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H&H Champs: 71-year-old Sally Pidsley takes the 70cm honours

Playlist 19 Videos H&H Champs: Journey from Scotland pays off for victorious young rider and pony 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I've felt sick all day' — rider fights off nerves to secure 90cm victory 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I held my breath' — islander takes 80cm spoils 00:54 H&H Champs: 71-year-old Sally Pidsley takes the 70cm honours 02:36 H&H Champs: Schoolgirl and pony dominate after cross-country 01:14 H&H Champs: 90cm class goes down to the wire on cross-country day 01:35 H&H Champs: catch ride rewarded after 15 hour journey 01:05 H&H Champs: 'cheeky' Fergus springs into the lead 01:40 H&H Champs: Super Szuca posts personal best to take the lead 03:00 One-eyed racehorse excelling in falconry career 02:24 Watch what happens when a sprinter compares training regimes with a racehorse 03:02 'He's a once in a lifetime horse': history repeats itself at HOYS Cob of the Year championship 00:46 'It has been a long time coming': rider returns to win back Blenheim title after 16-year gap 00:36 Blenheim win for Christopher Burton by narrowest of margins 00:51 All eyes on Tokyo 2020: meet the team behind Britain’s renewed eventing success 01:26 Ever wondered what it takes to be a doctor at Burghley? Watch this video to find out… 01:43 'It's effort after effort': top riders share their thoughts on the 2017 Burghley cross-country course 03:45 What do Zara Tindall, Mark Todd and Harry Meade make of the 2017 Burghley course? 03:47 Amy Woodhead: how working for Carl Hester has set her up for success 06:14

  • Sally Pidsley proved she is still going strong in the saddle aged 71 after riding Tranwheal Tineth Moon to 70cm victory at the inaugural Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships.

    The grandmother from West Devon steered her 13-year-old mare to the top of the leaderboard following yesterday’s cross-country (28 May) — they were the solo combination to go inside the optimum time in the 70cm class.

    Sally travelled on her own from her base near Tavistock with ‘Storm’ — who she has owned for seven years.

    “It’s unbelievable,” said Sally. “I would never have thought it was possible to win, I’m so happy.”

    The pair had one fence in-hand going into today’s showjumping. After having one down, Sally held it together to finish 1.6 penalties ahead of eventual runner-up Shannon Stratton and Just Handy — the 17-year-old gelding was competing at his final competition before retiring.

    Sally has affiliated at British Eventing and is also a regular competitor on the Riding Club circuit. The retired nurse impressively bounced back following a broken knee just 18 months ago.

    “Riding at this age is great — it gives you something to live for!” she added. “You just have to keep doing it. As the saying goes ‘use it or lose it.”

    Sally admitted to pre-competition nerves ahead of the H&H Championships and said she did get rather superstitious, particularly about not talking to H&H before finishing her showjumping.

    “I think I walked the showjumping course about six times — I did get nervous,” she said.

    Storm is the only horse Sally competes, although she does have her retired eventer at home too.

    “Storm lives in the field 24/7 — even during the winter — I think it helps her. She is a typical mare, but is very nice to ride and certainly looks after me. She did have a bout of laminitis, so has had her ups and downs.”

    It appears Sally has no plans to hang up her boots quite yet — this could just be the beginning.

    Don’t miss the full report from the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships in H&H — on sale Thursday, 8 June.

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