Ward Ottley Wins the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round at Bicton Arena
Wednesday 10 June 2015
 (2).jpg "Ward Ottley Wins the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round at Bicton Arena")
Last Saturday’s Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round at Bicton Arena in Salterton, Devon was won by Ward Ottley and he fought off thirty-nine other competitors in his quest to secure not only the top spot, but also a place in the Championship Final.
With just two direct qualifying places available for the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Championship Final at Horse of the Year Show, each rider was focused on producing a treble clear as they knew that this would give them the best chance of taking one of the coveted qualification spots as their very own.
From the initial starting field of forty, twelve combinations made it through to the final jump off and eight treble clears were eventually delivered. This resulted in the clock once again playing a crucial part in the allocation of the Championship Final qualification places.
Ward Ottley, aged 14, from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire scooped the win on board his father Jason’s 10 year-old brown gelding Kissemmie Chatterbox. Ward had the enviable position of being drawn last to go in the final jump off and this meant that he knew exactly what he needed to do in order to take the win. Knowing that only a treble clear in a fast time would do, Ward steered his pony over the jump off course both accurately and quickly to cross the finish line in 41.87 seconds. This saw the combination take victory with nearly 1.5 seconds to spare.
Second place was secured by 16 year-old Millie Dickinson from Harpenden, Hertfordshire with her mother Jan’s 9 year-old chestnut gelding Ron Burgundy. This combination finished inside the top two after producing their third foot perfect round in 43.24 seconds. This result also saw them secure a place in the Championship Final.
With the top two taking the direct qualifying tickets for the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Championship Final at Horse of the Year Show, the riders and ponies that finished in third to eighth missed out on their Championship qualification this time around. However, they did take home the chance to compete in the Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Masters at the British Showjumping National Championships.
Bicton Arena – Saturday 6th June 2015
Blue Chip Pony Newcomers Second Round
1st Ward Ottley & Kissemmie Chatterbox – 0/0/0 – 41.87 seconds
2nd Millie Dickinson & Ron Burgundy – 0/0/0 – 43.24 seconds
3rd Tahnia Jordan Jones & Sulan Hollywood Knight – 0/0/0 – 44.76 seconds
4th Joseph Fernyhough & Midnight Molly – 0/0/0 – 44.81 seconds
5th Maia Andrews & Miami Carwyn – 0/0/0 – 45.24 seconds
6th Emma Holmes & No Regrets VIII – 0/0/0 – 45.55 seconds
7th Lucy Carver & Cavaliers Royale Princess – 0/0/0 – 45.67 seconds
8th Anna Summer & Our Dun – 0/0/0 – 53.23 seconds
NB: Qualifications will be updated pending official grading of results.
Horse of the Year Show 2015 will take place from the 7th – 11th October 2015 at Birmingham’s Genting Arena. The British Showjumping National Championships 2015 will take place during the 11th – 16th August at the National Agricultural and Exhibition Centre (NAEC), Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.
Image Credit: ESP-Photographic.
Blue Chip:
Blue Chip Feed Ltd produce the highest quality feed balancers and supplements available in the UK; there is a feed balancer for every stage in a horse’s life to ensure optimum health and well-being. Blue Chip products are exported worldwide. For more information please visit www.bluechipfeed.com.
