British vaulting demonstrated its strengths at a recent competition in Warwickshire
With the British team selection trials for the World Equestrian Games on the horizon, Warwickshire College played host to top quality vaulting action in the second vaulting competition of the year.
In the men’s class, John McNally of the English Vaulting Squad (EVS) put up another strong performance with team mate Ricky Davis in second and Aled Pugh from the Cader group third.
The consistent Elizabeth Watson (EVS) followed her best of the British performance in Saumur, France, earlier this year, with a win the female individual section.
Rosie Howard from the Windrush Group in Oxfordshire took second with EVS member Lucy Bell, who is currently juggling vaulting, university exams and preparing her event horse for Bramham horse trials at the beginning of June, in third. Sarah Watson (EVS) was fourth, finishing just 0.4 marks behind Rosie in first place.
Top team performances
The English Vaulting Squad gave a strong performance on Warwickshire College’s Greatly Limelight to the delight of team lunger and coach Julie McNally.
“They have really come on well, despite suffering from lack of practise lately and last minute changes to the team. They all pulled together, which bodes well for the future,” said Julie.
The Gleneagles Team made their eight-hour journey south from Perthshire worth while in the intermediate competition, where a change in the rules enabled older team members to help younger vaulters gain more experience.
The Pakefield Vaulting Group won the novice team competition with a stylish well-choreographed freestyle. The Windrush Group were second and Cader Team third.
The pre-novice team class saw a close finish with Windrush beating Pakefield into second by 0.06. Third were Gleneagles with Cader and Wittering close behind.
Results
Ind: Males 1, John McNally; 2, Ricky Davis; 3, Aled Pugh. Females 1, Elizabeth Watson; 2, Rosie Howard; 3, Lucy Bell; 4, Sarah Watson; 5, Hazel Croft; 6, Becky Walsh. Jnr 1, Pippa Capstick; 2, Sarah Reid; 3, Naomi Wood; 4, Samatha Blasiak. Teams: Advanced 1, EVS (John McNally, Ricky Davis, Laura Grundy, Alisa Taylor, Becky Walsh, Emma Rung, Pippa Capstick, Sarah Reid). Intermediate 1, Gleneagles. Novice 1, Pakefield; 2, Windrush; 3, Cader. Pre-Novice 1, Windrush; 2, Pakefield; 3, Gleneagles; 4, Cader; 5, Wittering.
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