‘A fantastic championship’: British pony riders claim gold, individual glory for Ireland
Great Britain’s pony showjumpers proved themselves absolute superstars by winning team gold at the FEI Pony European Championships in Belgium on Friday (26 July).
The quartet of pathfinder Katie Bradburne (Westpoint Foreign Affair), Hollie Gerken on Galaxy V, Sophia Rogers (Neil 55) and Cate Kerr riding Cindy were crowned champions at Sentower Park on a team score of eight, a fence ahead of Germany in silver with Ireland claiming bronze.
“The night before, I told them they were all capable of jumping clear, the course would be harder and others above them might have faults – and we kept jumping clear and put the pressure on,” said Great Britain’s chef d’equipe Clare Whitaker. “They all played their part and we had great team spirit.”
2024 Pony European showjumping championships: gold for Ireland’s Jack Kent
Sixteen-year-old Katie Bradburne and the eight-year-old British-bred Westpoint Foreign Affair jumped three faultless rounds during the 2024 Pony European team championship while her team-mates more than held their own, accumulating no more than four faults across the testing tracks under enormous pressure.
In Sunday’s individual championship, Katie sadly dropped out of medal contention but Ireland’s team bronze medal-winning rider Jack Kent had an unforgettable day when riding Double Pleasure to win gold after a nail-biting jump-off.
“It has been an unbelievable story for Jack and Double Pleasure,” said Ireland’s team manager, Gary Marshall. “The pony is a bit special. Jack only got the ride half-way through the year. In the later rounds, he started to trust the pony and the pony started to trust him. It’s always a two-way relationship and they really clicked, getting better and better.
“This has been a fantastic championship.”
- Read the full report from the FEI Pony European Championships in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine, in the shops Thursday 8 August.
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