Great Britain secure second place in the Young Riders Nations Cup of Austria
Tuesday 09 May 2023
The British quartet of capable young riders teamed up to take second place in the tough Young Riders Nations Cup at the Youth Festival in Lamprechtshausen, Austria.
Six teams of young riders faced a testing, technical 1.45m course of 12 fences with Britain excelling in round one to lead the way at the halfway stage on four faults, with three fences in hand over nearest rivals Austria.
Red Morgan on Didy Morgan’s Golia and Sophia Kelly with her own Rio Bravo Z both came through with clears to put Britain in front, pathfinder Ava Vernon made just one error to finish on four faults with Dean John Vernon’s Volnay De Choc Z enabling the eight faults from pathfinder Jessica Hewlett on her own Ilmar HBC to be discarded.
Round two was a different scenario as the competition was run under floodlights.
“It caused a bit of chaos and a lot of riders had faults but Red rode exceptionally well and jumped the only double clear of the competition,” assessed Chef d’Équipe Clare Whitaker.
The change affected Ava’s horse and she retired Volnay De Choc Z but Red bounced back with a foot-perfect clear on Golia. Sophie also struggled with Rio Bravo Z in the new lighting to come home on 27 faults while Jessica and Ilmar again finished on eight faults.
It added 25 faults to the four faults in round one, giving Britain a score total of 39. Other countries didn’t fare much better. Host country Austria proved the best, adding 17 faults to their round one score of 16 to total 33 over the two rounds – good enough to win with six faults in hand over Britain. Germany finished third on 45.
Lamprechtshausen Youth Festival, Austria – Friday, 5 May 2023
Young Rider Nations Cup
1st Austria - 33
2nd Great Britain - 39
Ava Vernon & Volnay De Choc Z – 4/-
Red Morgan & Golia – 0/0
Sophia Kelly & Rio Bravo Z – 0/27
Jessica Hewlett & Ilmar HBC – 8/8
3rd Germany - 45
Image: Team Myrtill Photography
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