Pupil competes in international show jumping competition

Towards the end of the spring term I was lucky enough to travel to Italy with my horse Oak Grove’s Lutece (Lettice) to compete in my first international show jumping competition at the Arezzo International Equestrian Centre in Tuscany.

I had a great first weekend jumping in the International CSI Juniors section (18yrs and under) and was the only Brit amongst a wide selection of international riders, including competitors from Russia, America, Canada, China and all over the continent. Oak Grove’s Lutece (Lettice) came fifth in the 1m20 on the first Friday, fourth in the 1m30 on Saturday, and then sixth in the 1m30 on Sunday – an incredibly thrilling result for my first weekend of international jumping. 

I flew back to school for the last week of term and then returned to Italy in time to jump the two following weekends. This time I was in the Bronze CSI1* competition against adults. Oak Grove’s Lutece was on top form, producing many double clears and, very excitingly, some top 15 placings – all around some tough 1m30 tracks in classes of 80 competitors - which were challenging enough without the added terrible weather! 

Having arrived back in England, I have now begun preparations for our next big competition: the European Viewing Trials, which take place at Chepstow International, an international competition in Wales from 26 to 29 April.