The second event of the Baileys winter training series got underway last weekend with Jumping and Style (JAS) at Merrist Wood in Surrey on Saturday 21st January.
The BE90 section proved most popular with almost seventy entries and Ruth Bowerman was to prove herself best of them with 14-year-old gelding D Ya Know on what was the horse’s first British Eventing outing. Georgina Wood and The Whole Punch, a horse she has been competing since 2009, closely followed her and Georgina also secured a second qualification for the final at Addington Manor aboard 6-year-old mare Symmetry in the BE100 section.
The clear leader in the BE100 section was Zoe Taylor on Lyndwet June. Zoe has been competing in the JAS series since 2009, but secured her best result to date last weekend.
In the Novice Emma Clucas won by 1 penalty point with 7-year-old mare Royal Patriarch a new ride for her this season, but Madeline Taylor was hot on her heels and was arguably one of the most successful competitors of the day. She qualified Take The Biscuit X with a 2nd in the Novice and a 5th in the Open sections. She also went on to win the Open section with Bandalera on just 7 penalty points, and qualified the 16 year old mare in the Novice too with a 9th place.
Elizabeth Mantel took 2nd in the Open with Caoimhes Delight. She was 2nd in the Open final in 2011, and competes in JAS as a standalone competition rather than as preparation for the Eventing Season.
JAS Trainer Lucy Thompson said that for her the riders who really stood out were the ones who showed a marked change in pace between the first round and the second and commended all those who took part saying “this is a great thing the riders are doing, it’s such good training and preparation”.
She has a few tips for those who are competing in the JAS series, saying that the most important thing was to “spend time seeing what is happening in the ring. Try and arrive early to see where those in the previous class are having problems. If you don’t know the course you won’t be able to give your horse the full concentration
This weekend sees JAS head to Bishop Burton in North Yorkshire.
Report: Paul White
