Skipton Horse Trials gets the Mitsubishi Motors Regional Finals underway

Skipton Horse Trials gets the Mitsubishi Motors Regional Finals underway

Skipton Horse Trials last weekend, 6th – 7th August, marked the start of the Mitsubishi Motors Regional Finals giving riders their first opportunity to qualify for the 2017 Mitsubishi Motors Cup. Taking place at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials next year, the prestigious final on the 2nd and 3rd May is the pinnacle for riders at BE90 and BE100 level and a highlight of the competition calendar.

BE100 – Mitsubishi Motors Cup Regional Final

Open to eligible riders who finished in the top 20 per cent of a BE100 or BE100 Open between the 1st July 2015 and 30th June 2016, the BE100 Regional Final brought forward a competitive class as riders battled to secure their qualification for the 2017 Mitsubishi Motors Cup.

Having competed on three previous occasions North Yorkshire’s Judith Bennett is no stranger to the Badminton turf and booked her fourth ticket to the Mitsubishi Motors Cup after claiming the BE100 Regional Final win on board her own 12 year old gelding Legato II.

Adding nothing to their 29.8 penalty dressage score the duo kept a margin of 2.2 penalties between them and second placed Sarah Colgan. Riding Mrs Sally Hoyle’s nine year old gelding Machno Radience the Lincolnshire rider produced a double clear in the jumping phases to stay on their 32 penalty dressage score for second place. Completing the top three another 2016 Mitsubishi Motors Cup veteran, Samantha Jimmison, from South Yorkshire, and Mrs Josie Robinson’s eight year old Dayton di Villa Lori picked up four jumping and one time penalties from the show jumping arena to add to their 28.0 dressage score.

BE90 – Mitsubishi Motors Cup Regional Final

In a change from the BE100 process, eligible riders must finish in the top 10 percent of a BE90 or BE90 Open to book their space in a Regional Final with the top 20 percent of the Regional Final collecting their qualification for the BE90 Mitsubishi Motors Cup.

Bumper entries at Skipton saw two sections of BE90RF and it was Hannah Dennison who took section M on Deel Boy with section N going to Laura Greenhalgh on board Stanhopes Travelling Man.

Despite only starting eventing with BE last year, Hannah Dennison from Lancashire stormed to victory in section M on her own seven year old gelding Deel Boy after the pair finished on their fantastic dressage score of 22.5 penalties.  Second place went to Staffordshire’s Becky Hartley and EMC Its Showtime; owned by Karen Condliffe the six year old gelding was just 0.5 penalties off the win with a score of 23.

North Yorkshire’s Lloyd Newton completed the top three, following an impressive dressage score of 20.5 penalties the combination picked up four penalties from the show jumping phase to slip to third place.

Section N went to 2016 BE90 Mitsubishi Motors Cup competitor Laura Greenhalgh (née Hayward), from Nottinghamshire, on Sarah Reeve’s 11 year old gelding Stanhopes Travelling Man with a score of 23.3 penalties. Derbyshire’s Jessica Sutton won her first ever qualification ticket to the Mitsubishi Motors Cup on Pippa III after they finished in second space on their dressage score of 25.8 penalties.

Also picking up their first qualification to the final, Laura Henderson from Cheshire, completed on their dressage score of 27.3 penalties for third place on her own Siun Apache Joy.

The Mitsubishi Motors Cup is an opportunity for BE90 and BE100 riders to compete across the hallowed turf of the Badminton Estate and will see riders contest to win an exceptional prize package, courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors, including a brand new Mitsubishi car of their choice for a year.

More information on the competition and how to qualify can be found on the website.

BE100 Qualified riders:

Mitsubishi Motors BE100RF (40 starters – 8 to qualify)
1st Judith Bennett and Legato II
2nd Sarah Colgan and Machno Radience
3rd Samantha Jimmison and Dayton Di Villa Lori
4th Fiona Lundy and C Why
5th Josh Riley and Conclusive
6th Amy Collinson and Ciss
7th Tilly Hughes and Boggy Jack
8th Ria Scott and Frogertie

BE90 Section M Qualified riders (37 eligible starters –7 to qualify):
1st Hannah Dennison and Deel Boy
2nd Becky Hartley and EMC Its Showtime
3rd Lloyd Newton and Pillow Talk III
4th Vicki Fahey and I Blame Bertie
5th Laura Hanson and Bonnie Release the Stars
6th Paula J Holden and Newlands Kaiser
7th  Sarah Fawcett and Actor

BE90 Section N Qualified riders (35 starters – 7 to qualify):
1st Laura Greenhalgh and Stanhopes Travelling Man
2nd Jessica Sutton and Pippa III
3rd Laura Henderson and Siun Apache Joy
4th Sally Ginley and Creevy Shine
5th Jackie Harrison and Grass Roots
6th Alexandra Towler and Goodshapes Beauty
7th Nancy Collin and Crossdrum Ozzie

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.