Ella Scrimger Secures National Championship Final Ticket at Northallerton

The Ariat Senior British Novice Championship Second Round at Northallerton Equestrian Centre attracted a competitive field of 25 rider and horse combinations at the weekend, all hoping to secure one of the coveted qualification spots for the British Showjumping National Championships Final this August. 

Course designer Tracey Strangeways set a flowing yet technical track that tested accuracy and consistency throughout the opening rounds. With qualification on the line, riders needed to produce two faultless performances to progress to the all-important jump-off, and nine combinations rose to the challenge to book their place in the final decider. 

The jump-off proved to be a closely fought contest, with fractions of a second separating the leading riders. It was Ella Scrimger who ultimately claimed victory aboard Taylor Davison's Blackhawk K, producing a superb clear round in a winning time of 47.51 seconds. 

Hot on her heels was Emilie Hadcroft riding Paisley 2ND, who also left every fence intact and crossed the finish line in 47.69 seconds to take second place. 

Completing the podium was India Vilarrubi and Royal Ruby, who delivered another excellent clear round to stop the clock in 48.06 seconds and secure third place. 

With their qualification secured, Ella and Blackhawk K will now set their sights on the Ariat Senior British Novice Championship Final, which takes place at the British Showjumping National Championships in August, where they will look to build on this impressive performance and challenge for national honours. 

“I was so pleased with Wilson, we had a great weekend!  I have had him coming up to two years in October, he was five and had never been to a showjumping competition when I got him. The first ever show I took him to was Aintree, which was a big atmosphere for him but he was no bother, and we have just been building on that ever since. He’s great to have around at home and we often go hacking with my sausage dog, he’s never any trouble.    

“The class on the day was run really well at Northallerton, the courses were really good and the drawn orders ran perfectly. It was all good, a really well ran show. I had really good draws in all three rounds, second from last in the first two rounds and then last in the final jump off which was great, I knew what I needed to do. I just wanted to go steady and smooth, going for the clear but it all worked in our favour! It’s so great to qualify for the Ariat British Novice, we had also qualified for the Nupafeed Discovery Second Rounds but I have to work on Saturday’s so I couldn’t get to any of those, so I’m really pleased, this will be my first time qualifying for the National Championships.  Hopefully, we will be able to aim for the Discovery second rounds next year and try to qualify for that Championship final too.” Ella Said. 

Ariat Senior British Novice Championship Second Round 

Northallerton Equestrian Centre, Sunday 7 June 2026 

1st – Ella Scrimger & Blackhawk K – 0/0/0 – 47.51 
2nd – Emilie Hadcroft & Paisley 2ND – 0/0/0 – 47.69 
3rd – India Vilarrubi & Royal Ruby – 0/0/0 – 48.06 

NB: Qualifications will be updated pending official grading of results.   

Image: Northallerton E C