British vaulters’ one, two, three finish in Saumur
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Britain’s female vaulters dominated the podium in the senior female class at the Saumur CVIO** (6-8 April) to help push the British team into second place in the nations cup.
Joanne Eccles, Hannah Eccles and Lucy Phillips (pictured) kept the rest of the field at bay throughout all four rounds of the ladies’ class to clinch Team GB’s first one, two, three on the podium.
Joanne finished on 8.619 points, her sister Hannah on 8.105 and Lucy on 7.969.
Andrew McLachlan became the first British male to win a class at an international, winning the junior class.
And Stacey Macpherson finished sixth in the junior female class with team mate Elloise Cundy close behind in seventh.
Chef d’equipe Lucy Bell said: “Both teams also did a great job over the weekend.
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“South Scotland Select produced a great compulsory round and were leading, but a very strong German team just pushed them into second after the freestyle.”
She added that the English Vaulting Squad produced solid performances to finish sixth in a strong senior class, which helped Team GB to finish second in the nations cup.
The nations cup was closely fought and eventually won by the French, with 0.24.
The British team was made up of Joanne Eccles, Hannah Eccles, Lucy Phillips and the English Vaulting Squad.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.