South West defend their title at Youth Inter Regionals

Over 160 riders descended on Keysoe Equestrian for the 2019 Youth Inter Regional on the weekend of 28 – 30 June, with more than forty teams of riders aged between eight and 25 contesting the team championship.

Defending their 2018 Inter Regional title, it was South West who took home the trophy for the top performances by the quartet of riders in their Donald Ducks team. With riders across four different Squads; Hannah Clack (C+), Alexa Palmer (B), Florence Human (B+) and Chloe Dawes (A), the team posted a combined winning total of 531 – seven marks clear of the Southern Titanium team in second place on 524. South West also took the final place on the team podium with the Daffy Ducks (scoring 523.5), closely followed by North West Salinero in fourth, Scotland Rhythm and Suppleness in fifth and Northern Revolution in sixth.

Every region demonstrated great teamwork and dedication over the weekend and despite the sudden heatwave all of the young riders showed great support for one another and presented some top performances in the Rider Skills Tests.

Despite having travelled all of the way from Scotland to Keysoe, young rider Abigail Gray (Rascal) dominated the D Squad individual competition all weekend scoring 95.8 on Saturday and 94.4 on Sunday to top the podium on Sunday evening. The C squad individual title was taken by Southern rider Kate Hewson on her own Laithehill Flute and the C+ title went to Central rider Alexzandra Houldcroft.

Member of the third placed team South West Daffy Ducks, Daisy Davies and Armarda Dyffryncothi Bridget also took the individual title in B squad, with fellow South West rider Florence Human (member of the winning South West team Donald Ducks) also topping the podium in the B+ individual competition scoring over 90 on both days. Lying seventh after Saturday’s test in the sweltering heat, Tom O’Bryan (also from South West) had a runaway victory on Sunday scoring 93.5 to take the title for A Squad. In the new squad for 2019, Northern region’s Charlotte Clark on her 6 year old OFS Ferrari pulled off two great performances in the A Young Horse Rider Skills Tests to score consistently in the mid-eighties on both Saturday and Sunday.

BD Youth Development Co-ordinator Hannah James said; “Throughout the weekend at Keysoe every region demonstrated great teamwork and the importance of the great support teams behind every rider was highlighted in the sweltering heat! Thank you to all of the enthusiastic riders who showcased the values of BD Youth over the weekend, and thanks also to the parents and families, Youth Reps, coaches and Ambassadors who provided behind the scenes support to each and every horse and rider in the competition. We’re grateful as ever to Simon Bates and the team at Keysoe for putting on another fantastic competition.”

Congratulations to all of the winning teams and individuals, and to everyone who took part.

Team Standings:

1. South West Donald Ducks – H Clack, A Palmer, F Human, C Dawes – 531
2. Southern Titanium – D Marcus, N McDonald, K Hewson, J Garrett – 524
3. South West Daffy Ducks – O Luscombe, K Palmer, D Davies, O R Robertson – 523.5
4. North West Salinero – C Chan, J Finney, D Marshall, S Marston – 521.9
5. Scotland Rhythm & Suppleness – A Gray, S Donaldson, E Sutherland, Z Florence – 521.2
6. Northern Revolution – A Hurst, Z L Monks, P Corner, B Edginton - 517.9

Individual winners:

• A Squad champion – Tom O’Bryan with DHI du Rouet (SW Daisy Ducks)
• B+ Squad champion – Florence Human with Fulgencio (SW Donald Ducks)
• B Squad champion – Daisy Davies with Armarda Dyffryncothi Bridget (SW Daffy Ducks)
• C+ Squad champion – Alexzandra Houldcroft with Cavallia Herself (Central Calipo)
• C Squad champion – Kate Hewson with Laithehill Flute (Southern Titanium)
• D Squad champion – Abigail Gray with Rascal (Scotland Rhythm & Suppleness)