Hurst Equestrian at Felbridge

Last weekend, Hurst students travelled to Felbridge Show Ground for two successful days of competition. The first day of jumping was a key show, as it was the last opportunity for riders to qualify for the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA) Championships held in Buckinghamshire later this month. Hurst already has multiple teams and individuals qualified, but this is an opportunity for more pupils to compete at the exciting show. Hurst Equestrian trainers Brian Cassidy and Candice Dunlop were in attendance to walk the course with students and help them with their warm-ups.

The day started off very well with the 70cm class where the Hurst Team did excellently. The team was made up of Izzy A, Lucy S, Rosie C, and Thea O, finished on a score of 0 and came 2^nd, qualifying them for the Championships! Izzy A went around the course at a very fast pace on her pony Lonarch and won the individual section of the class. This means that she will be representing Hurst at the Championships both as an individual and team member. The team rode very well, finishing in 4th position in the competitive class.

In class 2, the 80cm, Hurst put forward another team of four. It was a challenging course, and no teams were able to finish on 0. The Hurst riders completed the course with 8 faults total, but their speedy times meant they were the fastest of the 8-faulters, meaning they finished in 3rd position–only just missing out on qualifying for the Championship class. However, this placing is good enough for them to qualify for the plate final held at the same show. Well done to Izzy A, Lars D, Rosie C, and Thea O.  Lars produced a speedy clear, which was good enough for him to bring home a 7^th place rosette in the class of 92 competitors.

For the third class of the day, Hurst put forward two teams. Hurst Blue was the first to jump the 90cm course. They rode well, but a few poles down meant they finished with 12 faults and were in 7^th position. Hurst Red fared better over the course, finishing with 4 faults and some fast times meaning they finished in 3rd place–once again just missing out on the Championship spot, but getting a ticket to the plate final. Hurst did well individually though, with Lars D riding a speedy round on Kiki and achieving another individual 7^th, and Coco G jumped a lightning-fast round with Lislarkin Lad to win the class and qualify for the Championships as an individual.

In the 1m class Hurst riders had a case of ‘four fault-itus’, with all three members of the team jumping beautiful rounds, but sadly just tipping one pole. This meant they finished on 12 faults and in 3rd place meaning that Hurst, yet again, just missed out on qualifying another team for the Championships class! Morten D, who had jumped in the team with his pony, rode his horse Nimble round the course in style, finishing in 6^th place.

Morten returned to the ring as the only Hurst student put forward for the final class of the day, the 1.10m. This was an individual-only class and was split into a horse and pony section. First was the turn of Morten’s horse, Nimble, who flew round the course to win the class by over two seconds. Not satisfied with just the one win, Morten came back in with his pony Smartie and flew round the course to take another 1st place. Well done for the excellent riding, Morten! The class was a dual qualifier, which means Morten has qualified both his rides for the Championships and has also secured his spots for the Hickstead Elite final held next year.

On Sunday, it was the turn of the dressage riders and the grass roots classes. In the morning siblings Harriet and Ralf B both competed in the Prelim 13 Dressage class, both achieving very respectable scores. Harriet was riding her young horse, Hugo, who was only four years old, and this was his first show. The duo scored 64.42%, a brilliant result for such a young horse. Ralf, riding his new horse Robin, finished only just out of the rosettes with a very impressive 69.23%. Over in the show jumping ring, Ella F and Bramble did very well in the 60cm class. This was their biggest course at a show to date, and despite this challenge, they achieved their first-ever clear together. Well done, Ella!

At the end of this fantastic weekend, Hurst students had picked up a grand total of 12 placings across the team and individual classes. This includes three teams placing 3^rd, a team 2nd, and three individual wins.