Great Bookham’s Summer Show was filled to overflowing on Sunday 19 July, with over 350 riders taking part it was hard to find places to park everyone. Classes varied from ‘serious’ showing like Riding Horse, Show Cob, Show Hunter, Mountain & Moorlands including qualifiers for Balanced Horse Feeds popular showing championships. Ring 2 was wall to wall show jumping from 2’ to 3’3” with plenty of Sunshine Tour tickets being picked up along the way. In Ring 3 all the ‘minor’ showing classes were catered for including Best First, Borrowed or Riding School Pony, Handsomest Gelding, Prettiest Mare as well as junior classes Lead Rein Rider, Best Rider and Junior Handler. 5 year old Bronte Monks with her beautiful Shetland Brynbella Sindy did extremely well in this Ring, being placed in no less than 3 classes.

In Ring 4 there was a mixture of Have-A-Go classes, Ex-Racehorse classes and Working Hunters, including Working Cobs and Mountain & Moorland Working Hunter Ponies. Dominique Luqman riding her chestnut mare, Connie was delighted to win the Have-A-Go Ridden class. “I don’t usually go in for showing classes, but this was a great introduction, Connie went very well and the judge was very helpful. I’m also delighted to have qualified for a championship that I might even be brave enough to enter!”

Dressage was also well represented in Rings 5 & 6, with lots of competitors trying to squeeze in a test in between showing and show jumping. All in all a very busy day for everyone!

Surrey Union Pony Club Show

Sunday 12 July

The Surrey Union PC Show was a fantastically busy affair with qualifiers being held in 10 classes over 2 rings. The Cole family made a big impact on the 1’6” jumping, with Anabelle taking 1^st on Forgeland Fudge and Charlotte riding Woolfie placed 3^rd, earning both of them hotly contested qualifying spots. Two riders in the 1’6” earned dual qualification, Max Turk riding Truffles and Harriet Shoesmith riding Starlight both qualified in this class and in the 2’ jumping.

Several show jumping riders were very busy on the day picking up Sunshine Tour tickets and winning classes along the way. Freya Warren took top spot and 2^nd in the 2’6” jumping with Rascal Rover and Ivor as well as 2^nd in the 2’3” with Rascal Rover. Top honours of the day went to Callum Tusler who took home 2 wins in the 3’ and 3’3” jumping classes, as well as a 2^nd place in the 3’, with Hildargo and Alfie III.

Windsor Park Equestrian Club

Sunday 19 July

Dressage with Jumping class A was won by Theresa White riding Take the Liberty and section B was awarded to Lucy Haden-Wight on Islandic. The Intro A class was won by Clare Wilson on Loki with a very respectable 69.56% and the last qualifying place in that class went to highest placed under 21 rider, Eleanor Simpson-Ball riding Long River Jupiter.

Prelim classes included no.

14 and no. 19, won respectively by Amy Bruce on Zebedeus with 70% and Michelle Bone on Dexter with 68.64%. Highest percentage of the day, 73.55% was awarded to Novice 38 winner Mark Pond riding Donn Davy Donn. One of only a few riders to earn dual qualification that day, Mark also won the Elementary 50 with the same horse. Susan Weston also earned two Sunshine Tour spaces in these two classes, being a close runner up to Mark in both classes.

Cranleigh Show

Sunday 2 August

One of the largest participating shows, The Cranleigh Show was as busy as ever on Sunday 2 August. A grand total of 15 classes were offering qualifying spaces in classes ranging from Riding Club Horse, to Family Pony, Working Hunters & Cobs, through to Lead Rein and Veteran and of course, plenty of show jumping. Sunshine Tour ‘veteran’ Natalie Wenman and Carrowkeel Boy qualified again for the same championship that they won last year – the Working Hunter, so Natalie is obviously going to be back to contest her championship status and have another shot at winning a supreme championship!

Bookham Riding Club

Sunday 2 August

The first Sunday in August seems to have been the most popular day of the year for qualifying shows, with no less than 8 venues running qualifiers all over the South East. In Surrey, Bookham Riding Club held their summer show with qualifiers in show jumping with classes ranging from 2’ to 3’3”. Local competitor Karen Kelly was delighted to qualify her ‘hot’ ride, Ellie in the 3’3” class. Keen competitor, Jo Fenn was so anxious to get her qualification in she rang Sunshine Tour HQ on the Monday morning to ask for her qualification pack to be put in the post that day as she was going on holiday at the end of the week and wanted to get her entries in!

Pachesham Equestrian Centre

Dressage & Show Jumping

Sunday 12 July & 19 July

Sunshine Tour neighbour and enthusiastic supporter, Pachesham Equestrian Centre held both dressage and show jumping qualifying competitions during July as part of their busy summer schedule. Centre owner Linda York had a very successful day on 12 July at the Unaffiliated Dressage, winning both the Prelim 19 and the Novice 22 on her horse Bentley. Sadly, as a professional rider and trainer Linda cannot participate in the Championships but there were still plenty of qualifying spaces earned that day by Liz Tilley, Emily Broughham, Lynne Underhill, Emily Gibson and Maria Windsor to name a few.

Show Jumping on 19 July was dominated by Jade Baxter with her 2 rides Robin and Axel, taking 1^st and 2^nd in the 75/80cm and 80/85cm classes as well as winning the 90cm class. One to watch at the Championships! Another very happy competitor that day was Jess Robinson, with her new ride Oakwood Mayqueen who came 4^th and 6^th in the 75/80cm and 80/85cm classes to qualify twice for the Championships.

Sands Farm

Dressage

Wednesday 22 July

Sussex venue, Sands Farm hosted a mid week dressage qualifier on Wednesday 22 July. Judge, Vanessa Mitchell had a tough time separating competitors, with all classes having close percentages at the top end of placings and a good few equal places being awarded. Equally happy to qualify in the Novice class were Danny Davies riding Zarla and Rebecca Mursell on Highcroft Didier who shared 1^st place in Novice 37. In the next class, the combined Novice 38 and Elementary 53, Danny had to be content to share again, this time with Claire Crompton on Woody and Linzi Wiseman riding Webster. Top honours in this class was taken by Elementary rider Tracey Edwards on Riddle with 66.76%.

Just-So Summer Dressage & Combined Training

Manor Farm, Kent

Sunday 19 July

The weather was not kind to Just So Dressage competitors with strong winds battering the riders most of the day, but the poor competitors in Class 1, BD Intro Test B, caught the worst of the weather having heavy rain as well as the strong wind to accompany them during their tests! That said, the competitors coped well and the class was won by Susan Esinger riding Hurricane Harley. By the start of Class 2, Prelim 13, the black clouds had been moved on by the wind and the sun was making an effort to shine at last. The class was won by Shauna Batchelor riding Grivarder Real Deal with Laura XCherry coming a very close second.

Sue Kennett and Taman Kaestindo were once again smothered in Just-So ribbons winning Classes

3 and 4 - Novice 27 and Elementary 42 - and just beating Emma Leary riding her traditional coloured horse Maybe Maisie by 2 marks, to win Class 6 the Open Combined Training. The Novice Combined Training was won by one of our new competitors, Rachel Alcock on her lovely grey horse Maybe with another new competitor, Alison Wynn, 2^nd riding Lionheart. Rachel’s and Alison’s placings were only split by their collective dressage scores having both scored 154 marks in their Prelim 13 dressage test and a clear round in the jumping.

See www.sunshinetour.co.uk for contact details for all these events.

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