Iain Warnock takes the win in the last Equissage Pulse Senior British Novice Second Round of 2024.
Monday 22 July 2024
Scottish National Equestrian Centre hosted the concluding Equissage Pulse British Novice Second Round competition ahead of the final next month at the British Showjumping National Championships.
A strong field of competitors took to the arena, with over half advancing to the second round. Ultimately, five horse and rider combinations qualified for the decisive jump-off, where Iain Warnock, riding his and Michelle Warnock’s Here’s Felix, emerged victorious. The pair achieved a triple clear, clocking in at an impressive 49.98 seconds.
The competition was closely fought, with Ryan Leavey and his own CFH Dakars Girl narrowly missing the top spot by just 0.28 seconds, securing second place. Richard Nicol, aboard Jes Impulse, claimed third place as the only other triple clear of the day, finishing in 54.98 seconds.
Iain Warnock shared insights about his winning horse: “He’s homebred, by Denise Sharp. My wife Michelle has his two older sisters, who both qualified in the Novice & Discovery in 2019, so it’s like history repeating itself. He’s been with us since he was four and he’s now seven. He has been a slow developer, we’ve just been trying to gain experience with him and get him up the ranks. He’s a character for sure - not as quick to learn as his sisters, but blokes can take a bit longer! Our plan has always been just to keep going, and gain more experience by getting him round lots of new venues.”
Reflecting on his strategy for the jump-off, Iain said, “My thoughts were just to keep the pace up. He has a big canter, he’s the most athletic of the horses I have. So I just thought I’d let him run and he took it all in his stride.”
The final is set to take place at the British Showjumping National Championships at Stoneleigh on August Tuesday 6th August, where qualified riders will compete to take home the Equissage Pulse Senior British Novice Champion Title.
A full list of qualified riders can be found at https://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/shows_qualifying_dates_venues.cfm?type=S&class=BNOVF
Equissage Pulse Senior British Novice Second Round
Scottish National Equestrian Centre (SNEC)
1st Iain Warnock and Here’s Felix 0/0/0 49.98
2nd Ryan Leavey and CFH Dakars Girls 0/0/0 50.26
3rd Richard Nicol and Jes Impulse 0/0/0 54.98
NB: Results pending official grading.
Image: Sinclair Photography
