Posted: 28th February 2014 | Back to news feed
The three winners from the 2013 EquestrianClearance.com BE80(T) Championships at Brooksby Melton College Horse Trials reaped the rewards as they received a lesson from top event rider Piggy French.
Natasha Dayment from Devon, Julia Woods from Suffolk and Natasha Miller from West Yorkshire all took part in a show jumping lesson with Piggy at her brand new yard near Kettering which has top class facilities.
Natasha rode her 10-year-old skewbald mare, Hatheru Cappuccino, who she has managed to produce with very limited facilities at home.
Said Natasha: “The lesson was excellent with Piggy, it is really nice to have a set of experienced eyes to give you pointers. In the lesson Piggy got us to focus more on our rhythm and approach to the fence rather than worrying about strides too far out. It has been a real confidence boost for us.”
Julia Woods won the Championships on Kate Simmons’ seven-year-old Connemara gelding, St Flannans Aodhan, but chose to bring her five-year-old home-bred Palomino ‘Custard’ for some top tips from Piggy.
Said Julia: “It was such a fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the best. Custard has done very little but showed he is brave and bold over the show jumps. The tips and pointers we received will definitely stand us in good stead for the future.”
Natasha Miller took her 10-year-old, 14.2hh grey Connemara gelding, Billy, hoping to gain advice that would set them up for the season ahead.
Said Natasha: “It is brilliant to have a lesson with a top rider like Piggy, it has been a great experience and a great prize to win as part of the EquestrianClearance.com BE80(T) Championships. We now have a few things we will be working on at home to prepare us for this year’s competitions.”
All three of the winners were new to the EquestrianClearance.com BE80(T) series last season and are hoping that this step up into British Eventing will see them move up to BE90 level over the year.
The EquestrianClearance.com BE80(T) series is designed to provide riders with an introduction in to the world of eventing. The aim of the championships are to provide an entry level to British Eventing with the focus on building confidence and improving access to training and more competition opportunities.
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