With the euphoria of winning team silver behind them, the focus for the British pony quartet turned to individual honours at this year’s FEI Pony European Championships in Millstreet, Ireland (30 July – 01 August). Phoebe and ‘Lucci’ were eager to defend their title from last year and with the other three buoyant after their team tests, hopes were high. All four riders were scheduled for action on Friday with around 15 to go on Saturday morning.
Rebecca was our first rider with Valido’s Sunshine or ‘Sunny’ and they posted 69.927% - a personal international best! Then it was the turn of Alex and ‘Lordy’ and the relatively inexperienced duo performed the best test of their short career together to score 74.756% to storm into the lead. At just seven, Lordy was one of the youngest ponies at the Championships. Next it was Phoebe’s turn but disaster struck early on when a stumble on the centre line upset Lucci and Phoebe had to ride him with extra sympathy to get him back on track. They did make a miraculous recovery to turn scores of ones and twos back to sevens and eights but all hopes of a medal were dashed with the early mishap. A still very respectable 72.171% was their score, but not the result the ambitious pair had hoped for. Bethany was our final rider with Gigolo – a team ‘veteran’ having been to previous Euros but not since 2010 – and again they broke that magic 70% barrier with 70.878%. Going into Saturday, Alex held the lead so it was a restless night’s wait to see if she could hold the advantage.
Sadly, Germany’s Semmieke Rothenberger proved too strong and took gold with 78.268% and a late charge from Lisanne Zoutendijk of the Netherlands stole the silver from Alex by just 0.22%. But a bronze on your debut is a huge achievement for such a new combination! Phoebe ended the competition in tenth with Bethany 12th and Rebecca in 17th. The top 18 qualify to go through to the freestyle but sadly, each nation is only allowed three riders so Rebecca had to sit out the freestyle. She still proclaimed that it had been ‘one of the best weeks of my life!’ on Facebook.
Sunday brought a change in the weather to more traditional Irish conditions…wet! Bethany and Gigolo were our first pairing and they again demonstrated their consistency at this level and what a strong partnership they are with 72.325% - a strong score. Add to this the weather and gremlins in the sound system which meant Bethany had to start her test three, yes three, times then it makes the score even more remarkable! It was then Phoebe’s turn with the Gloucestershire rider more determined than ever to secure a medal. The weather wasn’t on her side and her warm-up hindered and delayed but, ever the professional, she rode a well presented and correct test with Lucci which included a one handed simple change. A massive 78.7% flashed up on the board and there was relief and joy all round. Their artistic marks varied from 86% – 76% from the judging panel of Jo Graham (GBR), Annette Fransen-Iacobaeus (SWE), Ulrike Nivelle (GER), Chrstoph Umbach (LUX) and Victoire Mandl (AUT) but the overall score gave them the lead. Alex and Lordy really split the judges with Mandl placing her third but a final 72.25% left them out of the medals overall. Towards the end of the class, it was then Semmieke’s turn with the stunning palomino Deinhard B and they danced beautifully, albeit with a little less sparkle than the previous two tests but the judges still awarded a fantastic 79.975% for the lead, relegating Phoebe to silver. It was then the final nail biting as the last rider was Lisanne Zoutendijk who’d edge Alex out of silver in the individual test. It was close, almost too close to call, until the final score was announced as 77.85% which meant Phoebe had kept her silver! A very happy Phoebe took to Facebook to say; ‘It was probably the best freestyle I have ridden in my pony career and even with mad conditions of pouring rain and a faulty sound system!! After a challenging week I couldn't be more pleased with how it finished!”
Team Trainer Peter Storr gave his take on this year’s Irish adventure; “I’m very pleased with the whole trip despite it being an emotional rollercoater. Team silver was an amazing result and we were oh so close to gold. To have four riders all score over 70% is a huge achievement and having the German and Dutch teams come to watch us as they felt threatened was testament to everyone’s hard work. I received a number of compliments from other nations on the way our riders rode with real feeling and harmony.
“I’ve always earmarked Alex’s pony as a potential medal winner and it’s fantastic she performed so well, especially on her debut. Bethany was consistent throughout with Gigolo to help us secure the team medal and some strong personal results. Rebecca rode the test of her life on Wednesday to get us off to just the start we needed to give belief into the team. Phoebe just had the most terrible start imaginable in the individual but to rescue the test and score 72% and then cope with running late on Sunday due to music failures just proves what a professional she is. I’m just thrilled with them all.
“It was a great Championship made that bit more special by the Irish charm – we’ll certainly all remember it! Thanks must go to the stalwart that is Jennie Loriston-Clarke who was the most amazing TD – she really held everything together and made the Championship run as smooth as possible.“
The full team of four:
Rebecca Bell (14) from Farringdon, Oxfordshire riding Caroline Bell’s Valido’s Sunshine (bay, mare, 14.1hh, 11yrs, s. Valido)
Alex Hellings (14) from Bakewell, Derbyshire with Clare Williams’ Der Kleine Lord (brown, gelding, 14.1hh, 8yrs, s. Der Feine Lord)
Bethany-Rose Horobin (15) from Rayleigh, Essex riding her own Gigolo (chestnut, gelding, 14.1hh, 16yrs, s. Going East)
Phoebe Peters (15) from Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire riding Tracy Peters’ SL Lucci (bay, gelding, 14.2hh, 11yrs, s. Lukas)
Full start list and results - click here
Event website - click here
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