Britain’s current number one show jumper, John Whitaker, produced a breathtaking round to win the BSJA Winter A and B Premier Grand Prix at South View EC (18-20 January) with Mandy Hall’s Casino. Second was his niece, Ellen riding Cortaflex Kanselier.
From the 49 who started over Peter Gillespie’s track, 14 contested the jump-off, where the standard was set by Ryan Prater riding Vahagn De Lozana. Double clears then proved elusive until the final three rounds.
Ellen Whitaker combined speed and accuracy with Cortaflex Kanselier to break the beam in 43.15sec, but her lead proved short lived, as John Whitaker and Casino stopped the clock on 42.66sec. Despite a spirited challenge, last drawn Tim Gredley (Timo IV) had to settle for third.
Over three days of top-class jumping, young riders certainly proved a force to be reckoned with, particularly in the BSJA Winter Grade C, where Tim Page and Emily Davies scooped the three tickets to Hickstead between them.
Read this report in full, plus reports from other top show jumping competitions around Britain, in today’s Horse & Hound (31 January, ’08)
