An mammoth journey from Jersey to Keysoe involving an 11-hour boat trip paid off for livery yard Cilla Perchard.
The livery yard owner has taken the lead in 80cm elementary section of the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships on Inga Edinburgh’s Urgo with a score of 27.5.
Cilla, who is also competing on her own Just Badger, explained she has the ride on Urgo as Inga is pregnant.
“He is 14 and only really started jumping competitively two years ago,” she told H&H, adding Inga competed him at the Riding Club horse trials championships last year.
“The atmosphere today didn’t bother him – we didn’t even do the arena walk – and he was in all on his own as he was the last horse of the day to go.
“You never get to do stuff like this on Jersey. I saw [the championships] on the Horse & Hound Facebook page and thought ‘let’s give it a go’.
“Everybody has been very friendly and nice, and we have got chatting with a few of the other competitors as well.”
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All four course are ready and dressed ahead of tomorrow’s cross-country and riders have been sharing their initial thoughts.
Cilla said she thought they looked “really good” but admitted she was less keen on fence 10 – the water complex.
In the run-up to the championships, the Jersey resident has based herself with nearby British four-star eventer Sarah Bullimore.
“She has been absolutely fantastic,” she added.
Don’t miss next week’s issue of Horse & Hound for a full report from the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
