Equiyd National Amateur Championship Second Rounds Conclude at Northallerton Equestrian Centre
Wednesday 21 October 2026
The road to the Equiyd National Amateur Championships took the final exciting step over the weekend as Northallerton Equestrian Centre welcomed competitors for the last of the Second Round qualifiers.
The competition was well contested as riders gathered to take on challenging courses designed by Tracey Strangeways, in a bid to secure their places at the prestigious finals at Aintree in November.
Lily Watchman takes the win in a competitive 85cm
The first of the weekends qualifiers was the 85cm Equiyd National Amateur Championship Second Round, a strong field of seventeen starters came forward into the arena where competition was off to a flying start with sixteen jumping clear and securing their place in the jump off.
It was all to play for heading into round two and with thirteen combinations recording double clears the qualifying places would be determined by the clock in the hotly contested jump off phase. The fastest of the double clears belonged to Lily Watchman as she skilfully piloted Ashleigh Effard’s Liberte Van’t Rebelshof through the finish in a time of 37.93 seconds ensuring their win and qualifying place. Close behind in second was Angela Mills with her own Balou Lou, stopping the clock in 39.13 seconds, while Anneli Lister and Miss Southburn Sarsaparilla completed the top three just behind and with less than a second between them, in 39.70 seconds.
Paul Nicholson tops the 95cm podium
Next up was the 95cm Equiyd National Amateur Championship Second Round in which an increasingly large field of twenty-four competitors came forward, meaning qualifying places would be hard fought. With the pressure applied seventeen clinched first round clears to make it through to the jump off.
Of the seventeen, eight riders bagged double clears, securing their qualifying tickets, but it was Paul Nicholson onboard his own Billy Jorn who crossed the line the in fastest time of 34.49 seconds to take the win, improving on his third place in the same class last year. The 85cm qualifier winner Lily Watchman had a very successful day bagging both second and third place riding Ashleigh Effard’s Korette Du Route and A.B. Windermere stopping the clock in 35.50 seconds and 38.35 seconds consecutively.
1.10m success for Katie Benbow
The last of the weekends qualifiers but my no means least was the 1.10m Equiyd National Amateur Championship Second Round, which was supported by eleven well established horse and rider combinations. Some exciting rounds ensued as the competition gained momentum, with five riders hitting the clear round target and heading into the jump off.
The jump off saw a total of five double clears awarded and, fresh off the back of their Horse of the Year Show NAF Bronze League Championship title it was Katie Benbow and her own Latico who took the spoils. Securing their victory in a super stylish and fast clear round of 40.09 seconds, storming around the course nearly six seconds faster than their closest rival. As hard as they tried the closest time to Katie’s was 45.97 seconds which was posted by Gillian Anderson riding Linda Anderson’s Stand Up to take second place. It was a good day at the office for Gillian who also completed the podium securing third place with her second ride JJ's Prince Chaccomo, also owned by Linda Anderson, stopping the clock in 47.77 seconds.
All roads lead to Aintree
With the Second Round qualifiers now complete at across the country, the focus turns excitedly towards the Equiyd National Amateur Championships at Aintree in November.
For those who have secured their place, the countdown is officially on. With national titles on the line, competitors will now have their sights set on producing their very best performances when they make their way to the arena at Aintree.
Congratulations to all the riders who competed at Northallerton E C and to those who have progressed through to the Championships. We look forward to seeing you at Aintree in November!
NB: Qualifications will be updated pending official grading of results
Images: Paul Dobson Photography
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