Children

Britain’s first attempt at the Children’s European Show Jumping Championships resulted in double gold last weekend.

The championships, for riders aged between 11 and 14 on horses, took place in Istanbul. The John Whitaker International-sponsored squad of Graham Gillespie (Ara), Yasmin Pinchen (Zodiac Z), Chloe Aston (Leila De Reve) and Megan James (Mandana) finished ahead of Ireland and Italy.

Pictured left to right: Chloe Aston, Graham Gillespie, Nikki Freeman (below), Yasmin Pinchen, Megan James

An elated chef d’equipe, Mike Florence, said: “This is the first time Britain has been represented at the European Childrens Championships and our team today have done us all proud.

“All four team members have given solid performances at a level of competition none of them have experienced before. They all held their nerve, raised their game and we could not have asked for a better result.”

Twelve-year-old Graham and Yasmin, 14, went on to capture the gold and silver individual medals, with Megan finishing equal fourth.

Don’t miss Horse & Hound’s full report from Istanbul in Horse & Hound (26 July, ’07)

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