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It has been a hugely successful weekend for the riders of Hurst Equestrian, with multiple top qualifications achieved, most prominently qualifying a team for the very prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show.
On Saturday, 25th of February, six Hurst riders made the long journey to Merrist Wood, Surrey, for a show jumping competition. The Hurst Team finished on a fast time with a score of zero, winning the 90cm class and qualifying them for the National Championships held in October. Congratulations to Lauren W, Morten, D, Harriet B, and Ralf B for their achievement. Lauren won the 90cm class individually on her pony My Time IV, whilst also picking up 3rd riding Clem. Lauren and Clem also came 3rd in the 80cm as individuals; these results are particularly impressive as this show was only Clem’s second show! In the 1m class, Lauren picked up yet another win with My Time IV, and Morten placed 5th riding Smartie.
The very next day saw many of the same riders and some new at yet another venue! Coombelands Equestrian was holding a competition with two rings running, one for show jumping and an arena eventing in the other. This was an important day of jumping with an early start to be ready for the Royal Windsor Horse Show qualifier. In this class, only the winning team qualifies for the prestigious show, and with only one more qualifier held in Derbyshire for this year’s event, the pressure was on for the students to perform to the best of their abilities.
Hurst put toward two teams for the competition, with Hurst Red having the added challenge of being the very first team to jump in the class, which is a huge competitive disadvantage. However, the Hurst Red riders did not let this affect them. They jumped some fantastic rounds, finishing with a score of zero and setting an amazingly fast pace for the class and putting pressure on the other schools, causing many riders to knock poles trying to match the speed of the Hurst Team. Hurst Red, consisting of Olivia S, Ralf B, Harriet B, and Freddie L, was the team to beat, with Freddie L holding the top time in the individual class after producing an incredibly impressive round.
After an hour of nail-biting competition, the Hurst riders still held the top spots, and it was the turn of Hurst Blue. As fast as the riders of Hurst Red were…. the riders of Hurst Blue were faster! Emma P and Lauren W produced the two fastest rounds of the day, finishing on times within 0.1 of a second of each other, with Emma being the faster of the two. No other schools were able to best the Hurst Teams! Hurst Blue won the class, qualifying them for the Royal Windsor Horse Show, held in May, and Hurst Red took 2nd place. A huge congratulations to the Hurst Blue riders for their qualification, well done Emma P, Lauren W, Morten D, and Harriet B. The Hurst riders also did fantastically in the individual section of the class, taking four of the six rosettes available. Emma P came 1st, Lauren W 2nd, Freddie L 4th, and Morten D 6th!
Over in the Arena Eventing ring Hurst riders also saw success, with some fantastic rounds jumped. Lyla YJ jumped a beautiful clear round on her new pony Beechmount Poppy. It was their first show together, and whilst they were out of the placings, it was a beautiful round. Henry C also did a lovely, neat round riding Meadows Pride, although a SatNav error on the course meant that they turned a circle and finished with 4 faults. Olivia S tried her hand at the eventing course following competing in the Windsor qualifier and produced a very stylish round, although a few knocked poles left her out of the placing.
The top level of riding and consistency of placings demonstrates how hard the Hurst students are working, and that their efforts in the weekly training sessions are paying off. Over the two days of competition and multiple classes Ralf, Lauren, and Morten did not knock a single pole with their rides. Tracey Pargeter, Head of Hurst Equestrian, would like to congratulate all the students not only on their brilliant performances but also on their amazing demonstrations of team spirit and how much they support each other at these events. Well done to all who took part in the shows this weekend!
