Home Club News Committee Membership Details Training Events Results Breakspear Points Links ODE Finals - Pulborough Shire Lane ODE at Wokingham Indoor SJ Team Members   Breakspear News   Indoor Novice Team Show Jumping - 17 Feb 2008 Leaving home at the crack of dawn and arriving at the BCA in sub-zero temperatures, members of the two Breakspear teams were somewhat relieved to see the sun arrive and cast its warming rays around in the morning. Our teams got off to a good start with Chris Parrott, Claire Rossiter, Andrea Jansen, Steffi Marx and Jody Humphries gaining clear rounds in their first rounds. With the black team through to the second round on 0 penalties and the Turquoise team through on 8, Breakspear was well positioned at the start of the second round. With nerves and pressure showing their impact, a couple more poles hit the ground in the second round. Andrea and Steffi performed a brilliant second set of clear rounds, and Susie Bell also jumped a clear round in the second phase of the competition. Claire and Stancey were very unlucky and just caught a single pole. Breakspear Black finished in 7th position, on a score of 4 penalty points, while the Turquoise team finished a little further down the rankings. The top 6 teams all went into the jump off with total scores of 0 points to jump off for the positions and qualifying places. Overall the day was a great success with all riders gaining invaluable experience and a great sense of team support. We would like to thanks Thames Valley riding club whose organisation was brilliant. Click here for more photos of the event by John Bell Other photos by Peter Meade can be found here Stancey MacEwan and Shogun (pic John Bell) Steffi Marx and Tara (pic John Bell) Susie Bell and Sapphire (pic John Bell) Winter Dressage Qualifiers 2007 The winter dressage qualifier brought good results for the Breakspear team despite freezing temperatures. First to go were Kirsty Scott riding her own mare Country May, they scored just over 60% and were placed 14th in the prelim 12, Charlotte Osmond and her 6yo gelding Umbro scored 66% despite making an error of course and were place 3rd in the Prelim 12. The novice 27 had even better results as it was won by Mercedes Cottrell riding her own 5yo gelding Ravytan Bay, they scored over 70%. Rachel Fairhead and Welton Lord were last to go and they were placed 14th scoring 60%. The competition run from 8.30am to 6.30pm as they only had one arena going, but despite the below zero temperatures the outdoor arena was excellent. None of us were able to wait till the end but the sheets and rosettes were sent to us in an envelope which Rachel left with the organisers. Mercedes Cottrel & Ravytan Bay London & SE ODE Championships - October 2007 The London and SE finals took place at Coomberlands Cross Country, near Pulborough, a couple of hours drive from Beakspear's usual turf. The team managed to navigate there fairly easily and found a corner to park up together. The venue was very grand, with gallops and a brilliant setting, sending all of us into admiration. The dressage phase yielded a mixed set of results. Charlotte Osmond and her horse Umber rode a brilliant test, finishing on a score of 29.5%, their best score to date. Claire Rossiter and Iggy also performed a personal best, finishing on 33.5%. Susie Bell and Sapphire seemed a little affected by the pressure but managed a respectable score, as did Jody Humphries and Billy. Left to right: Claire & Iggy, Charlotte & Umber, Susie & Sapphire, Jody & Billy (Pic: John Bell)   The show jumping phase was tense. Claire and Iggy were first to go and were unfortunate to knock the first fence down. Susie and Sapphire made the same mistake and were then caught out at the double. Charlotte and Umber also knocked the first fence, leaving Jody and Billy to clock the only clear round of the day. With most jumps up to maximum height and width, the final cross country phase was the one that had kept everyone nervous during the day. Claire and Iggy were first to go and set off at a cracking pace to complete a clear round just inside the optimum time. Susie and Sapphire were next and also completed a perfect round within the time. Charlotte and Umber started off well but after knocking himself on fence 3, Umber became a little reluctant to keep going and was eliminated at fence 5. Jody and Billy were last to go, flying round the course in style and finishing once again inside the allowed time. Overall the team performed reasonably, with Claire and Iggy claiming 4th place in their individual section. The final overall team result was just outside the placings. Click here for more pictures (Pics: John Bell)   London & SE One Day Event Qualifyers - 26th August 2007   Having spent the week watching weather forecast updates and praying to various sun gods, our team set out for Shire Lane at the crack of dawn to compete in the London and South East One Day Event qualifier. Luckily, either the praying or the fingers, or a combination of both, seemed to have done the trick and the day started off with brilliant sunshine. As in all One Day Events, Dressage came first. Charlotte Osmond started strongly and preformed the best test of the day, while the other three members, Claire Rossiter, Susie Bell and