The weekend saw the running of the inaugural South of Scotland Horse Trials held iat Ringford, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway.
Having competed themselves for many years, it has long been a dream for Tom and Sarah Clark to host an event at Valleyfield their family farm. And together with their daughter Nina and an army of helpers they did it in style!
British Eventing horse trials consist of 3 phases – dressage, show jumping and cross
country. And whilst the event excelled in all three it is the cross country course that
really stood out. Using the rolling hills to their best advantage, course designer Andrew
Heffernan and course builder Dominic Moore and his Jump 1 team created an inviting
and challenging course of jumps for the competitors and a beautiful display for
spectators with creative vantage points where they could watch lots of the action.
5* Eventer Jack Mantel, not long back from competing at Badminton and winner of two of
the Novice sections at the weekend said it was “a proper track of fences that took some
jumping” and “we encourage everyone, wholeheartedly to support this next year”
The weekend started on Friday evening with a course walk in aid of the British Eventing
Support Trust led by Olympic Silver, World and European gold medalist Nicola Wilson.
This proved popular with both competitors and aspiring young riders in the area. A big
thank you to all who came along. This was the best attended course walk ever for the
Charity and raised £780 which will pay for 13 rehabilitation sessions.
The competition itself kicked off Saturday with competitor Number 1 Lara Barnes a
local lass from Dumfries and Galloway. Thanks to the kind sponsors, there were
fabulous rosettes and prizes to 8th place as well as prizes for the highest placed from
Dumfries and Galloway and the highest placed from Scotland.
The event attracted two 5* eventers, Olivia Wilmont from Ayrshire and Jack Mantel from
Northumberland and four 4* eventers, Morven Pringle and Jennifer Stead from Dumfries
and Galloway, Daniel Scott from Fife and Sebastian Roldan Olivera who is based in
Northumberland and represents Argentina.
Competitors came from all across Scotland and the North of England with some
traveling as far afield as the Orkney, the Isle of Mann and Northern Ireland.
The warm welcome and enthusiasm from the Clark Family and all the those involved in
running the event meant the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the competitors,
spectators and sponsors. And the great planning and skill of the ground crew enabled
the competition to continue uninterrupted despite torrential rain at times.
Sponsorship of the event came from across the community with many local and
national businesses providing invaluable support.
Nina said “ this event would not have been able to happen without all the help and support from sponsors and volunteers”
and Sarah and Tom said “A huge thank you to everyone. It was a fantastic weekend in
very trying conditions and it wouldn’t have been possible without all your help and
support”
It is very clear from all the very positive feedback on the day and on social media that
everyone involved is hoping that this will be the first of many South of Scotland Horse
Trials. With 364 competitors this year this observer predicts next years event will be very
popular.
