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H&H Champs: Journey from Scotland pays off for victorious young rider and pony

Playlist 19 Videos H&H Champs: 71-year-old Sally Pidsley takes the 70cm honours 02:36 H&H Champs: Journey from Scotland pays off for victorious young rider and pony 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I've felt sick all day' — rider fights off nerves to secure 90cm victory 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I held my breath' — islander takes 80cm spoils 00:54 H&H Champs: Schoolgirl and pony dominate after cross-country 01:14 H&H Champs: 90cm class goes down to the wire on cross-country day 01:35 H&H Champs: catch ride rewarded after 15 hour journey 01:05 H&H Champs: 'cheeky' Fergus springs into the lead 01:40 H&H Champs: Super Szuca posts personal best to take the lead 03:00 One-eyed racehorse excelling in falconry career 02:24 Watch what happens when a sprinter compares training regimes with a racehorse 03:02 'He's a once in a lifetime horse': history repeats itself at HOYS Cob of the Year championship 00:46 'It has been a long time coming': rider returns to win back Blenheim title after 16-year gap 00:36 Blenheim win for Christopher Burton by narrowest of margins 00:51 All eyes on Tokyo 2020: meet the team behind Britain’s renewed eventing success 01:26 Ever wondered what it takes to be a doctor at Burghley? Watch this video to find out… 01:43 'It's effort after effort': top riders share their thoughts on the 2017 Burghley cross-country course 03:45 What do Zara Tindall, Mark Todd and Harry Meade make of the 2017 Burghley course? 03:47 Amy Woodhead: how working for Carl Hester has set her up for success 06:14

  • Young rider Daisy Cross maintained a cool head to keep her position at the top of the 100cm leaderboard with her pony Ebony at the inaugural Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships.

    It was a worthwhile journey down from Scotland for the 16-year-old rider who remained on her impressive dressage score of 27.25 throughout.

    “It feels amazing to have won,” said Daisy. “I was reasonably nervous beforehand but the showjumping course was nice and really suited my mare.

    Going into the showjumping on day three of the H&H Championships, there was a mere 0.9 of a penalty separating first to third placings — so there was absolutely no room for error.

    The runner-up spot went to Katherine Peden riding Rufus, while Saturday’s dressage leader Paula Jane Holden and her flashy grey gelding Falco II settled for third place. The latter pair frustratingly picked up 2.4 time-penalties across country for going too fast.

    All three combinations pulled clear rounds out of the bag on the final day — leaving the top-three standings unchanged after the final phase.

    The H&H Championships were a welcome break from exams for the winning schoolgirl, who flew down on Friday after sitting a geography exam.

    “Mum drove Ebony down on Friday and it took her eight hours,” said Daisy. “We’ve both really enjoyed being here at the H&H Championships.”

    The young rider and her 14.2hh pony — by far the smallest in the 100cm class — have competed successfully affiliated at BE100 in under-18 classes and hope to go novice towards the end of the season.

    “She’s a very consistent pony and is good in all three phases,” said Daisy, who has ridden the 14-year-old for three years.

    Daisy will soon be moving onto her first horse, who she also hopes to event, and the ride on Ebony will be passed onto Daisy’s younger sister.

    Don’t miss the full report from the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships in H&H — on sale Thursday, 8 June.

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