Fifteen-year-old Lola Graham landed British Eventing’s Project Pony Observation Trial at Lincolnshire riding 10-year-old 14.2hh gelding Wilfred Pickles. The pair pulled off a 26.5 dressage and added just 1.6-time penalties across country to finish on a winning score of 28.10.
Lola, who is on the Tier 3 Talent Pathway that supports youth riders transitioning out of age groups along with developing combinations aiming for European Championships, has owned ‘Wilf’ for a year. She said of her win: “It was our first run of the season, so I’m over the moon with Wilf. It’s taken a lot of preparation to get him to this point. He is a bit quirky but super talented, so it’s been about building his confidence and taking our time getting to know each other.
“We did BE100 and novice last season, and spent the winter training, and I feel like he has grown up so much. I’m so happy with how he took it all yesterday. The showjumping track was a fair test and although the cross-country wasn’t massive, there were some technical combinations which was great for our first run.
“I walked the show jumping course with Nicola Wilson and she gave me some really useful tips.”
Darrell Scaife, Head of Youth at British Eventing said: “It was a great day of youth competition at Lincolnshire today. Huge thanks to the organisers for hosting the U18 class.”
Nicola Wilson, squad coach said: “It was lovely to see riders in a competition environment. There were some solid performances from pony combinations, and it was a positive start to the season.”
The remaining British Eventing’s Project Pony Observation Trials are being run on the following dates:
- Larkhill PT Novice (6-7 April)
- Cirencester PT Novice (27-28 April)
- Aston Le Walls Final Trial (5-7 July)
- Bishop Burton PT 105 (26-28 July)
- Cornbury Horse Trials PT105 (12-15 September)
- Norton Disney PT Novice (25-27 October)
The British Eventing Pony Observation Trials, supported by Project Pony, form part of the Youth Eventing framework which offers access to age-specific training, education and competition opportunities across all ages and levels of experience. Further information on the British Eventing Youth Offer can be found here.
Further information on Project Pony and the support that they provide to young talented event riders can be found by visiting www.projectpony.co.uk
