Talented Ackworth trio turn on style

The club had 66 entries for the Area 4 Riding Club summer dressage and showjumping qualifiers held, after a switch of venue, at Epworth.

Ackworth enjoyed a cracking start to the competition with a win for their junior novice show-jumping team of Leila Edwards, Edward Hardy, Victoria Wilson and Isobel Hardy.

This success was quickly followed by a victory for the club’s junior intermediate show-jumping team, including Alex Proctor, Eliza Yeardley, Bryony Lugton and Chloe Naismith.

In securing wins, both teams sealed qualification for the national championships in September. Next in action for Ackworth were the seniors, who produced an individual first and another championship qualifier through Chloe Carnevale on Bertie Bassett in the novice senior showjumping.

The team also finished fourth in the intermediate class. Several Ackworth members then took part in the style jumping for the first time, where marks are based on the rider’s performance rather than the horse’s.

Three Ackworth members won their sections; Lizzie Reid on Newmiln Laksidaisikal, Alex Johnson on Its Romeo and junior member Eliza Yeardley on Prince.

The trio also secured qualification for the nationals.

Ackworth had two further team placings in the style jumping with the senior Ackworth Blue team coming sixth and the junior purple team finishing second and just missing out on the qualifying spot.

Ackworth had less luck in the dressage, but Margaret Smith on her home-bred youngster Moulin Rouge was fourth in the preliminary riding test.

A fourth-place finish was also sealed by the Ackworth Gold team in the senior riding test.

Ackworth press officer Alex Johnson said: “Congratulations to all of the riders who qualified. There was a fantastic team spirit throughout the whole weekend for the club and I’m sure a good weekend was had by all.”

A few days earlier, Ackworth had 14 riders take part in the Area 4 Horse Trails at Breckenbrough.

In warm weather, the club came away with a total of 20 rosettes in both team and individual placings.

Particularly impressive were Ackworth’s two senior 90 teams, who came second and third in the team placings. The second-placed team comprised Kathryn Parker, Lizzie Reid and Joanna Anderson and are now hoping for an invite to the Championships, which will take place in August.

The Senior 80 team came sixth while individual riders Ian Pycock (100+ class) and junior Eliza Yeardley (100 class) finished sixth and fourth, respectively.

They jumped clears in both the showjumping and cross-country disciplines.

Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin continued her preparations for next month’s World Equestrian Games by returning to winning ways at Aachen Show in Germany.

The British star recovered from a poor grand prix performance in Aachen to win the freestyle competition aboard her London 2012 horse Valegro.

Dujardin will bid for a clean sweep of Olympic, European and world titles in just over five weeks.

There was no joy for British showjumpers Scott Brash and Ben Maher in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix.

In the eventing competition, Izzy Taylor and Orlando were the highest-placed British combination, claiming fourth spot behind an all-German top three of Sandra Auffarth (Opgun Louvo), Ingrid Klimke (FRH Escada) and Michael Jung (La Biosthetique-Sam).