First riders in regional final

THE first Guernsey dressage representatives for the Channel Islands regional final of the Your Horse UK Riders 2004 Challenge have been decided. The Guernsey Dressage Group and the British Show Jumping Association combined resources to stage two days of dressage at Chemin Le Roi.

This was the first in a series of four dressage weekends being staged by the two clubs and the first of the qualifying rounds, for the regional final in Guernsey in August.

UK dressage judges Briget Wright and Adele Burton-Canton officiated and assessed the riders performing tests ranging from preliminary to elementary levels.

On day one, the senior qualifying place at preliminary level was taken by Sian Staples, riding Lisa Wallace's Shiraz, with the junior ticket going to Jenny Winfindale and her pony, Cocu III.

Nikki Lambourne and Master Connaught and Katie Fallaize and Woodlands Ebony were the qualifiers at novice level.

In the open section the new combination of Victoria Heaviside and Fire Dancer headed both the preliminary test 10 and 17 with 68.64% and 65.00%.

Meanwhile, Nicky Migasiuk and her grey gelding Stonewood Derry Castle took two classes, the elementary 41 and, with the highest percentage of the day 70.50, the novice 21 class.

Classes were also very competitive on day two.

Staples and Shiraz completed a victory double and took the top score of the day of 70.00% to head a very strong class in the open preliminary 10 test.

There were qualifying places at prelim and while Staples won the class outright, the qualifying tickets were passed down the line to Alexa Oliver and Palermo Van Het Varenhop, who missed the winner's spot by just one mark, and to Roisin Hughes and Touch O' the Blarney.

Oliver and Palerno Van Het Varenhof also took the novice qualifying ticket by one mark from Rebecca Keys and Shere Khan with very good percentages of 67.69 and 67.31 respectively.

In the open prelim 17 test, judge Bridget Wright could not separate Katie Wyser's performance on Double Dutch and Rachael Falla's on The Advocate, who came out joint winners on 68.33%.

Junior rider George Farnon was competing against the seniors in both the open novice 21 and 23 classes and won them on convincing scores of 69.00% and 69.62%.

Six competitors came forward for the final and most difficult test of the day, the open elementary 41 which was won by Lambourne on Master Connaught on 67.6%, this time relegating Farnon and Bureside Thunderbolt into second place.

The remaining qualifying rounds for the dressage section of the regional finals will take place at the BSJA Show grounds on 8 and 9 May and 26 and 27 June, with the regional championships taking place on 7 and 8 August.

The final takes place in the UK in September.