With just a few months to go until the NAF Five Star BE80 Championships at Bramham International Horse Trials, we caught up with intrepid qualified riders to find out how they are preparing for this year’s event.
If you have qualified for this year’s Championship, taking place on 6-8 June, don’t miss your chance to join the fun – entries open on 29th April.
Phoebe Rumble and Are U Ok
Yard manager Phoebe Rumble and her ‘perfect allrounder’ Are U Ok, aka Annie, are full steam ahead for this year’s NAF 5* BE80 Championships.
“Annie is my amazing horse that I’ve come on this journey with. After buying her in lockdown as an eight-year-old blank canvas, I got her out and about, seeing the world through British Riding Clubs with Chislehurst & Rushmore Riding Club, where we qualified for BRC Novice Dressage Championships 2022 coming 5th, NAF 5* BRC Combined Championships achieving 1st & 4th and BRC Dressage to Music Championships 2023 placing 2nd.
“Annie has proven to be the perfect all-rounder and has helped me to achieve my goal to make the step up to BE and get out eventing. The recent series on Horse & Country TV ‘Cobs Can Go Eventing’ has driven us to work harder than ever, to prove that they really can, and that you don’t need a flashy sports horse to be successful. My love for dressage combined with the excitement of the jump phases make it, for me, the perfect sport.
“Annie and I debuted our British Eventing journey in 2023 BE80 at Tweseldown (2), and with a lovely dressage, one unlucky pole show jumping and a clear cross-country inside the time, we managed fifth place and a qualification for the regionals! The regionals at Blindley Heath was an amazing experience and our first long arena dressage on grass, along with a technical course, so I was super pleased finishing 13th. Little did I know we were in the top 20% and had qualified for the NAF 5* BE80 Championship at our second ever event!
“Annie was turned away over the winter as I’m a big believer in letting horses have some downtime. She was then slowly brought back to work on an eight-week fitness program with Munstead (1) being our first event of the 2024 season to aim for. In this time, my farrier, physio, vets and instructors helped to make sure she was feeling great and in the best condition. I couldn’t do any of it without them.
“Since finding out we qualified for the championships, we have been training non-stop. I love keeping our work varied from lunging, longlining, hacking and hill work, and we also have regular schooling sessions with BD listed judge and coach Tania Dahdi. Our jump/cross-country lessons are with 4* event rider Alycia Port who we have learnt a great deal about this sport from. With Alycia’s guidance we are in the process of making a training programme to make sure we arrive at Bramham on top form! I hope to also get out to combined training, show jumping and hunter trials to see a range of courses.
“We are so thankful for the opportunity these championships give to grassroots riders as it’s a massive goal to work towards and makes the sport super inclusive and shows that hard work really does pay off!”
More information about the Championship can be found here – https://www.britisheventing.com/compete/championships/be80-championship
To watch Horse & Country TV Cobs Can Go Eventing series, click here https://horseandcountry.tv/series/335935632