Jody Humphries continued on to gain respectable scores. Overall the team was evenly balanced and lay in a solid position after the dressage phase. After and couple of hours break and a quick walk around the cross country course, the Show Jumping phase proved decisive for the team. All members jumped perfect rounds and finished off with a clean jumping sheet and a firm boost to morale to go on and start the final Cross Country phase. The Cross country course was interesting, offering a variety of obstacles over varied terrain. Charlotte was first and unfortunately, having banged his legs on a previous fence, her horse became increasingly reluctant to jump and after several refusals was eliminated. The remaining 3 riders jumped around the course with no jumping penalties and only a small number of time penalties. Overall the team finished 4th, thus qualifying for the London and SE finals on the 7th October. The team was very evenly matched  and produced a very consistent set of results, with members complimenting each other and all providing a crucial point to the overall result. TEAM RESULTS: 1st Berkshire Blue 119.7 2nd OBH Red 120.8 3rd Windsor Forest 121.3 4th Breakspear 158.2 5th Wokingham & Barewood White 166.5 6th Thames Valley - Black 189.0 7th Berkshire Red 190.8 8th Thames Valley - Red 267.1       Claire Rossiter & Iguane de Belcharm Susie Bell & Sapphire Jodie Humhries & Ballygowan Star Charlotte Osmond & Umber   Festival of the Hunter - Snowball Farm - 28th April 2007   The 2006 Festival of the Hunter finally took place at Snowball Farm on the 28th April, having been cancelled earlier in autumn due to bad weather. Breakspear's team consisted of Chris Parrott riding What's it All About, Susie Bell riding Sapphire, Steffi Marx riding Tara and Kylie Roddy riding J's Super Saucy. With the sun shinning and temperatures rising steadily throughout the day, competitors set out one by one over the challenging course, dust blowing away in the wind from under their horses hooves. The parched ground led considerably slowed the pace of the course and many horses seemed a little heavier than usual. First to go for Breakspear was Chris Parrott who completed the course slightly over time and with 60 jumping Penalties. Next to go was Susie Bell who completed a good round, finishing on 20 jumping penalties and only 0.4 time penalties. Steffi Marx rode the only BRC clear of the day, finishing her round with only 2.4 time penalties. Last to go, Kylie Roddy received 20 jumping penalties and 3.6 time penalties. Breakspear's team finished on a total of 46.4 penalties which saw them placed in 4th position, out of a total of 13 teams, behind High Wycombe, South Oxfordshire and OBH 1. Please see full results in table below. Steffi Marx finished 6th overall in the individual competition. Festival of the Hunter Results 1 High Wycombe 21.2 2 South Oxfordshire 26.0 3 OBH 1 37.6 4 Breakspear 46.4 5= Chandlers Cross Lions 46.8 5= Hawley 46.8 7 Thames Valley 68.8 8 OBH 2 104.8 9 Thames Valley 2 115.2 10 Chiltern 144.8 11 Wokingham & Barewood 165.2 12 OBH 3 E 13 Chandlers Cross Panthers E Chris Parrott Susie Bell Steffi Marx Kylie Roddy Chiltern & Thames Rider Dressage Final - Keysoe 2007 People who qualified at Breakspear events held at Greinan farm featured very prominently in the results. Breakspear's Kylie Roddy won the Prelim Open. Chris Jensen was 3rd in the Novice Open. Breakspear AGM We would like to thank Chris Blackmore for giving a very informative talk about conformation. You can visit his website by clicking here Team Show Jumping - BCA - 18th February 2007 Having set out nice and early, both BRC teams had arrived at the Berkshire College of Agriculture by 8.30am, with plenty of time to walk the course and sort out all the paperwork. With 20 senior teams present at the event, the day promised to be a nail biting event! Breakspear 1: As one of the first competitors to go, Chris Parrott and her horse What's it All About opened the day for the BRC 1 Team and jumped a smooth first round which, despite Alfie's forward jumping, finished on an unfortunate 4 faults with a knocked pole. Next to go for the team was Hilary Sansom Barry and April who also finished this round with a knock down. Sam Sheppard and his horse Veritas L, who were representing Breakspear for this first time at this event, also finished on 4 faults after rolling the top pole off jump number 5. Steffi Marx and Tara, also jumping their first round for Breakspear, then came into the arena finished off the team's first round by jumping a perfect clear round. The second round of jumping saw the jumps raised to a good 2'9 with some solid and impressive spreads. Chris Parrott was once again first to go and started off her round very confidently. Unfortunately Alfie lost a shoe on take off before the 2nd fence and seemed slightly rattled, knocking down two jumps and refusing a third in succession. Having been reassured by Chris, he then completed his round without further penalties. Hilary was next to go, jumping a very fluid and well deserved clear round in this round. Sam was unlucky in this round where his horse's inexperience saw him slightly overbalanced for the final fence and leaving him unable to clear it with no penalties. Finally, Steffi rode