17 May 2024
Congratulations to Gracie in Year 10 who, with pony Ralph, finished in a fantastic sixth place in the Pony Club Show Jumping Competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on Sunday 5 May (main photo). Riding for the Old Surrey & Burstow Pony Club, Gracie was one of only six riders to qualify from ‘Area 11’ in the south east, which stretches from Sussex, across the Kent coast and as far north as London. Gracie shares more about her special day below.
Gracie H, Year 10
It was very exciting to ride in the private grounds of Windsor Castle at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. There was a great atmosphere at the show, which all the riders had reached following a very hard qualifier during the winter. The final was incredible. Ralph and I jumped clear in our first round at 110cm and the response from the crowd was great, with so much support from everyone. In our jump off against the clock, we took every inside turn we could and flew to the finish line. We did have one unfortunate error on the course but, thanks to our very well planned jump off, we still managed to place 6th, which was absolutely amazing. I am super pleased with how Ralph coped in front of such a large crowd and delighted to have competed in this prestigious event.
The same weekend, Gracie’s sister Emilia (pictured below), also in Year 10, should have competed in the Winter British Showjumping Championships, which she qualified for earlier this year, but was unable to do so as her pony needed to be rested.
