On Saturday 16th September the ERGS Show Jumping Team once again began the early morning treks to The Meadows Equestrian Centre for their Annual Tri Inter-Schools League.
We were able to enter two teams this week – an 85cm Team and a 75cm Team. We also welcomed 4 new riders to the school team, a great boost for the teams.
The 85cm Team started us off as Team 8 of 13 in the 9am event in Arena 1. First into the Arena was the now-experienced, Erin Wallace on Georgie. The pair made it look effortless, as they cruised around in a double clear with a time of 35secs. Super effort. In next was Chloe Cathcart on Queenie. Never having seen these two before, I watched with utter amazement as they flew round the course, literally, getting a double clear and a super-fast time of 27 secs. Brilliant! Our 3rd rider was Molly Lee on Mouse. Well, there was no mousiness with this pair either, even though Molly had only jumped 85cm on this pony a couple of times. They zoomed round in 29 secs with just the 4 faults in the first phase. A super effort here. Our final rider was Erin again, this time on Bess. Honestly – all you need to do with Bess was ‘point and shoot’. She loves to jump! Round they went, a good time in the making. Just at the 2nd last fence, Bess got away with herself and knocked a pole down, resulting in 4 faults and the time running over 30secs.
A fantastic effort from the girls and their mounts, so much so that they placed 5th in the Top 6. Rosettes all round as well as very happy faces. Congratulations to the team.
Our next team was the 75cm in the 1.30pm event in Arena 2. This was delayed slightly due to a fall in the previous competition. Already on edge as we were the first team to ride, this delay didn’t help!
Emma McCaldin on Katman were the first pairing to go. They started well with just a 4-fault refusal in the first phase; then, just as they were flying nicely round the course, out of nowhere, Katman faltered on landing on the 2nd last jump, unseating Emma. Unfortunately, this meant disqualification. Gutted for Emma, as she was going so well. Good news is… she is ok.
Lily Moore on Izzy were next. This duo was quite happy in their ride, with Izzy jumping very well. Just the 4 faults in the first phase, otherwise, a solid round.
Isabelle Wallace was our next rider on Bess. Having already seen Bess in action earlier, it was good to see her again with her usual rider. The pair were strong and comfortably completed the round with a double clear. An excellent result.
Isabelle Wallace was our next rider on Bess. Having already seen Bess in action earlier, it was good to see her again with her usual rider. The pair were strong and comfortably completed the round with a double clear. An excellent result.
Finally, Imogen and Taz entered the arena for their turn. Taz is a new pony for Imogen and has only been jumping with her for a few weeks. To this end, it was fantastic to see the pairing complete the round with another double clear. A super result.
As the results were read out, they only went to third place. As there were only 8 teams entered, we had thought the girls may have placed. However, it would seem not. Rather unfortunate for them – but a good team effort nonetheless!
Well done to all the girls and thanks to the parents (grandparents) for making this happen.
(Report by R. McIntosh)
Next event – Saturday 30th September – Week 2 Tri-Equestrian.