another superb second clear, flying through the finish with a massive grin on her face. Overall the team finished in 8th position (20 teams competing) Breakspear 2: Susie Bell and Sapphire were the first competitors to ride for BRC 2 and completed their first round with a confident clear round. Next in was Claire Rossiter on Coolcam Legaun who jumped a lovely clear round but unfortunately were riding through the timers in the wrong direction as the bell went off, triggering the start of the time and collecting time penalties as a result. Katie and Bugsie, new to Breakspear this year, were next to jump and performed a lovely clear round well within the time. The first round was wrapped up by another new team member, Charlotte Osmond riding her horse Umber, who twice failed to snap up his legs, resulting in two knock downs. Attacking the second round with determination, Susie completed another impressive clear round for the team. Claire and Cleo also completed the round with no penalties in a calm and rhythmical round. Katie and Bugsie were unlucky to knock down a fence in this round and finished on 4 faults. Charlotte and Umber started the round with energy, clearing the first few fences with ease. Unfortunately the long day seemed to suddenly take it's toll on this young horse and he knocked 3 poles down in the second half of the course. Overall the team finished in =10th position (to be confirmed) (20 teams competing) We would like to thank the organisers for a good and smoothly run event which was run to schedule by a friendly and competent team! Both our teams had a wonderful - if somewhat tirering - long day and have gained valuable experience. Congratulations to all that took part!   OBH Team Cross Country - Shire Lane - 2nd September 2006 With so many Breakspear riders taking part in the OBH Hunter Trials at Shire Lane, it was impossible to resist the temptation of entering a team in the team event. The first Breakspear team member to go in the class was Ellen, who, having recently swapped her horse Amara into a Pelham, charged round the course, leaping over the jumps as if they were not there. The only glitch in her round happened as she exited the woods, when Amara did not quite stretch far enough over the jump, bringing the top pole along with her, which fortunately does not incur penalties in this event. Second to go was Claire Rossiter who, during the convalescence of her own horse, was riding a neat little pony called Rodney, kindly lent to her by Sharon Higgs. Despite his small size, Rodney put in a cracking round, fearlessly leaping over the jumps and galloping his heart out between them as he wound his way around the course. After a final leap through the water jump, he also finished on a clear round. Chris Parrott and Alfie were next to go, setting off at a cracking pace as they lept over the fences one after the other. Totally confident, the pair of them sailed through the troublesome jumps in the woods and hopped in and out of the coffin combination as it Alfie had been born doing this. The delight on Chis’s face as they flew over the finishing line was enough to tell the rest of us that they had also gone clear. Last to go, and after many disconcerting delays, Hilary Samson Barry and April finally set off for their round. Unfortunately, the long waits and delays had unnerved April who stopped at the first fence. Gathering her up strongly, Hilary rode her well and sailed over at a second attempt, and completing the rest of the course with no further mishaps. With only one stop between them, the Breakspear team finished 2nd in the overall placings. Other Breakspear members who took part as individuals or as part of other teams included Kathy Dean, Susie Bell, Steffi Marx and Elenor Ayres. Chris Parrott Claire Rossiter Hilary Sansom Berry   BLENHEIM HORSE TRIALS - 2nd September 2006 Our arrival to Blenheim was punctuated by heavy rain and wind which, fortunately, did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm as we tumbled out of cars and into our waterproofs and wellies. Arriving nice and early, we were able to have a quick wander around the trade stands, with the necessary detour via the scoreboard, before heading off onto the course to hunt for the ideal viewing position.   Our first viewing point was to be the sunken road, where we stood watching as riders tackled this technical obstacle with varying degrees of skill. Breakspear’s Jonathan Chapman finally came into sight, looking as cool as a frozen cucumber, and hoped through with effortless grace. Having watched Jonathan disappear from view, we then moved on the next earmarked section of the course, from where we could observe him jumping down over an impressive drop to a thin arrowhead, over some rails and up over a wide solid-looking fence (see picture) before cantering down to the first of the water elements. The water was tackled with equal cool, with both horse and rider sailing effortlessly along the course and disappearing up a slope. Our final viewing point was the second water crossing where we once again arrived in time to watch Jonathan rhythmically tackling the jumps as if they were not even there and galloping away to a the sound of wild cheering.   