The junior team for Great Britain jumped into second place at the Junior Nations Cup of Zuidwolde at the Youth Meeting in De Wolden, The Netherlands, only one fence between them and the first place.
14 strong teams came forward to compete over Henk Landers course, that consisted of a 12-fence 1.40m track. Two teams emerged at the top of the leaderboard by the halfway stage – host country The Netherlands and Belgium. Great Britain was tied in third place on four faults but rose to second further in the competition.
Maisy Williams, who was celebrating her 18th birthday, had difficulty as pathfinder with 15-year-old Dalton O’Hoyo returning a most uncharacteristic round. Noora von Bulow and the consistent 11-year-old Interstar B (I’m Special De Muze x Ohorn VDL) proved foot-perfect with a clear. Charlie Atkinson made just one mistake to come home on four faults with the Future Trend 11-year-old mare Ballingowan Leia, while anchor Olivia Sponer dismissed any pressure to supply a much-needed clear on the 13-year-old Equine America Bingo Du Chateau (Quaprice Bois Margot x Royal Feu).
On the second round, Maisy completed her round with an off-form Dalton D’Hoyo before Noora and Interstar B returned four faults this time, but Charlie improved on his first round to provide a clear round with Ballingowan Leia. Olivia delivered a magnificent double clear on Bingo Du Chateau, one of only six double clears in the competition.
France moved up to the top position with a zero score in round two to total four faults over the two rounds to guarantee victory.
On four faults in each round, Britain was on a total of eight faults, along with the Netherlands and Germany. The result was decided on time, with Great Britain stepping up to second place on the podium with The Netherlands in third and Germany fourth.
“After Maisy’s rounds, the pressure was on the others, but they delivered. It was Charlie’s first Nations Cup and Olivia hasn’t been on a team since Covid, so I was very pleased with them,” said Youth Team Manager Clare Whitaker.
Katie Gilmour is the host of Poles, Piaffe & Prosecco: the podcast for riders that love to train, laugh and drink prosecco! The podcast is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Image retrieved from British Showjumping
Katie is a Webby and ESMA award winning multi-media journalist with an equestrian focus. She hosts the podcast Poles, Piaffe & Prosecco, which is free to listen to on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Katie lives on her family farm in West Sussex with her husband, four children and an assortment of horses, ponies, dogs, cats and poultry.
