This year marked the 60th anniversary of the Hurst College National Schools Jumping Championships, held at Hickstead Showground. Hurst College first started sponsoring the event in 2008, which attracts schools from across the country.
The day started with the Hickstead Elite 1.10m NSEA Championship, which students had qualified to compete in. The class was held in the huge and prestigious grass main ring at Hickstead. Morten D rode a quick and clear round to finish in 2nd place on his horse Nimble in the competitive class. Ralf and Harriet B had also qualified for the competition and jumped well, although sadly both had faults and were out of the lineup.
Meanwhile in the outer rings the preliminary rounds for the Junior and Senior Championships were taking place. In ring three Hurst had two junior teams competing for a top 10 spot to allow them to progress to the final in the International Arena. Team Hurst Pink finished on a total team score of 9 faults, a good enough result over the challenging course for them to qualify. Two riders also qualified to compete in the final as individuals, well done Darcy G and Rosie YJ.
In the Junior final, it wasn’t to be with some of the riders and ponies of Hurst Pink struggling with the daunting arena, however they achieved their 10th place rosettes having qualified for the final. Well done to Lars D, Lucy S, Olivia S, and Louise MS for their finalist position. Lars D also took 6th place individually with a very neat clear round. As Hurst College are the title sponsors of the event, they were handed their rosettes by Hurst Equestrian Head, Tracey Pargeter. A special mention must also go to Louise MS, who jumped a lovely round with just an unfortunate four faults. Louise has been working very hard over the last few months in training and at home with her horse, and her results today show how her commitment is paying off.
In the Senior preliminary round Hurst was able to put forward two teams, with Team Hurst Green qualifying for the final with ease, being the only school to finish on a final score of zero. The other team was sadly out of the top 10, however Harriet B qualified as an individual by jumping a clear round.
In the final the Hurst riders performed incredibly well in the competitive, yet again being the only team to finish on a score of zero meaning that they won the final! A huge congratulations to Ralf B, Emma P, Lucca C, and Lyla YJ. This is the first time that a Hurst Team has ever won the prestigious title of National Senior Schools Champions at Hickstead. Head of Senior Prep, Simon Lilley, was there to hand them their awards.
The success was not limited to the team competition, with hurst riders doing very well individually. Four riders placed in the top 10 in the class which had 65 competitors, although the rosettes only went to 6thplace. A massive congratulations to Ralf B, who won the title of Senior Champion with his horse Skyline! This is a huge achievement at such an important event. Emma P was quick enough with her round to achieve 5th. Deputy Head of Co-Curricular, Ellie Calver, was there to hand out the rosettes and awards to the individual competitors.
At the end of the day Hurst riders had been in the lineup for every single championship of the day, including two wins. A huge congratulations to all the riders of Hurst, and to all those who were there on the day to support.
