It was a day to remember for young Claudia Moore, aged 12 years and the youngest rider in the class, when she finished second in the FEI Ponies Jumping Trophy Grand Prix in Lyon, France recently.
The class was one of a series five that are being hosted within some of the Senior CSIO World Cup shows this season as part of an initiative to give youth riders further opportunities and experience. These Pony World Cup qualifier classes all see league points allocated which qualify for a final to be held at the CSIO 5* World Cup show in Mechelen at the end of the year.
From a field of twenty-one starters, it was just seven pony combinations that jumped clear across the testing 1.35m track to qualify for the jump-off. Claudia, riding the 13-year-old Elando van de Roshoeve owned by her mother Katrina, posted a superb first round clear to see themselves positioned mid-field in respect of the order of go in the jump-off round.
Carla Garriga (FRA) and Mylana, a 9-year-old bay mare, were first to go and finishing clear in a time of 41.68 seconds they set a standard that certainly put pressure on the other young riders to follow them. With the following two riders picking up faults Claudia was determined to post a clear in a forward going time and doing exactly this she stopped the clock clear in a time of 40.20 seconds to claim the lead and relegate Carla behind her having shaved almost two seconds from her time.
Holding the lead until the closing stages of the jump-off when penultimate rider Camille Favrot (FRA) jumped clear in an almost unbelievably fast time of 34.39 seconds on Uhelem de Seille it meant an ultimate 2nd place finish for Claudia in what had proved to be an incredible class to watch.
Talking afterwards Claudia said “This has just been an amazing day. Both the other two riders that jumped clear in the jump off were French and the home crowd went mad for them, but it was also really nice that they cheered loudly for me when I went clear. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to do that in front of a home crowd. I have loved it today, my pony has been incredible and I really want to thank everyone at Lyon for allowing us pony riders to be here and having the opportunity”.
Photo credit: PSV J Morel
