First to go in the 138cm final and setting the bar for the remaining 25 competitors was Welwyn Garden City’s Lucy Gilbertson riding Airbourne Freddie.
With an incredible time of 31.50s in the jump off, Lucy was in top position from the start after taking a risky tight turn after fence one and picking up speed as the course went on.
With only 6 clears, the pressure was on to beat Lucy’s time however she remained nearly 2 clear seconds ahead of runner up Alice Crowley riding The Agent with a time of 33.14s.
Fresh from their second place in the National 138cm Championship, Lucy’s father, Steve Gilbertson explained that the pair had previously won ten Graham Heath qualifiers to get to the British Showjumping National Championships and compete in the Pony Silver League 138cm Final: “The other classes we have entered are just for fun, but this is what we came for today.”
The Bronze and Silver Pony/Rider Combination League was introduced by British Showjumping in 2014 and allows all pony riders to be able to track their progress on a regional and national league table. There are three leagues; Bronze, Silver and Gold and they are split into three height categories of 128cm, 138cm and 148cm.
Photo: 1st Class Images
