11 year-old Tilly Bamford from Shipston-on-Stour crowned 128cm Stepping Stones Champion
Tuesday 04 August 2020
The Stepping Stones 128cm Championship for riders aged 12 & under was as hard fought as ever this evening at the NAF Five Star British Showumping Championships at Bolesworth in Cheshire.
The competition which saw fifteen combinations jump clear in the first round drew a very competitive fifteen strong jump-off field in which Tilly, aboard her 18 year-old road gelding Ballyknock Master Roan, was the penultimate rider to come forward.
With some fast clears already having been laid down before her Tilly left nothing to chance as she set off through the start line before twisting her way round the course on a very fast pace. Stopping the clock in a time of 26.62 seconds, she shot into the lead with more than two seconds in hand to claim the title that she had set her sights on for the past year since first watching it at the championships last year, not long after she had started competing.
This saw 10 year-old Nya Harriman, from Yarm in Cleveland nudged into 2nd place with her 17 year-old gelding Laithehill Paisley who posted a clear in a time of 29.03 seconds. Just behind them and finishing in 3rd place was Lexie Corcoran with Ashurst Quicksilver III a 17 year-old grey gelding.
Talking after her win Tilly said “I saw everyone go before me and watched what they were doing. One person took two strides to the double so I thought I’d chance it and go for it as well. I also watched some of the turns they were taking and wasn’t sure if I would do them all, but then I thought I’d give it a go and it paid off!
“I didn’t think I had actually won and when I found out that I had I was just so excited I couldn’t believe it had happened and started crying. It’s just been so amazing here and it’s such an amazing show”.
The NAF Five Star British Showjumping Championships run between 3 – 11 August at Bolesworth and further information on the show can and full results can be found by visiting https://bit.ly/3fqDsmX
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