Britain finish 5th in World TREC Championships in France

British riders put in a solid performance at the World TREC Championships at Lamotte Beuvron in France to secure fifth position in the team competition.

Fourteen nations entered, including the French who achieved an impressive win on home soil. As the creators of TREC, the French put on a tough competition true to the origins of the sport.

The British team comprised Anthea Kendrick, who finished best of the Brits in 14th place, former world champion David Hay-Thorburn, who finished 28th, 2006 European bronze medallist Hilary Barnard, 35th, and 2007 British Champion Anna Weston, who would have finished 13th but was ruled out by the vet.

Britain also fielded two individual riders. International debutante Daniel Nolan put in a promising performance to finish 26th, with Paul Turner 32nd.

Britain had two representatives in the Young Riders European TREC Championships, held at the same time and venue as the seniors.

Julia Knight-Jones, 20, who was part of the bronze medal-winning young rider team in 2006, finished 26th, while Anne Bolton was vetted out. Anne, 17, had put on a very impressive performance in the POR on her international debut when her horse tripped between the finish and the vet check and trotted up lame.

Chef d’equipe Rob Jones said: “You can’t help but feel a little bit of ‘what could have been’ when you have the misfortune of having horses vetted out. However, there were some really promising performances.”

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