Charlotte Page and Qrevette Gii, a pony the 15-year-old rider has produced herself from an unbroken five-year-old, upgraded their third place in last year’s discovery final to take victory in the 2020 championship
A teenager and a pony she produced from scratch made a winning return to take first place in the Direct Insurance pony discovery championship.
Charlotte Page and Qrevette Gii, who finished third in the championship last year, showed phenomenal turns in a blistering jump-off to upgrade their 2019 result and claim the 2020 title at the British Showjumping Indoor Championship Finals at Aintree International Equestrian Centre on Friday (9 October).
Olivia Sponer and Conella II took a convincing five-second lead early on in the 12-strong jump-off with a lightning-quick round in a time of 29.11 seconds, which looked as if it was going to be a challenge to beat.
“Olivia is always really good competition — she always puts the pressure on. I wasn’t planning to go that quick, then Dad told me she’d gone fast, so I went for it,” said Charlotte, 15.
Qrevette Gii (“Shrimpy”) showed her agility and a serious turn of foot, with the pair combining exceptionally tight turns with speed across the ground and taking a stride out to the final oxer to stop the clock in 28.39 seconds — just ahead of Olivia and Conella, who took second with Louise Mcdonald and Maily 17 in third.
Pony Discovery Champion Winner
The ponies have arrived and the first title up for grabs was the Pony Discovery Championship. It was a jump off that kept us on the edge of our seats! Congrats to 15yo Charlotte Page who went faster than we thought possible to claim the title with her self produced Qrevette Gii. 🥇 CHARLOTTE PAGE – QREVETTE GII🥈 OLIVIA SPOONER – CONELLA II🥉 LOUISE MCDONALD – MAILY 17
Posted by British Showjumping on Friday, October 9, 2020
Course designer Mark McGowan’s first round track provided plenty of questions for combinations to answer, with faults spread across the course. Katie Bradburne and Woodland Prince II provided the first clear of the class to become the sole 138cm combination to reach the jump-off, finishing 10th overall.
The jump-off course gave riders plenty of options for places to make up ground, including dog-leg lines, three fences on a circle testing combinations’ turning power, ending with a galloping line to the final fence.
“[Shrimpy] is quick on the turns and I can challenge her because she is so quick on her feet,” explained Charlotte, who has produced the French-bred 148cm mare herself from an unbroken five-year-old.
The daughter of Balou Mena Gii was bred to be a horse, but never grew, and Charlotte and her father bought her from the Gustavii Stud in 2018.
“She is my favourite,” said Charlotte, adding Shrimpy has a very cheeky personality.
“It’s really rewarding producing your own pony as you know that’s your work, nobody else’s.
“I have a really close relationship with her and she’s really protective of me — if the dogs are barking [at home] she will chase them out the field to ‘protect’ me!”
The pair have also qualified for Sunday’s Blue Chip pony newcomers championship.
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