Wednesday saw the eighth and penultimate leg of the British Showjumping Business Partnership International Stairway series which took place at Pembrokeshire County Show.
Course Designer Peter Gillespie built a testing 1.55m course, which produced only 4 clears in the first round meaning the fastest 4 faulter also joined them in the jump off which always consists of a minimum of five competitors..
It was 21 year old Jemma Kirk from West Lothian, Edinburgh that took the first place prize money riding Robert Kirk’s 14 year old bay gelding Wexford. Jemma and Wexford produced a double clear in a jump off time of 39.93 seconds which proved unbeatable. This combination also secured Great Britain an Individual gold medal at the 2009 Young Rider European Championships in Hoofddorp.
Second place went to Oxfordshire based Tina Fletcher riding her husbands (Graham) 15 year old brown gelding Promised Land who produced the only other double clear of the competition. Tina has enjoyed many successes with Promised Land most notably coming second after a thrilling jump off in the Hickstead DFS Derby. With her other top horse, Hello Sailor who is owned by Lady Pauline Harris, Tina was a pivotal member of the winning British Team in the UK Leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup. In October Tina will travel with Hello Sailor to Kentucky where they are representing Great Britain in the World Equestrian Games.
British Showjumping Business Partnership International Stairway
Pembrokeshire County Show – 18th August 2010
1st Jemma Kirk on Wexford – 0/0 39.93 seconds
2nd Tina Fletcher on Promised Land – 0/0 43.80 seconds
3rd Phillip Miller on Cartier Z – 0/4 40.42 seconds
4th Jemma Kirk on Tosca – 4/4 41.92 seconds
5th Helen Tredwell on Naomi V – 0/12 47.15 seconds
The final leg of the British Showjumping Business Partnership International Stairway will take place at the Royal County of Berkshire Show on Sunday 19
th September 2010. Helen Tredwell is currently lying in first and second on the leaderboard. To catch up with the latest standings please
click here
The International Stairway series is aimed at identifying and assessing both potential and existing British Team competitors, taking in eight of the largest County Shows in the country. Funded jointly by the British Showjumping Business Partnership and the County Show venues hosting the classes, the series has a purse of £60,000 prize fund. In addition to the prize fund available there is also the bonus of £45,000 worth of Rider Ranking Points to the eight highest placed competitors on the overall league table that sits behind the series.
Shows hosting the International Stairway Series for 2010 are:
Devon County 20 - 22 May
Suffolk County 2 – 3 June
South of England 10 – 12 June
Royal Highland 24 – 27 June
Royal Norfolk 30 Jun – 1 July
Great Yorkshire Show 13 – 15 July
New Forest & Hants 27 – 29 July
Pembrokeshire 17 – 19 August
Royal County of Berkshire 18 – 19 September
