THE Balmoral Performance Championship qualifier at Gransha Equestrian Centre, Bangor was a very successful day. The course, designed and built by Simon Jackson, rode exceptionally well for the the Four and Five-year-olds and added to the scoring system, allocating 25 points for ‘way of going’ while jumping and 10 points for conformation in hand, judged by Angela Fynn, produced a very pleasing result.
Winning the young horse class was Kathryn Graham riding her lovely four-year-old, ‘So Dignified’ by ‘Dignified vant Zorgvlient’, out of a ‘Ricardo Z’ mare.
Second was ‘Fun Time Frankie’, owned and ridden by Vicki Mullen; third went to Viola Wilson’s ‘Ardglen Star Happiness’, ridden by Emma Jackson. The final horse to qualify was Alexandra Ryan’s new young mare, ‘Carnally Cobanna’, which Alexandra rode herself.
The course was altered for the second class, which was for horses six years and older.
There were more challenges in this course that caught a few riders out, but the qualifying combinations had excellent rounds and will give some rider and horse combinations an opportunity to compete in the main arena at Balmoral Show in September that, in normal years, would have no particular competition.
The lucky combinations were Megan Nelson riding ‘Fancy Trend’; Megan Carson on ‘Fair and Square’, Cerys Howell riding ‘Keyford Highrise’ and ‘Drakes Island’, ridden by Lucy Arthur.
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