Amateur riders can team up with the professionals in a new show jumping championship worth over £50,000 at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre, Bucks.
The Pro/Am Championship will run from 27-30 January. Amateurs are encouraged to find professional partners but those without will be paired.
Show jumper Tina Fletcher intends to take part.
“I think it’s an excellent idea and gives a little more interest to the whole show,” she said.
There will be two professional classes, two amateur classes (small and large — 110cm and 120cm for amateurs, 135-140cm and 145-150cm for pros) and an open class each day.
Amateurs and professionals will not go head-to-head in the same class. Instead points from the amateurs’ highest scores will be added to the pros’ top marks to make their total.
Addington’s Tim Price came up with the idea: “We wanted to pull everyone together,” he said.
And riders that are paired in pro/am teams are eligible for bonus prize-money — £1,000 cash for large class winners and £500 worth of Addington entry tickets for the small classes.
No qualification is needed, but amateurs must be ranked outside the top 150 in the British Show Jumping Association rankings. Entries close on 20 January.
For more information visit: www.addingtonmanor.co.uk
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (14 January, ’10)
