressage.
Another rider to take home two titles was the Veteran Rider Champion Sue Oakley who dominated the advanced levels aboard Landalex. Sue, a judge and senior Home International team member for BD South West, earned 66.38% and 66.78% to put her at the top of both the Advanced Medium 98 and Prix St Georges Championships.
Many thanks to our Championship supporters Allen & Page as well as the staff and volunteers at Vale View EC. Congratulations to all winners and competitors, we hope to see you all back next year for the 2018 Veteran Championships!
Results
Associated Intro C Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Sharon Armstrong with Humbug VIII, 63.70%
Associated Intro C Veteran Horse 20+
1st Crystal Chapman-Smith with The Duke III, 61.74%
Associated Prelim 17A Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Lynden Barrow with Northlands Main Street, 71.55%
Associated Prelim 17A Veteran Horse 20+
1st Molly Rose with Radway Harlequin, 71.30%
Associated Novice 37A Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Lynden Barrow with Northlands Main Street, 67.87%
Associated Novice 37A Veteran Horse 20+
1st Emma Desilva with Moreno-Utopia, 68.80%
Associated FEI Prix St Georges Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Sharon Westley with Tabriz, 65.00%
Associated Intro C Veteran Rider
1st Karen Kilby with Courtwood Lodge Cosmic Dream, 60.00%
Associated Prelim 17A Veteran Rider
1st Hilary Janion with QEG Lux, 73.53%
Associated Novice 37A Veteran Rider
1st Krystyna Monks with Favourit, 78.52%
Associated Elementary 53 Veteran Rider
1st Krystyna Monks with Dubai, 70.66%
Associated Medium 73 Veteran Rider
1st Jayne Dillon with Tolstoi, 69.78%
Associated Advanced Medium 96 Veteran Rider
1st Sue Oakley with Landalex, 66.38%
Associated FEI Prix St Georges Veteran Rider
1st Sue Oakley with Landalex, 66.78%
Associated Elementary 53 Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Emma Painter with Espresso II, 68.24%
Associated Elementary 53 Veteran Horse 20+
1st Anita Adams with Preston V, 68.24%
Associated Medium 73 Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Shirley Hart with Lord Harvey, 67.06%
Associated Medium 73 Veteran Horse 20+
1st Philippa Comley with Grey Fox II, 67.94%
Associated Advanced Medium 96 Veteran Horse 15-19
1st Emma Pewter with San Rafael, 63.36%
Associated Advanced Medium 96 Veteran 20+
1st Emma Jenkinson with Crescendo III, 65.79%
Full results - click here