Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

22 August 2019 Horse&Hound 5

Pictures

by

Kevin

Sparrow,

Corbis

via

Getty

Images,

Getty

Images,

Peter

Nixon

British ponies bring home medal haul

BRITAIN’Stalentedponyriders

broughthometwogoldandthree

silvermedalsfromthe 2019

EuropeanChampionshipsfor

PoniesinStrzegom,Poland.

Theeventersleadthewaywith

teamgold,plusindividualgold

andsilver,whiletheshowjumpers

wona braceofsilvermedals.The

dressageteamfinishedjustoffthe

podiuminfourthplace,witha

numberofpersonalbestscores.

Britainwasdominantinthe

eventingtowinteamgoldbyover

18 penaltiesfromFranceinsilver,

whileIrelandtookbronze.

FinHealyridingMidnight

DancerIIjumpedupthe

leaderboardfromsixthafter

cross-countrytoclaimindividual

gold.IbbleWatsonfinishedonher

dressagescoreof32.7penalties

totakethesilvermedalon

BookhamlodgePennylane.

Theshowjumpingteam

competitionwasincrediblyclose,

witha thirdroundjump-off

requiredtoseparatethetop

teams.Irelandnarrowlypipped

theBritishteamtogold,whilethe

speedyFrenchtookthebronze

aheadofGermany.

Intheindividualcompetition

GreatBritain’sHollyTrueloveand

RexterD’Orsecuredindividual

silverina jump-offagainstFrench

riderIlonaMezzadrionCallas

RezidalZ.

Ireland’sMaxWachmanriding

CuffesgrangeCavalidamtook

individualgold.CP

●Fullreportsp34,p40,p

HORSES

IN THE NEWS

CLASSIC MOET

The 16-year-old winner of

Badminton 2019 has been

withdrawn from Burghley

after sustaining a puncture

wound to her knee during

her victorious cross-country

round in the British Open at

Gatcombe (4 August).

JEZKI

The eight-time Grade One

winner has been retired

following a glittering

career with trainer Jessica

Harrington. By Milan, the

11-year-old gelding won 16 of

his 39 starts including the

2014 Champion Hurdle.

ZIGA BOY

The dual Sky Bet Chase

winner has died aged 10

after sustaining a fatal injury

in retirement. The popular

grey, trained by Alan King,

took back-to-back victories

in the Grade One contest at

Doncaster in 2016 and 2017.

MAJORchangestotheBritish

Dressage(BD)AreaFestival

championshippathwayhavebeen

widelywelcomedbyriders.

ThePetplanEquineArea

Festivalchampionshipswillrun

undera newtwo-seasonformat

from 2020 withtheintroduction

ofa summerchampionship.

Qualificationforthesummer

AreaFestivalchampionshipsin

September 2020 willstarton 1

December,whilequalification

forthewinterAreaFestivalswill

beginon1 June 2020 forthe

championshipsinApril2021.

Otherchangesincludethe

introductionofa points-based

qualificationsystem(inlinewith

theregionalchampionships),the

incorporationofmusicclassesat

thesummerchampionships,and

the loss of separate classes for

under-21s at Area Festivals.

A spokesman for BD said

the initiatives were in “direct

response” to feedback received

from its members and “extensive

data analysis”, where 70% of

people in the 2019 membership

survey said the competition

structure was “too complex”.

“Most of our championship

finals fall in the third and fourth

quarter of the year. This results in

a congested programme at certain

times of the year, with limited

opportunities at other points in

the calendar,” said the spokesman.

“It was recognised that the

Area Festival championships

currently span over three rule

books and an 18-month time

Thechangetotheformatwillseetwochampionshipshows

heldeachyearwitha newsummerfinaladdedtotheseries

period, which in itself is far from

ideal from a planning perspective.

“Most importantly this does

not support progression through

the levels and has led to confusion

among some members.”

RIDERS’ REACTION

INTERNATIONAL dressage

rider Alice Oppenheimer, who

competes at gold level, told H&H

the changes are “largely positive”,

but said she understood why

bronze and silver riders found the

system complicated.

“The two-season format cuts

down the time from qualifying

to actual championships — 18

months is ridiculous. If people

arehappytostayata levelfora

year that’s fine, but we don’t want

them to feel they are holding

themselves back in order to do a

championship,” she said.

“Changing to a points-based

system has got to be better.”

Trainer and silver rider Tiggi

Bentley told H&H she thinks the

changes will encourage riders to

progress, but said the structure is

still “complex”.

“People qualifying through

points like they do for regionals

does make it a little simpler, but

at the moment the bronze, silver,

gold structure is still incredibly

complicated. So many people miss

out on qualifications because they

don’t understand what they’re

eligible for and what their horse

is eligible for,” she said.

ByBECKYMURRAY

Area Festivals given

fresh look for 2020

The Area Festivals will now include a summer championship show