Britain’s pony show jumpers have made a solid start at the European Championships in Mannheim, Germany.
After all five ponies passed the trot-up and compulsory measuring, Pippa Allen (Spot The Lady), Jordan Whittaker (Edsilia), Zoe Adams (VIP Tixylix), Emma Stoker (Trefilan Talisman) and James Smith (Mr Nice Guy) jumped clear in the warm-up class, with Pippa and Jordan taking third and fourth places respectively.
In today’s speed leg, things did not go right for Emma Stoker, who collected 14 faults on her Welsh pony and now faces an uphill battle to make the top 30 who will jump for the individual medals on Sunday afternoon. But terrific clears from the other British riders have put them in a strong position.
The class was won by Italys Filippo Bologni on the charismatic Connemara stallion Dexter Liam Pondi. But close behind in second place were Jordan and her chestnut mare, with Pippa in fourth and James and Zoe 11th and 12th respectively.
The British riders will defend their team title at noon (11am British time) in tomorrows Nations Cup, which is also the second individual qualifier.
See Horse&Hound magazine 2 August for a full report and pictures from the pony European Championships in dressage, eventing and show jumping
