Equestrian A Team Canter to Victory
Lancaster University Equestrian A team secured four points in Roses 2011, after riding to a clear victory with only 22 penalties. The York B team cantered to a two point victory with just 30 penalty points.
In the dressage test, Eleanor Lett for the Lancaster A team rode a roan mare. Lett started off strong with a straight centre line and a smooth serpentine, but became unnerved on the second canter causing eight penalty points. Team captain, Catherine Mclearie, rode a very accurate test scoring 167 out of 250, the highest score so far. Hannah Yaqub from Lancaster A team continued the lead with a beautiful performance on a bay mare. The final rider for Lancaster A team was Sophie Forster, who rode a difficult horse, but still managed to perform an accurate test. York A team rode well but were out performed by their own B team who finished ahead of them in the dressage test.
The Lancaster B team rode well considering they had only taken part in one competition this year but found themselves fourth after having some difficulties in the individual tests. After the dressage test the scores were as follows: Lancaster A (first) York B (second) York A (third) Lancaster B (fourth).
The competition then moved on to the jumping test with Hannah Yaqub of Lancaster A team riding a clear round consequently setting a high standard. The other three members of the Lancaster A team all completed clear rounds, consolidating their leading position. Claire Todd, Helen Whittaker and Ros Mogridge from the Lancaster B team all rode clear rounds, with only one knockdown by Hannah Stostad. York did not fare so well in the jumping phase of the competition with their captain coming across some difficulty with a rearing horse. However, she did manage to continue and complete the round but this wasn’t enough to kick the Lancaster A team off the top spot. The York B team also had a series of knockdowns and refusals but managed to climb up the table from third to second place, ahead of Lancaster B team but behind Lancaster A team. The final score after both the dressage and the jumping test were as follows. Lancaster A were awarded first places with only 22 penalties followed by York B with only 30 penalties. Lancaster B team came in third place with 72 penalties, beating York A’s who finished fourth with 91 penalties.
Individually, the Equestrian captain for next year, Sophie Forster, secured second place and a blue rosette, followed by Hannah Yaqub and Hannah Stostad who finished in third and fourth place with a yellow and green rosette.
Catherine Mclearie, the current captain of Lancaster Equestrian team was thrilled to secure a win in her last competition before graduating from university, “I am so happy with the win. All my team did so well. It was nice to win Roses again after winning last year and I’m sure Sophie [next year’s captain] will continue to keep our winning streak.”
