A Mary Poppins-themed routine beat competition from Dogtanian, 50 Shades of Grey and the Ride of the Valkyries to win the BRC SEIB Insurance Brokers quadrille of the year title on Saturday night (21 October).
Four riding club teams battled it out in the final during Bury Farm’s annual all-star gala show, with Cornwall TREC group taking victory on 90.3%.
“With stunning costumes, elaborate chorography and foot-stomping music, [the audience] clapped and cheered along to the very differently themed routines,” said a British Riding Clubs (BRC) spokesman.
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Reigning champions Saffron Walden & District Riding Club finished in second place on 86.9% with a Dogtanian and the Muskehounds-themed routine, while Cherwell Valley Riding Club’s “dramatic interpretation” of the Ride of the Valkyries earned them 72.5% and third place.
Deen City Farm BRC centre, a south London riding school, took fourth place with 67.5% for a Charlie Chaplin-themed take on 50 Shades of Grey.
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“The three judges, Donald Kear, Richard Baldwin and Lynn Russell, were enthralled by the sheer spectacle and entertainment value demonstrated by these teams,” said the spokesman.
“They firstly inspected the incredible costumes in the collecting and were then positioned around the arena to judge the routines from different perspectives, with all the marks added together to reach the final scores.”
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The winning manager, Verity Perry, said everything had fallen into place after six years of taking part in the competition.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but totally worth the long trip up from Cornwall to Bury Farm, we are over the moon,” she said.
“I would like to thank SEIB, BRC and the organisers at Bury Farm for making this such a fabulous event.”
Essex-based squad earn their crown in hotly contested
Nicolina MacKenzie of SEIB presented the trophy.
“I cannot believe how much work each of these teams put into their quadrille routines, the costumes are truly amazing,” she said. “The time it must take to get four horses and riders together to practise is a major achievement, this is a wonderful championship to be involved with.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
