MENTIONED elsewhere in this page, the Williams siblings, Sophia and Patrick, did their family, the Seskinore Branch and Area 17 proud, when landing an open double for the Hellyer Challenge Cup and the Wilkinson Sword in the tetrathlon competition of the recent JCB Pony Club championships in Offchurch Bury, Warwickshire.

The championships ride course was as challenging as ever with 21 fences including the gate and slip rail elements pertinent to Tetrathlon. Sophia and Patrick shared the mount on Blaugheen (Mongorry Cruise Molly), a nine-year-old Viking Silver mare owned by the riders’ mother Heather, Area 17’s enthusiastic tetrathlon coordinator. Sophia went clear to win the open girls’ championship on a total of 4,348 points while Patrick, who lost 60 points in the ride phase, claimed the overall boys’ honours on 4,376.

These two inspirational athletes supported their fellow Area 17 members from the Iveagh and Fermanagh Branches over three days of tetrathlon competition which overlapped the two days dedicated to polocrosse, a disciplined which attracted four members of the North Down Branch.

Eloise Keers, Abbey Wallace, and Mia Lewis made up the novice junior team. Eloise rode her horse Fiji, who is a polo pony, who had never competed in a polocrosse match before. Abbey was on her young horse, Kinder, and Mia, who has been playing for less than a year, rode a horse hired for the event.

The girls played extremely well, just losing to the eventual winners North Warwickshire in a fast-paced and challenging set of chukkas. When the score was tied, they had to play a deciding golden goal. The North Down team also won the tack and turnout prize for the second consecutive year.

Undefeated

Max Lewis was paired with two open junior players from North Warwickshire and this trio was undefeated over the weekend, earning Max and his teammates first place and a coveted Pony Club sash.

Both dressage and show jumping took place over three days (August 15th, 16th and 17th). In the first discipline, the best performance by an Area 17 rider came at Novice level where, riding Jameela Charm (70%) in Section B, Mid Antrim’s Hannah Thompson finished sixth behind the Grafton Hunt’s Gracie Cowley on Cynheidrefawr Ceidrych (73.33).

In show jumping, Tullylagan’s Kym Moore was one of five riders through to the jump-off of the PC110 championship where she and Drumcashel Little Legend were clear again in 44.57. Unfortunately, they had to settle for second as Monmouthshire’s Georgina Williams left all the poles intact with Klatascha BR in 43.56.

The eventing championships, which also took three days, started on Thursday, August 17th. Here, Thompson and Jameela Charm again placed sixth in the 23-runner PC90 Open championship, completing on their dressage score of 31.2 penalties. In section C of the PC90 championship, Jennifer Gilchrist filled the same position on Lackaghmore Vandango (33.8).

The East Antrim teams 1 and 2 finished fifth (436 points) and seventh (431) respectively in the horse and pony care championship won by Warwickshire (476).