The novice challenge team of Carmen Lawrence, Zoe Lodder (not pictured), and Connie and Megan Isaac finished a very respectable fouth place, from a field of some 16 or so teams, with a total score of eight faults.

Carmen and Megan both had double clears to make it through to the final jump off and Megan rode a brilliant triple clear on her pony Llanidan Prince to secure third place and qualify for the finals at Cheshire.

Unfortunately Megan was unable to travel to the championships as Prince injured himself the night before travelling, so hopefully seeing this on the website may cheer her up.

(This photo of Megan + Prince is reproduced by courtesy of Suspended Animation photography.)

Katie was the sole competitor for Tiverton Pony club at the Area Tetrathlon and qualified as an individual to Represent Area 15 and Tiverton Pony Club, at the Tetrathlon Nationals at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.

Katie and Lola had a great time supported by Jillie Whitcombe, Heather, Paul, Mo, Ben and Jess Furneaux who were also there. Katie managed a personal best for the swim and run and her and Lola got safely round the Cross Country course which was the biggest they have ever seen!

She would like to thank Paul and Mo for all their help in getting her this far and thank you to Jillie for her support and advice.

Novice Challenge:

The Novice Challenge team was first to compete with Zoe Lodder, Alice Spicer-Edwards, Katie Paul and Carmen Lawrence, and Josie Vos competing for the first time at this level as an individual. The dressage tests were very nicely ridden and we were well placed after the first phase. The showjumping and XC were well up to height but the team coped very well. Alice jumped a lovely clear round showjumping with Milo and although the XC proved to be testing for our novice members everyone rode very well and Josie Vos came back smiling after a lovely XC round and, I believe, a personal best. Carmen Lawrence had a very good day with her novice pony Wellstan Serenity, they were well placed after dressage and a double clear was good enough to secure them 2nd place and individual qualification for the Novice Championships in Cheshire at the end of August. So, fingers crossed for a good day and we hope it goes well.

The Novice Challenge squad

The intermediates were up next with team members Alexa Batting, Kate Kittow, Katie English and Withheld. Again the dressage went very well with some lovely tests being ridden, it was good to see that the hard work and training paid off. Showjumping and XC were again both up to height with a couple of tricky off set fences including a corner on a turn. we were very excited after the SJ as Alexa and Kate had jumped lovely clear rounds whilst Katie and Withheld only had a few faults so the team was well placed going into the XC. And then came the downpour! A very heavy storm which made the already wet ground very slippery. Although it had stopped raining by the time the girls rode XC they had got wet through whilst waiting to start and reins and saddles were very wet indeed. Again Alexa and Kate jumped clear rounds and Kate came home inside the time. Withheld had an unfortunate run out coming out of the water and Katie and Lola slipped into a narrow fence on top of a mound which was entirely due to the wet ground under foot. The team finished 4th and Kate was 8th individually so everyone was well pleased with a successful result.

Area

The Open Area team had a slightly long drawn out day as they had been required to do dressage mid-morning and then were the last section to run in the SJ and XC. We sent a team of 4 who were Rupert Batting, David Hodnett, Harry Rowcliffe and Emma Selby, and Cobi Lawrence was an individual. The dressage phase went very well with all 5 members producing good tests and we were in 2nd place going into the SJ which proved a very influential phase for the other teams. Our Tiverton team almost all jumped clear with one or two time faults between them and we were in the lead going into the XC. Again the team and individual did themselves proud producing good rounds on wet ground at the end of a long day. Everyone jumped clear with Harry, Emma and Cobi coming home inside the time so this put us into first place and the team qualified for the Chamionships. The final results were a win for the Tiverton team, Harry was the overall winner, with David second and Rupert third, Emma was well placed in 6th and won an extra rosette for a double clear as did Harry. Now we are off to Draycott in Derbyshire competing on 18 August so fingers crossed that everyone keeps well and horses stay sound.

Well done to Tiverton Hunt competitorJordan White ( on William) who gained a 4th Individual Place, 1st Mixed Team Place and Best Shoot in her Class.

Joseph White (on Roxanne) and Jodie White (on Fright) came 4th Mixed Team Place in their class.

Here is a family group - quite a day out!

The 'blue' team of Pippa Vos, Connie and Megan Isaac and Heidi Stevens had a well deserved team win after a good run of second and third placings recently.

This photo shows the Tiverton Blue team being presented with their shield (Click on photo to see full size).

