King’s Hawford Equestrian Team Shines at Rectory Farm

The King’s Hawford Equestrian team were out in force on Sunday, with all of our members travelling to Rectory Farm in Cirencester for our final opportunity to qualify for the NSEA Grass Roots Regional Championships 2023/24 and the NSEA Grass Roots Championships Festival at Hickstead in August this year.

The day began with a very early start for Chloe, Maysie, and Annie in the 40cm Clear Round class, with the course walk scheduled for before 9am. All the ponies and riders looked pristine and it was a great start to the day, with two lovely clear rounds.

Next came the 40cm competition. The team consisted of Rosie, Annie, Chloe, and Maysie, and they gave it their all and rode beautifully. This class was judged on style and all of the girls were scored really well, resulting in a team second and an individual fifth for Annie; this meant that they all qualified for the NSEA Grass Roots Championships Festival at Hickstead! More than that, they all had wonderful clear rounds. Great result girls!

Next, it was on to the 50cm class. This time the team consisted of Adelyn, Rosie, Maysie, and Chloe, and once again the girls gave it their very best, with lots of support for each other and smiles aplenty! This class was judged on an optimum time. All four girls rode their socks off and their ponies responded in kind, notching up three wonderful clear rounds. Rosie rode a textbook round, giving her a cracking eighth place out of 35 riders. The team came third overall, resulting in another qualification for the Grass Roots Championships Festival at Hickstead.

Finally, Adelyn and Rosie took on the 60cm speed class. This is still a very new height for both girls and it came with the added, unexpected complication of a completely new course to learn. The girls took it all in their stride, producing two perfect and very speedy clear rounds. Adelyn came eighth and Rosie 13th out of 33 riders. The smiles said it all! Adelyn was also awarded the Horsemanship Rosette for this class, which as a team we pride ourselves on.

Throughout the day, all the girls were smart, polite and showed wonderful horsemanship and sporting behaviour. These values, together with the Hawford positive mindset, were incredibly heart-warming to see, made us very proud, and definitely helped to make it all worth while for the parents!

…And so the preparations for Hickstead, the home of British Show Jumping and host to some of the best highlights of the global equestrian calendar, begin. Stables to book, tent pegs to find, and BBQ planning is now well underway…