Equestrian Team at the National Finals in Buckinghamshire
Posted on: 26/11/2017Barton Court Grammar Equestrian Team - NSEA
In June 2017, the Barton Court Grammar School Equestrian Team was set up by two parents. Their first competition was shortly after at Felbridge Showground in East Sussex. The team of 4 Year 7 & Year 8’s entered the 70cm Grassroots and won it with 3 team members qualifying individually: 1st, 2nd and 5th place. They qualified for the Regional Grassroots Championships as a team which took place on the 26 November 2017.
It was a freezing cold day, but that didn’t deter them and all 4 team members went double clear with fast jump off times. They won!!! The team became Regional Grassroots Champions 2017 which is a fantastic achievement against teams from all over the South East. One team member was so fast she gained a 5th in the individual competition too!
At the end of the day a Mini Derby Hickstead qualifier was hosted and one of our team members won that and has qualified for the 2018 NSEA Mini Derby which is something else to look forward to in 2018. The other team members came 3rd and 4th, just missing out on qualifying, but there is still plenty of time to get a place.
On the same day in June at Felbridge, the team also competed in the 75cm class where they came 2nd out of 22 very competitive teams. This qualified them for The National Championships at Addington in Buckinghamshire on 20 October this year. The team headed up the night before and early the next morning were plaited up prepared for competition.
First up - the 75 final! There were 44 teams of 4 people in each. Each team only needs to take 3 scores through to the next round and with one members’ pony out of action we were lucky that the other 3 went double clear with some fast times to put them in 8th place. 8 teams (we just sneaked in) qualified for the National Final that evening in the main indoor arena with a commentary box, it felt like they were taking part at Olympia!
The final consisted of a speed jump off so the fastest team won. We managed to increase our placing to 7th NATIONALLY with 3 fantastic rounds. The teams came from all over England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. We didn’t appreciate what a fantastic achievement to even just qualify was until we saw the team sheets! They also competed at the Eventers Challenge (mix of cross country and show jumping fences) on that day and came a very respectable 5th place.
