WILLIAM FLETCHER QUALIFIES FOR CHILDREN ON HORSES FINAL IN BRAZIL
Saturday 14 December 2013
British Showjumping are incredibly pleased to announce that William Fletcher, aged 14 years from Oxfordshire has qualified for the FEI Children’s International Classics Final which takes place tomorrow, 14th December in Brazil.
Son of former Olympian Graham Fletcher and London 2012 reserve rider, Tina Fletcher he has jumped consistent clears throughout the competition since the first day of competition which took place on Thursday. A clear in the first leg, a speed class and a double clear in the jump-off class yesterday has resulted in them securing a place in the third and final competition of the championships which commences at 11:30am local time.
Their performance is all the more notable, as they are competing on borrowed horses from the host nation. The draw, which took place shortly after their arrival earlier in the week, saw Will allocated SL Saltimbanco 1V, a seven year old gelding owned by Brazilian rider Fhilipe Blaauw.
SL Saltimbanco IV was Fhilipe’s second horse and is the youngest horse in the competition. Considering this, and the fact that Fhilipe has failed to qualify for the final himself only serves to illustrate the talent and determination that Will has had throughout the competition to get this far.
Talking about tomorrow’s Final Will commented “I am having a fabulous time and it has been a wonderful experience. The horse I have been given is quite difficult and I am delighted to have remained clear so far. I am really looking forward to tomorrow”.
Joining Will at the Championships and riding under the GB banner was Charlie Jones, also aged 14 from Leicestershire. Unfortunately, the horse he had been allocated needed to be withdrawn from competition after the first leg due to a soundness issue. Allocated another horse to ride for the second leg and without much time to adjust he incurred an unfortunate 4faults in the first round. This meant that they lost their chance of inclusion in tomorrow’s competition but their performance, without doubt, was one to be proud of considering the circumstances.
The Final tomorrow will see half of the thirty two strong field come forward in the hope of securing the championship title as their own. For more information on the final please visit www.shbr.com.br
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