FEI Jumping Youth Nations Cup Success For Team GBR
This year’s FEI Jumping Youth Nations Cup, which took place between 4th-7th April at Sentower Park, Opglabbeek, saw success for Team Great Britain (GBR).
Team GBR’s medal streak kicked off on the Friday (5th April) of competition, with Lila Bremner taking home third in the Pony Grand Prix.
Bremner’s performance saw her climb a field of fifty starters, with nine-year-old stallion, Lapislazuli. Conquering a 1.30m course of 16 jumping efforts, Bremner finished with just one penalty in her second showjumping round. The Peter Schumacher designed course took it’s toll on the rest of the field, only two-starters managing to go clear and denying Bremner of a higher placing.
Additionally, Bremner also managed to grasp gold in the Pony Tale A 1.30m class, which took place of Sunday (7th April).
Sunday also saw huge success for Team GBR. Under sponsors LeMieux, the British Pony Squad began their season on a high, finishing second out of a field of 8 teams.
Contesting a 1.30m course of twelve obstacles, the team also faced the challenge of difficult combinations. The final combination caught out many of the riders, consisting of a treble, followed by a related distance to the final fence of an oxer away from home.
Team GBR managed to gain an early lead in the first round with just four faults, whilst France, The Netherlands and Norway all sat on twelve penalties. However, France managed to score three clears int the second round, nudging them just ahead of ahead of Great Britain who incurred more penalties. The Netherlands and Norway didn’t manage to hold their position, with Team Ireland climbing into third position.
Finishing on a high, Team GBR’s Junior squad scored gold in the Juniors Nations Cup on Sunday, too.
Under the mentoring of Chef d’Equipe, Tony Newbury, the Junior squad put on an outstanding performance. Carrying just four penalties from their first round, the team of four started strong, leaving them in second place going into the next round. Team GBR picked up eight penalties in the second round, putting them on par with the leaders, Team Germany. The neck-a-neck scores forced a jump off between the two premier teams. The decider came when the final rider for Germany, Hannes Ahlmann, finished with eight penalties, handing Team GBR the win.
Looking ahead to next season, the Youth Team Manager of British Showjumping, Clare Whitaker, commented;
“The all rode really well under pressure and I’m incredibly pleased with them all. It has been a good show for us and we are looking forward to the season ahead”.
For further results, visit; www.sentowerpark.com