Having watched Jonathan fly by, we continued our path round the course in the wake of galloping hooves and flashing heels, taking the time to watch at least one rider attempt each jump that we passed. It was a relief to eventually reach the grandstands and be able to put our feet up for a short while before heading back through the shops to the pond. Here we witnessed an impressive fall, where the horse tripped over the fence and somersaulted in the air, landing half way down the slope below. Fortunately, both horse and rider quickly got to their feet unscathed. When all the results were in at the end of the day, Jonathan’s cross country result saw him leap up the leader-board from 55th into 32nd position. His show jumping round the following day saw him clock up a total of 12 points from knocked poles. He was placed 28th in the final rankings at the end of the event. Thrilled with his performance, Jonathan told us the following: "To complete Blenheim on a horse I bred and produced is a profoundly satisfying training experience. To jump round a European Championship course in the style in which he did, with his ears pricked forwards all the way, and visibly enjoying himself, bodes well for the future. Oscar, as he known at home, was never an easy horse. He has put more of my grooms and family in hospital than all the others put together, but is a prime example of persistence paying off. And they always say that the best horses are never straightforward! 13 years ago, when I started riding again after a ten year break, I went to Blenheim to watch and I met Roger Johnson MRCVS, who was the then FEI vet there, and also close family friend. He said that he would like to see me ride round Blenheim, and I'm only sad that he wasn't around to see it." SHIRE LANE - Team Eventing - 27th August 2006 After an early start, the BRC team arrived at Shire Lane for the annual London and South East One Day Event qualifier. Chris Parrott and Alfie were the first to go, performing a cracking dressage test which was ultimately to be the second best dressage performance of the day. Ellen and Amara were next into the ring and started off well, but Amara got a little carried away as the test went on. Kathy  Dean, who was competing in her first ever eventing competition, performed a sound test. Finally, Hilary and April went into the arena and came out with an identical score to Ellen. The Show Jumping phase was next. Chris and Alfie jumped well but unfortunately knocked two poles down. Ellen followed with a clear round, and Kathy and Hilary both had a stop each in this phase. Cross country, everyone's favourite, came last. Chris completed the course clear, but was awarded a couple of time penalties for going too fast. Ellen and Amara had a stop at the fan and were therefore a little slower. Kathy and JJ got round fabulously, with Kathy encouraging JJ the whole way round the course. They finished with a respectable 1 stop. April and Hilary were clear also in this phase but slightly slow so also gained a couple of time penalties. Overall, Chris and Alfie were place 7th individually and the team was placed 8th. Although this result failed to qualify the team, everyone had a fantastic day and is looking forwards to next year's event! 1st Berkshire 5th Chandlers Cross Lions 2nd Thames Valley White 6th Wokingham & Bearwood 3rd High Wycombe 7th Chandlers Cross Panthers 4th OBH Red 8th Breakspear Ellen & Amara Kathy & JJ BRITISH DRESSAGE REGIONAL FINALS - August 06 Success at the British Dressage Regional finals for Sondra Darnbrogh winning the NFU Mutual Prelim and Demi Jour owned by Michel Assouline. Congratulations Sondra we hope you do well at the Nationals!!! It will be a busy month for Sondra as she will be representing Breakspear at the Riding Clubs Finals at Lincoln on the first week end of September with Meyer, after qualifying in June. WOKINGHAM TEAM ONE DAY EVENT - Saturday 24th June 2006 With one of it’s members going lame 24 hours before the big day, the 3 remaining members of the Breakspear eventing team and their supporters took to the road at the crack of dawn to go and fight for their chance to qualify for Stonleigh.   Having ironed out a few problems at the start of the day, all our riders went on to perform solidly in the dressage. Despite being called up to the secretaries tent over a vaccination misunderstanding moments before she was due to begin her dressage test, Kiley Roddy hurried into the arena and went on the ride the best test of the day.    Having knocked up a couple of poles in the jumping, the team attacked the cross country test with gusto. Chris Parrott and her horse, Whats it all about were first to go and sailed over the first few jumps with ease and confidence, clearing the water jump without hesitation, despite all the problems it was causing to many other competitors. Her brilliant round was closely followed by Kiley, who pulled off a magnificent clear round.   Ellen and Amara, who were last to go, sailed round the course, displaying a tremendous burst of speed over a long open uphill gallop, but unfortunately the pair took the wrong course over a fence and were eliminated.   The overall  result was satisfying, with Kiley finishing in first position in the individual competition and automatically qualifying for Stonleigh! Congratulations Kiley!