Joe Clayton & Lexi III win Connolly's RED MILLS Senior Newcomers Championship
Wednesday 05 October 2016
Joe Clayton added his name to a who's who of showjumping when he won the Connolly's RED MILLS Senior Newcomers Championship at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham.
Joe, who is based with British Olympian Michael Whitaker in Nottinghamshire, claimed a pulsating victory on Michael's 7 year-old British bred bay mare Lexi III.
And in taking the newcomers class, he joined an illustrious list of previous winners that includes riders like Laura Renwick, Billy Twomey and Michael Whitaker himself, who took top honours in 2002.
Joe's victory was forged in a brilliant turn from fences one to two in a nine horse jump-off, a manoeuvre that brought a collective gasp from the audience, and left him admitting: “I think I gasped as well!"
Rachael Connor, riding Zaha, was seven hundredths of a second quicker than Joe's time of 31.64 seconds, but a final fence knockdown cost them dear, with Holly Smith and PLS Halo Diamond finishing second and Laura Pritchard, on Horse Victory's Fayot, third.
"The turn didn't look really on," Joe said. "Normally, when someone else has done it, you have a bit of confidence there, but I was the first one to do it and it came off.
“I had confidence in the horse's ability. She wouldn't have done any turns like that before, but I was always confident in the horse to jump the fence and get in the right place. That's the risk you take, and it came off for me today.”
"Michael bred the horse, so we know her inside out. I think she has got all the ability. She is a really good horse with a really good brain.
"I knew she would have a good chance and probably go double clear - she has jumped a lot of clear rounds - but I thought there were a lot more experienced horses in the class, so to win it is a big achievement."
For the audio interview with Joe Clayton, Connolly’s RED MILLS Senior Newcomers Champion, please click here: http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/Hoys_clayton_day1.mp3.
The full results for the Connolly’s RED MILLS Senior Newcomers Championship can be found via this link: http://results.scgvisual.com/2016/birmingham/r3.html.
Connolly’s RED MILLS:
Connolly's RED MILLS is an Irish family owned company, providing precision nutrition for a wide range of equine needs. The company was established in 1908 in Co. Kilkenny, and today, exports to over 50 countries worldwide. For people who value their horses as high performers, Connolly's RED MILLS has been the automatic choice for over 100 years. We know just what it takes to get you the best results in terms of equine nutrition, health, well-being and performance. Some of the most successful high-performance sport horses in the world have been fed on Connolly’s RED MILLS and we are delighted to launch our new dedicated Sport Horse range of feeds. The quality products that produce these results are supported by nutritional research along with some of the most technologically advanced innovation and manufacturing processes in the world. For further information, please visit www.redmills.co.uk/Horses/Home.
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