Well – the day dawned (early!!!) without rain, unfortunately that didn’t last! Week 4 at the Meadows saw our first Team entry for this year – a lovely early start to a Saturday morning. A slight change in the line-up at last minute (due to Erin Wallace’s horse unfortunately becoming lame the day before), saw Ruby Moore stepping up to the challenge. In order to keep their Team of 4, Ruby agreed to ride her sister’s horse as well as her own!
So – Lily Moore and Izzy went into the Arena first and kept a calm head. They took the first 8 jumps steadily and once the time started, they jumped confidently and surely, ensuring a double clear round in 40 seconds.
Next in was Ruby Moore on Pippa. The first jump was a breeze, but a stumble caused the next jump to be knocked over, incurring 4 faults. Undeterred, Ruby mentally picked herself up and completed the course in a speedy 30 seconds.
Tess followed on their heels with Elvis. Exuding confidence, they went clear in the first phase and then brought it up a notch to complete the second phase in another speedy time of 31 seconds and all clear.
Finally, after waiting for a couple of other schools to compete, Ruby re-entered the arena, this time on Izzy. Having had a bit of a breather, Izzy was nicely warmed up to go round the course again. Ruby confidently guided her round, picking up the pace whenever the speed phase started. The pair secured a double clear in 33 seconds.
I am delighted to say that their combined effort was strong enough to secure 3rd place in this week’s competition. This is no mean feat and a great boost for this young group – riding together as a Team for the first time. Congratulations!
Ruby and Pippa were also entered into the 85cm Individuals later on in the day and had a reasonable round. No jumps were knocked, but Pippa wasn’t so keen on a couple of them at first. With Ruby’s strong hand, she jumped them the second time. A good experience for the duo at this height.
Thanks to the girls and parents for coming up on the first Saturday of half term. It is much appreciated and, let’s face it, they couldn’t have had a better way than to start their holiday with a 3rd place position, rosettes and vouchers for the Tri shop! Well done Team ERGS.
Next Leg is Saturday 12th November.