Hot on their heels in second place were the Tiverton Reds, Rosie Greene, Saskia Partridge, Molly Watson and Ellie Greene, both teams finishing on a zero score.

Here is the Red team (Click on photo to see full size).

Tiverton almost 'cleaned up' the individual placings with Megan 2nd, Heidi 3rd, Connie 4th, Molly 5th and Ellie 6th.

Placings were reversed in the 14 and under class with the 'reds' 4th (Lucy Downs replacing Rosie) and the 'blues' 5th. Molly Watson had the only double clear for Tiverton.

Congratulations to our mini showjumpers who swept the board at the same event.

In class 1 our winning blue team consisted of Harriet Pick (Done Over), Thomas Stevens (Toffee), Anna Downs (Astra), Withheld (May Time); with individual placings going to: 1st Harriet Pick, 4th Withheld, 5th Thomas Stevens, 6th Anna Downs; with Jodie White (Fright) having a brilliant double clear.

This is the blue team with their rosettes:

In class 2 our Tiverton Yellows were once again victorious with the team consisting of Rosie Greene (Clyde), Harriet Pick (Done Over), Withheld (May Time), Anna Downs (Astra). Individual placings were: 1st Harriet Pick, 4th Withheld, 5th Withheld (April), 6th Anna Downs (Astra).

This is the yellow team with their shield

A big thank you to all our minis who came along and had a go: Withheld, Withheld, Withheld, Thomas Hawkes and Joseph White all of whom did Tiverton Pony club proud.

If you would like to have a go at mini showjumping please give Julie Pick a call on 01823 674112 or e-mail pickmum@aol.com

Well done to our team of Esther Daykin, Connie Isaac, Megan Isaac and Heidi Stevens who competed in two open classes against all ages. They were 3rd in the 2'3"- 2'6" with Esther placed 6th individually, and 4th in the 2'6"-2'9" with Megan placed 5th individually. They finished on a zero score in both classes.

The photo shows (left to right): Esther, Connie, Megan and Heidi. (Click on the photo to see full size)

Congratulation to (from the left) Charlotte Hare, Louise Kittow, Jemma Murphy, Josie Vos, Withheld and Esther Daykin who all achieved their C+ test on the 16th April.

Thanks also to the examiners Georgina Leach and Sue Marshall; and especially also to trainer Emily Wotton.

This was a brilliant result from a relatively young team.

I've been given this photo to post, but I have no idea who the people in it are!
Though clearly they had a successful day.

Amended 22/4/09: A secret informant has now revealed who these are, from left to right: Tom Hare, Withheld, Will Cookson and Withheld. She (well, that cuts out 50% of the population) also describes them as "A very successful combination of boys." Well done chaps!

Josie & Pippa Vos, Heidi & Tom Stevens and Jemma Murphy were presented with the Blue Cross Equine Welfare Merit Award for obtaining 10 equine welfare badges :- Bandaging & Rugs, Care of the Horse's Foot, Feeding, First Aid (Equine), Handling & Grooming, Lorinery, Mucking Out, Perfect Paddock, Saddlery and Shoeing.

They were presented their awards by James & Tricia Pugh and Charlie the dog from the Blue Cross. Also in the photo is Emily Wotton who was responsible for all the training.

Click on photos to see a larger version

Tiverton Pony club completed a successful day with an impressive performance in the Open Class of the Eventers' Challenge. The team of Alexa Batting, Rupert Batting, Cobi Lawrence, Carmen Lawrence, were all local Tiverton school pupils. The course started with a range of show jumps and then led straight into a timed phase over cross-country fences. The placing were based on the fastest clear round. Alexa set the scene with a good clear, Rupert followed with a faster time, taking some tight turns over the XC section, but had one fence down. Carmen kept the team's hopes alive with a strong fast clear round, taking chances wherever possible. Cobi rode well on her more inexperienced horse, also having one fence down. This consistent performance as a team secured 2nd place overall, one fence behind Polden Hills, but importantly 1 second faster than Weston Harriers.

Team results: 1st Polden Hills; 2nd Tiverton; 3rd Weston Harriers; 4th Quantock; 5th Polden Hills.

The junior team of Molly Watson (again!), Nell Baillie, Connie Isaac and Lucy Downs came 6th as a team in strong competition. Lucy did the open class individually and was placed 5th.

This photo shows Lucy, Megan, Molly, Connie and Nell (click to see larger version)