Hot Competition at the BHS TREC Welsh Championships
Thursday, June 29, 2006
The sun blazed down on more than 100 riders who competed in the BHS TREC Welsh Championships, held at Tregoyd Mountain Riding Holidays on 17-18 June.
Scorching weather matched the hot competition with locally based Paul Turner taking the testing Level 4 Individual class and advertising his claim for a place in the British team at the European TREC Championships at Exmoor in September.
Paul rode his home-bred part-Welsh Cob, Magic, to victory, with Deborah Swan from Hampshire (Henley’s Rocket) coming in second and 2005 winner Hilary Barnard (Rhinefield Impulse) from Bristol in third place.
The first day’s mounted orienteering saw competitors tackling up to 40km of testing Black Mountain terrain in breathtaking scenery.
Tot Wall, Chef d’Equipe of the Senior British TREC Team, took the Level 3 Individual title riding Oakridge County, fending off Winchester-based Jennie Free (Samiracle) by one point and Jocelyn Templeman (Tamarisk) from Sussex who came third. Tot’s excellent second day performance in the Control of Paces and PTV obstacle phases saw her climb up the order to top the leader board.
Derbyshire’s Ian Macalindin (Connie) retained the Level 3 Pairs title he won in 2005 (with Nigel Robinson) with new riding partner Sheila Roberts from North Yorkshire and her veteran mare Hannah. Rachel Thomas (Woody) and Molly Watts (Crugmellyn Ben) from Pembroke were runners-up. Jane Anscombe (Miller) and Julie Joseph (Brimble) took third, and were part of the winning South West ‘Cream Teas’ Team with Paul Hardiman and Hilary Barnard.
Di Skippon, from East Sussex, the first to arrive on Thursday evening, saw her enthusiasm pay off as she took the Performance Equestrian Level 2 Individual title with her American Quarter Horse, Cherie. Relative newcomer to BHS TREC, Isobel Thomas (Moon River) from Swansea made her mark in second place, with Ali Large from West Sussex and her handsome grey Irish Draught/Thoroughbred Paramount in third.
The Level 2 Pairs title went to the ‘Lady and the Tramp’ team from South Wales, Pauline Crossland (Foxy Lady) and Theresa Nazer (Ripple) ahead of Jane Chivers (Alice) and Tom Rolfe (Seren), and third-placed Jacqui Mitchell (Charlie) and Danielle Connolly (Ruby).
The British Horse Society would like to thank Mr Hayden Jones and Messrs Evans-Bevans for their support for the event, and for the outstanding welcome at Tregoyd Mountain Riding Holidays.
Rob Jones, Senior Executive Competitions Department, said: “Tregoyd Mountain Riding Holidays and the Brecon Beacons National Park supplied the perfect setting for this premier event.
“The competitors tackled every problem that was presented to them with great skill, and the level of performance bodes well for our chances in the European Championships on Exmoor in September.”
Cllr Mrs Margaret Morris, former Chairman of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, was there to present the prizes. She said: “Brecon Beacons National Park has gained an outstanding reputation for having the perfect terrain to host top class riding events.
“The nature of our terrain, the quality of our bridleways and the spectacular scenery makes it an ideal location as a horse riding destination.
“We are very fortunate to have the ongoing support of BHS TREC and we certainly look forward to hosting future riding events like this one here in the National Park.”
Results for the Championships can be found on the BHS website www.bhs.org.uk
