Lara Whiteway, riding her mother Sharon’s Cantares Brave Z took the honours in the second qualifying competition at Arena UK in Allington, Grantham, for the jointly sponsored Team Murka and World Class Programme U23 British Championship Final that will take place at the London International Horse Show, Olympia in December 2012.
The competition, which is open to riders aged 23 years or under, attracted 23 entries that produced five clear rounds over an up to height technical course built by Di Boddy; Lara Whiteway riding Cantares Brave Z, World Class Development riders, Joe Clayton riding Jes Nielsen’s Mr Darcy V and Tim Page riding Trevor Sturman’s Quentin Tarantino, together with Jake Saywell riding Ann Gascoine’s Cornelius 27 and Jessica Dimmock riding her mother Jackie’s Capello II.
In the jump-off all five riders again produced clear rounds, with Lara winning in a time of 31.66 seconds edging out Joe Clayton, whose time of 31.73 seconds was two seconds quicker than third placed rider, Tim Page. Jake Saywell was fourth in a time of 34,28 seconds with Jessica Dimmock fifth in a time of 36.57 seconds. Max Routlege riding Tiandra who had two-time faults in the first round claimed the sixth-placed Training Voucher.
Corinne Bracken, Junior and Young Rider Chef d’Equipe, who watched the class, commented, “It was a very good class, the course really showed the technical aspect that Di Boddy had built, which influenced the decisions made by the riders on the distances that they rode. What I found exciting was the junior riders raising their game at this level, so much so that a junior rider won the class and another being placed fourth. Jessica Dimmock’s horse, Capello II, who had returned from having a break and was first to go in the jump-off, jumped a super clear round, that the other riders then matched, but in quicker times. Once again the Team Murka and World Class Development Programme U23 competition is showing the talent we have in this country coming to the fore”.
Team Murka is a sponsorship vehicle for sailing and showjumping and is committed to pursuing excellence in both sports. They sponsor British showjumper, Peter Charles, his family and his Team; supporting him to build a world class team of horses with a specific focus on the London Olympic Games in 2012 and beyond. Team Murka is extending this support to help build the future of showjumping in Great Britain by sponsoring the Under 23 Championship Series and Final at Olympia and the young Charles Team of Harry (a winner at Olympia, 2010), Scarlett and Sienna Charles.
Team Murka are currently involved in upgrading the main Equestrian Complex of the Central Russian Army Sporting Club in Moscow, plus the organization & prize money for a series of Summer and Winter showjumping competitions held at the facility. The main objective of these competitions is to raise the level of involvement and the standard of showjumping in Russia, including children, junior & young riders, amateurs and professionals. Sponsorship also extends to supporting two Russian riders.
The World Class Development Programme is Lottery and Exchequer funded via UK Sport, and seeks to identify and develop talented athletes who have shown the potential to reach the world stage. The Programme underpins World Class Performance and, together with the Equine Pathway, they comprise the Equestrian World Class Programme, incorporating the three Olympic sports of dressage, eventing and showjumping, and the Paralympic sport of para-equestrian dressage.
The Programmes work closely with the three British Equestrian Federation Olympic Member Bodies; British Dressage, British Eventing and British Showjumping, whose own training and competition programmes work hand in hand with the programmes run within World Class.
There will be a further four qualifying competitions in the series; The Hand Equestrian Centre, Saturday, 17th March and three during September and November 2012. These dates will be available on the British Showjumping website in March.
