WOW…..!! What a weekend, and what a performance!!
Saturday at Kelsall started with Jo Glover being the lone competitor for ECCTG, with other members of the Open team falling by the wayside as injuries took hold. Always one to rise to the occasion, Jo put in a cracking performance against a strong field and came 2nd, qualifying In Vogue for the Open Horse Trials Championship at Aston Le Walls. Many thanks to Andrea Ash who stepped in as Chef D’equipe on the day as I wasn’t able to be there.
Open Individual: 2nd – Jo Glover – In Vogue
After a night of non-stop heavy rain, we were all wondering whether Kelsall would run. True to form they carried on….. but it was the first time I have ever seen the ground at Kelsall look cut up! With the dressage arenas becoming very deep in places, all ECCTG competitors put in credible performances leaving our 2 Novice Teams and 1 Intermediate Team in strong positions. The show jumping track brought its usual share of problems with faults scattered around, although the majority of our team members jumped clear, thus enabling us to retain our strong position going into the XC phase.
The XC phase was executed by each and every ECCTG Novice team competitor achieving faultless performances…. the ECCTG Ladies are cross-country machines! There was no stopping them and whilst other clubs racked up cricket scores, these ladies just kept pushing through. At one time it looked likely we would get a 1st AND 2nd, but some inaccurate initial scoring moved one of our teams down from 2nd to 3rd – doh!! However, we held onto 1st place, resulting in yet more success for the club with ECCTG riders qualifiying for the championships.
Novice Team:
Nicki, Helen, Amy and Hannah
1st
Helen Graham – Sergeant Pepper
Amy Lennon – Hardy’s Well
Nicki Toomer – Daytona
Hannah Mulliner – Ballybane Hugo
Kim, Hannah and Jo
3rd
Christine Guildford – Slievecroob Victoria’s Dream
Kim Cummins – Pengoch Jonah
Hannah Leech – Welton Chillipepper
Jo Glover – Teddy Edward
Novice Individual:
Section A
1st – Hannah Leech – Welton Chillipepper
3rd – Helen Graham – Sergeant Pepper
Section B
1st – Nicki Toomer – Daytona
3rd – Jo Glover – Teddy Edward
Next, the Intermediate Team had a hard act to follow on the XC. Hannah Mulliner and Amy Lennon jumped round clear and fast, unfortunately obtaining penalties for being too quick. This seemed to be the order of the day for most Intermediate competitors, since many were penalised for being too quick – maybe the time hadn’t been altered following removal of a fence…..? Brook Butler was given an unfortunate 20 penalties for a step back at the drop (we were all holding our breath, hoping the jump judge would be kind!), and Lucy Filby had some problems at the beginning of the course. Sadly, both the stop and the time penalties proved expensive and the team slipped down the placings and missed qualifying, but still achieved a really creditable 5th place.
Intermediate Team:
Lucy, Lisa, Amy and Brook
5th
Hannah Mulliner – Sophie
Brook Butler – Templebrook Boy
Amy Lennon – Snow Joke
Lucy Filby – Fatalistic
Intermediate Individual: 5th – Amy Lennon – Snow Joke
Congratulations to ALL our members who took part and joined in. We had a lot of fun and hope you enjoy the photos! If you would like to be part of the team next year, don’t hesitate to contact Lisa Deaville at lisadeaville@nullhotmail.co.uk. We won the Novice Area Qualifier in 2009, 2011 and now 2012…. let’s make it a triple for 2013!
The East Cheshire Ladies with Chef D'Equipe Lisa Deaville