PONY club members from Area 3 have competed for a championship place next month.

With the sun beating down, it was hard to imagine that only the week before horseboxes were being towed in and out of the ground due to the muddy conditions. Everyone concerned deserved much praise for working so hard to prepare the venue in time for this very busy event.

In the first class of the day last Friday, the honours in the open competition went to the team from the Middleton with Sophie Blades on Friday’s Rebel on a top score of 71.29 per cent. The individual qualifier in the open were Alice Wainman on Reevolass and Sophie Lear in Westmont Charlie.

In a hotly-contested intermediate competition, it was the Bedale and West of Yore team that scooped first place with Storm Straker achieving a 80.34 per cent score on Versace. Christian Allderidge on Millenium Rising, from Naburn Grange, qualified as the highest next placed individual on 78.79 per cent.

The rest of the morning was given over to the junior competition that occupied four of the six arenas.

Although not competing for a championship place, this was a very competitive class with somepromising young riders showing their potential for the future.

The winning team was the Vale of York Blue, while the Junior Ride off – the highest-placed rider in each arena – resulted in a win for Abi Taylor on Tommi on a score of 76.46 per cent.

The novice section attracted a large number of entries, both teams and individuals. The two qualifying teams were the Bedale and West of Yore, who had a successful day with this second qualifying win and the Bramham Moor Black.

The event was co-hosted by the Bramham and Badworth branches, whose volunteers worked tirelessly in the heat all day to ensure the day ran smoothly. and everyone had access to a great choice of refreshments of their choice: be it burgers or strawberries and cream!

The qualifying results were: Open: Middleton Hunt: Sophie Blades – Friday’s Rebel, Bethany Shipley – Coedfryn Top Notch, Roxanne Shipley – Jigsaw 11, Eliza Watson – Belter; Intermediate: Bedale West of Yore: Emily Rawlin – Fishers Dream, Storm Straker –Versace, Jake Clark – Salute to Shannon, Isobel Higginbotham – Milthwaite Pride of Milligan; Individual: Christian Allderidge – Millenium Rising; Novice: Bedale West of Yore: Amelia Hattersley – Tulip, Lucy Hattersley – Widget, Abi Taylor –Tommi, Robyn Chilton – DHI Zeus, Bramham Moor Black, Charlie Robinson – Little Boy, Alice Baird –Squires Panache, Ellie Jolliffe – Grace, Sophie Search –Elrig Ruby Tuesday; Individuals: Sophie Pretorius – Smokey, Rebecca Barraclough – Rose Pearl, Alice Triffit – Fern Pippa Burdass – Mundon Cyclone.