Twelve-year-old Charlotte Cooke had a strong start in the Ariat 90cm class at the H&H Festival of Eventing taking both the lead and third place following the dressage.
Charlotte scored an impressive 26.5 with 12-year-old 14.2hh gelding Iceford Jigsaw, owned by Susan Yapsley, and took third place on her own Lisacannor Turlia on a score of 28.5.
“Ice is amazing, I’m really happy with my score,” Charlotte, who is competing at the event for the second time, told H&H. “He is lovely in all aspects and never makes a fuss.
“His owner approached my dad at a show in Guernsey and asked if we would take him to event. My brother, Jack, worked him as a five-year-old and introduced him to eventing then I took over from my brother last year.”
Charlotte, who is in the Essex Hunt North branch of the Pony Club, said Ice, and Liscannor Turlia (Theo) are very different.
“Ice is very chilled and Theo is a bit more upbeat and can get excited. I’ve only owned Theo for eight months and this is our first three-day-event together. I did my first ever British Eventing (BE) event at Keysoe two weeks ago where I got 6th in the BE90 on Ice, and they both went double clear.”
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“I love cross-country it’s my favourite. The course looks good, I’m not really nervous – I’ve set my watch and I need to ride to my time. There’s some nice lines that will keep the ponies busy and keep my concentration,” said Charlotte.
Charlotte lies just 0.5 penalties in front of second place rider Tracey Houston and Pallasgreen Promise, while Charlotte’s mum, Claire lies in eighth place with Tarbert Eiffel.
“This year I plan to compete at BE90 and really get the hang of it and if we’re ready step up to BE100 at the end of the season if we’re ready,” said Charlotte.
Don’t miss the full report from the H&H Festival of Eventing in Horse & Hound magazine — on sale Thursday, 6 June
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
