Scope Festival Senior Championships at South View Arena
Friday 26 August 2022
Paul Sims landed the feature Recycling Lives Ladies and Gents title to conclude the three days of Senior Championships at Scope Festival, at his local South View Arena, in Cheshire with Dream Roller.
“He’s a brave horse and we know each other well,” said Paul, who had finished second in this class with ‘Roly’ in 2019.
Sixteen competitors initially faced course-designer Gillian Milner’s 1.40m track with six mastering the course to qualify for the jump-off. Paul was drawn first with his recent 3* 1.50m winner at Bolesworth but turned it into a positive with a determined round. Taking every inside turn option and angling fences with the Diamond Roller x Cavalier Royale 11-year-old, Paul claimed the win from the front. Another locally-based rider, Keith Shore, came the closest for second, 2.29 seconds in arrears with Leila Van Het Lindehof.
“He’s just coming into his own. He evented as a six and seven-year-old and switched to showjumping as an 8-year-old but he’s a big horse and has taken time to mature. He jumped the occasional 1.40m class three years ago but then Covid came along and he had the chance to grow and strengthen up, the time off worked well for him,” said Paul, who lives just 20 minutes from South View – “It’s our most used venue and we always like to support Charles [Britton, proprietor].”
Corinne Beech (nee Collins) continued with her winning run to lift the Select Security 1.30m Championship with the consistent Dolores P, a double winner at Flint and Denbigh just a few days earlier. Seven came forward to the jump-off with Corinne and the Zacharov x Quidam De Ravel 14-year-old flying ahead to win by 0.88 seconds.
“She’s so consistent and tries so hard every time, she’s the best I’ve ever had at this level although when I got her, she was very sharp but quickly calmed down – she must like me,” said Corinne, who purchased ‘Dolly’ through Suzanne Gill six years ago.
Buckinghamshire’s Emma-Jo Slater and owner/breeder Kim Barzilay are Scope Festival veterans and love to support the show and were rewarded handsomely with a hat-trick of Championship wins.
Scope 1.05m 2021 champion Emma-Jo was out to retain her title and she did it in spades, taking the top two places. Thirty-five competitors originally tackled this class with fourteen returning in the jump-off, but none were a match for Emma-Jo. She slotted Kim’s Baloubet Du Rouet x Clinton 12-year-old Freule TN into the top spot with Kim’s home-bred Time Out six-year-old Kimba Time in second, 1.18 seconds separating them.
Emma-Jo then claimed the 1m novice title on another home-bred, the five-year-old Kimba Je Taime (Je T’Aime Flamenco x Heartbreaker), a full sister to Billy Twomey’s former top ride Kimba Flamenco, claiming a 2.37 second win in the 10-horse decider.
The third win for Emma-Jo came in the Scope Pathfinder 1.10m Championship with a commanding 4.70 seconds to spare on a new ride of two months, the 6-year-old You Two Touchdown (Warrenstown You 2 x Touchdown) in an 8-strong jump-off.
“I think You Two is a proper one, a future grand prix horse,” said Kim, who extolled the positives of this show – “We love to bring a couple of new novices and a couple of older, speed horses. We’re so grateful to Charles for putting the show on and we manage to mix a bit of business with pleasure.”
Tony French prevented Emma-Jo on You Two claiming another victory with a fast, determined round in the Swn Y Mor Blue Riband 1.20m Championship on Origi DW. Eight claimed a place in the final round with Tony and the Diamant De Semilly x Echo Van’t Spieveld 8-year-old speeding into the top spot by 0.85 seconds.
Kelly Connor returned triumphant in the Charles Britton 1.15m Championship aboard Lacara II, the British-bred 13-year-old mare outpacing her six jump-off rivals to win with 2.65 seconds in hand.
Second to Kelly with Bean Cruising, Emily Morris left nothing to chance in the Graham Heath Novice Debut Championship on Westpoint Foreign Affair. Eleven of the twenty-seven starters came up with all the right answers to access the jump-off with Emily and the 6-year-old Fruselli daughter claiming a 2.68 second winning advantage.
Kim Webster and Libero Boy II proved age is no barrier in the 95cm Championship with a handsome victory. It was no fluke. Twenty of the thirty-four starters returned to battle it out in the jump-off with Kim and the Achill-Libero H x Piquet 24-year-old gelding outpacing them all to record an impressive 4.75 second win.
Image credit: landscapesandhorses.co.uk
.JPG "Sophia Rogers makes a winning return and Rachel Proudley claims a championship double at Pony of the Year Show")
