The latest winners of the performance prize money paid out to the riders leading British Eventing’s new Grassroots Opposition Beaten Percentage (OBP) Leagues have been announced. They will each receive a pay-out of up to £300 after topping the leagues at the end of the two-month period for May and June.
The Leagues have been designed around the concept of the Opposition Beaten Percentage (OBP), the brainchild of Equiratings, and acknowledge how competitive a combination was in a particular class – the greater the number of fellow competitors that they finished ahead of, the better the score.
Find out more about the leagues, and how you could be winning your share of this amazing prize pot, here.
Prize money is paid out every other month to the person at the top of each of the leagues, as well as the overall winners at the end of the season. The bi-monthly ‘Performance Bonus’ can only be won once within each league, and it will go down the line if the current leader has already won it in the season.
MAY/JUNE WINNERS
Newcomer OBP League and BE80 OBP League – Emily Tamblyn and Knockenpower Rory
Emily Tamblyn will be the first rider to receive a double pay-out – a whopping £400 – after topping both the Newcomer OBP League and the BE80 OBP League with Knockenpower Rory. She will receive the Performance Bonus of £200 for each of the two leagues thanks to their OBP of 98.9% for May/June.
“I Purchased Knockenpower Rory (Pinky to his friends) in January 2021 as a hunter,” said Emily. “After a 10-year break from the Eventing scene, I thought I would give it another go. And wow did Pinky go above and beyond my expectations. I was incredibly lucky that he was produced so well by Helen Pavey.
“I’m very fortunate to have an amazing team at home on the Cornwall/Devon border that help me all year round, so a big thank you to Lizzie Luxton who found my horse of a lifetime.
“The BE OPE leagues are a fantastic idea, and I couldn’t be more chuffed to come away with not only the pay-out for the BE80 league but also the Newcomer league too!”
BE90 OBP League – Hannah Broadhurst and Cashing Shadows
Hannah Broadhurst and Cashing Shadows will receive a pay-out of £250 after topping the BE90 OBP League. Their OBP was 98.6% for May/June 2022.
“I am absolutely delighted to win the BE90 OBP League for May and June with Blue (Cashing Shadows). Blue always gives her best and is a lovely horse to both ride and to be around. My mum bought her as a youngster and she was slowly brought into work, as she measures in now at 18hh! We soon discovered that she loved her jumping and I have had the pleasure of eventing her. We started competing at BE80 level at events in Scotland and Cumbria before moving up to BE90 level. We recently competed in our first BE100 event at Alnwick Ford. Blue has been brilliant at BE90 and we are honoured to have won this new award from British Eventing.
“It is excellent that BE are recognising the importance of grassroots riders and the role we play within the sport. It feels amazing to have been recognised for consistent results and hopefully this award aids myself and Blue with our continued journey with the aim of qualifying for the British Eventing Grassroots Championship at Badminton.”
BE100 OBP League – Sue Chadwick and Santiago Rusinol
Sue Chadwick and Santiago Rusinol will receive a pay-out of £300 for the BE100 OBP League. Sue was sitting second in the league with her OBP of 96% for May/June 2022 but as the current leader, Lola Graham and Djakota EB, has already a Performance Bonus this season (she received the first pay-out for March/April) the money is awarded to Sue.
“I am delighted to have won this prize, more so for Russell (Santiago Rusinol) than myself as he’s such a star and tries so hard, he really deserves it. I got him last December when he had been turned away for six months, and prior to that he had been produced by Alex Farrar- Fry who has done a great job. I just wanted a nice horse to have some fun on.
“I have competed lots in the past but over the last 10 years I have been competing less and coaching more (I am BE U18 Coach for the Northern region). When I went to my first event on Russell, it was my first event for over a year as a rider. But I’m definitely getting back into competing more now, so the prize money will pay a few entry fees! There’s always something to spend money on where horses are involved!”