Tabitha Kyle reigns supreme in the British Showjumping Winter JA Classic Final
Saturday 13 May 2023
Tabitha Kyle made a triumphant return to South View Equestrian Centre in Cheshire to not only retain her 2022 title, but convincingly claim the top two places with Gangnam Style II and Atomic Du Bary.
“I’ve got the two most successful ponies on the circuit at the moment. They are incredible and I cannot thank Su and Gordon Hall enough for giving me the opportunity to ride such great ponies,” said Tabitha, who won last year’s final with Nightgirl Van Het Sonnihof Z.
Six competitors faced course-designer Gillian Milner’s 11-fence 1.30m track with Tabitha claiming two of the rides.
The course was tough, more technical than big and it took some jumping but it suited my ponies,” added Tabitha.
Tabitha had qualified five ponies for this final but, as rules dictated competitors could only ride a maximum of two, she chose Su and Gordon Hall’s Gangnam Style and Atomic Du Bary. It turned out to be the right choice as Tabitha was the sole rider to master the course, supplying the only two clear rounds of the class. She opted to share the first prize with her two ponies rather than jump-off. Izabella Rogers, winner of the warm-up 1.25m, made just one mistake at the stile on Neil 55 to finish third.
Tabitha had spent the last two weeks competing abroad in Compiegne, France, and Lamprechtshausen, Austria, with several wins to her credit.
She explained: “We got back from Austria on Monday night and the two ponies had a couple of days off, a little light work on Thursday and popped a couple of fences on Friday before we came here. We wanted to support Charles [Britton, South View proprietor and British Showjumping chairman], we’re so grateful to him for putting on this class and my ponies jumped fantastic and pulled it out of the bag.”
