It’s been another successful day for the Brits at the European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders, with both our teams sitting in the silver medal position at the end of the dressage phase.
Competing on home soil at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, all our riders representing Great Britain under the title sponsor banner of Team NAF have continued to do us proud – posting some superb scores over the two days of dressage to keep us at the top end of the leader boards.
Top performances from our Young Riders
Our Team NAF Young Riders knew they would be facing another tough onslaught from the Germans on the second day of dressage in the European Championship for Young Riders supported by Commscope Ruckus and, sure enough, in the team competition the German riders have managed to take a small lead. However, strong performances from Millie Juleff and Molly Faulkner have kept Britain in the Silver medal position and limited the Germans lead to less than 5 penalties.
Millie Juleff and All We Need got the day off to a great start, producing a lovely test for a score of 31.4. This was valuable score for the team and good enough to move them into the Top 10 individually, lying tenth by the end of the dressage.
Molly Faulkner and Call me Cooley were the last of the Young Rider team to perform their test and they too delivered a solid score in the low 30s (32.4), leaving the British quartet on a team score of 93.2 and lying in the silver medal position as we head into the jumping.
Dressage top spot for Phoebe
Not only are Great Britain sitting in the team silver medal position, but we are also sitting in the individual gold medal position thanks to a stunning performance from Phoebe Hughes and Top Biats – competing this week as an individual. Phoebe rode the test of her life to deliver a superb score of 25.7 and take a 1.3 penalty lead over the rest of the field after dressage.
“I am absolutely delighted to be leading going into cross country at such a prestigious event with an incredible atmosphere,” said Phoebe. “Top really rose to the occasion and felt incredible the whole way through. The support from the whole team is amazing, from the vets, physio, coaches, teammates, and Darrell. It’s been such a great start to the week, and I can’t wait to crack on with the weekend.”
Team NAF Juniors keep hold of silver
Our Team NAF Junior riders remain in the team silver medal position in the European Championship for Juniors supported by Hartpury University after a strong second day of dressage.
Jasmine Underwood and Indian Girl G were first up for the British team on day two, producing a beautiful test to match the score of her team-mate Finn Healy, 31.1. This was good news for the team and left them in equal tenth position individually.
“The team atmosphere is great,” said Jasmine after her test. “Everyone is so friendly and supportive, and it feels amazing to be here with such a super horse and everyone here as such an amazing support team; the vets, physios, grooms and coaches to help both me and her perform the best we possibly can. I feel I am so lucky to be able to have my first team experience on home soil with the British supports behind us.”
Isabelle Cook and Mexican Law had the longest wait of any of the British combinations to get their campaign underway, as one of the last competitors to enter the arena. Their performance was well worth the wait as they delivered a brilliant test for a score 0f 26.6. Not only did this score keep the Brits in the silver medal position – less than two penalties behind Germany – but it was also good enough to move Isabelle and Mexican Law into the silver medal position individually.
“It was such an exciting day for me, with Mexican Law putting in a personal best at our first Europeans,” said Isabelle. “I felt the pressure today as my teammates had all put in solid performances, which has now put us in a close second behind the Germans. I’m looking forward to the cross country over a decent beautifully built course. The scores are so close, so will be so exciting.”
It was a good day all round for the Team NAF British riders with Holly Clarke, competing as an individual, also moving into the Top 10. Holly produced a fabulous test with Nico for a score of 30.5 which left them lying seventh.
With the dressage complete, it is exciting to see five British combinations sitting in the Top 12 as we look forward to cross country day.
“We’ve enjoyed another good morning of dressage with both squads producing some impressive test results ahead of tomorrow’s cross country,” said Youth Performance Manager, Darrell Scaife. “The riders are ready and focussed for the challenge ahead.”
Super Saturday – A jam-packed day of cross country action!
With the scores so tight in each championship, it’s all to play for tomorrow over Eric Winter’s cross country courses.
“It’s a tricky track with some strong angles and they’ve used the undulation of the ground really well,” said Team NAF Junior rider, Finn Healy. “I think it will be a tough test for both horse and rider and we’ll see how it goes on Saturday morning.”
Cross country gets underway at 9.30am for the Juniors and 1.30pm for Young Riders. You can find all start times and follow live results here.
Team NAF British rider times:
Juniors
9.51am Finn Healy & Fathers Compromise
10.39am Grace Donnor & Cooley Ramiro
10.54am Jaymee Savill & Grange Ash Sparrow
11.03am Holly Clarke & Nico
11.39am Jasmine Underwood & Indian Girl G
12.24pm Isabelle Cook & Mexican Law
Young Riders
13.45pm Alice Casburn & Topspin
13.57pm Polly Muirhead & Penhill Touch of Class
14.21pm Ibble Watson & Aristoteles S Z
15.09pm Millie Juleff & All We Need
15.15pm Phoebe Hughes & Top Biats
15.45pm Molly Faulkner & Call me Cooley
Don’t forget, you will be able to watch all the cross country action live courtesy of Clip My Horse here.
British Eventing would like to thank NAF, title sponsors of the Junior and Young Rider Eventing Teams. Thanks also go to Event Collection, Fairfax & Favor, Holland Cooper Equestrian, LeMieux, Racesafe Equestrian and Welligogs who are further supporting the teams with kit.
