Relentless Gallop To Regain Their Title
The Team Chasing community descended in force on farmland near Tur Langton in South Leicestershire on Sunday for the Fernie Team Chase, which also incorporated the Chesterton Humberts National Team Chase Championship 2010. This event is the pinnacle of the annual Team Chasing calendar, with qualifying events having taken place all round the Country throughout the previous 12 months. Organisers were blessed with good weather and in particular a drying wind, which improved the underfoot conditions for horses as the day progressed. The early Spring sunshine also helped to swell a large crowd of spectators for this ever popular equestrian sport, not least as spectators are able to get very close to the action, or watch it all from a distance as they prefer.
The Welland Valley Feeds Novice Class opened the day’s proceedings, and saw a large turnout of local and Midlands-based teams all eager to jump round the 17 fence course. This class is judged against a bogey time, which is calculated to represent a reasonable cross-country pace for the 1.5 mile course. The local team from Saddington and North Kilworth in South Leics of David and Helen Briggs, Janine Bailiss and Felicity Eperon came out on top of the 37 teams in a time of 4 minutes and 37 seconds. They pipped the Court Flyers by less than 0.89 seconds, with the Hallaton-based Gin and Tonics (Lucy Tough, Rachel Harrap, Becky Vernon & Penny Fairman) back in third.
The Chesterton Humberts National Championship 2010 saw some spectacular riding from the 12 teams that set out on Roger Whitehead’s beautifully-presented but big 30 fence course over an extended 2 mile track. Whilst there was no local involvement this year, the competitors had travelled from Somerset, Yorkshire, Wales and other parts of the UK to take part in this prestigious event, and there was no lack of excitement for the large number of spectators. After a safe but sure opening round by The Centaurs, the pace hotted up with lightening accuracy from Relentless Fight the Ban. Their usual lead horse, Bruce, was ruled out just 24 hours earlier with a minor infection, but usual rider Rowan Cope (from Creaton, Northamptonshire) switched to Mani who is usually ridden by Ben Pauling in the same team. However it was the third member of the team, in Dougie Gittins on Bono from Oxfordshire, who set the pace by leading over some enormous Grand National style hedges at very acute angles and a fast pace. Millie Stewart-Wood needed all of her precise veterinary skills to keep in touch with her teammates, particularly over the Chesterton Humberts Chicane logs, but they stopped the clock in an impressive 4 minutes 29.14 seconds to set the standard. Dougie later collected the inaugural “Junior” Trophy in memory of the legendary Team Chasing horse of a synonymous name, for the best performance by an under-25 rider in this class. The prize had been generously donated by Junior’s regular and universally popular rider, Debbie Topping.
The Equiform Bloodhounds and Wishful Thinkers followed immediately, and looked to have the time well in-hand at the half way mark after some daring lead riding by William Grant. However they could not maintain the accuracy in the second part of the course, and finished just 2.32 seconds adrift. The defending Champions, The Art Hotel Chasers went off last of the 12 runners and were led spectacularly by the incomparable flying Doctor from Wales, Sarah Myhill, but they were never quite on terms with the leading time and a couple of minor errors, notably at the Robinsons Return fence, left them 7 seconds adrift. There were many other notable team performances but none could quite match Relentless Fight The Ban’s pace, and therefore they regained the Crown that they last won on the same Leicestershire course in 2008. Leading owner, Belinda Walkinshaw was overjoyed to win her 2nd National Championship and commented that the ground conditions and well-constructed fences, with large but flowing hedges, had particularly suited her charges after a difficult Spring campaign.
The Robinsons Motor Group UK Hunt Team Chase and Fernie Intermediate was an equally competitive affair in the afternoon, over slightly smaller fences than had been used for the Championship. Although the Taunton Vale Thrusters set a very strong early pace, they soon found themselves swamped by a number of Midlands-based quartet’s. The Cottesmore Chasers just failed to overhaul their time by less than half a second, but the Pytchley B team managed to shave a second and a half off the time. Not to be outdone, the Pytchley A team set out to prove a point and the combination of Lizzie Harris, Lydia Cope, Henry Gurney and Henrietta McCall from Creaton and West Haddon came home with nearly 6 seconds to spare, in a time of 4minutes 22.22 seconds. They looked to have it in the bag until the very final team of the day, the Quorn Quartet, set out to break their stranglehold. They were up on the time at the half way mark, but ran into trouble soon after when Helen Connors’ horse saw a gap before her jockey in front of the influential water fence, and eliminated himself. But the remaining 3 riders pressed on at a strong gallop, and took the tightest of angles over the remaining 9 fences, only to be denied by just over one second. Of the 38 teams that started, the top 10 finishers were separated by less than 20 seconds over the 1.75 mile and 26 fence course.
The Top Spec Close Shavers travelled the long distance from South Wales, and then rattled round the course in a time of 4 minutes 27.46 seconds to take the Robinsons Motor Group Fernie Intermediate prize. It was a small consolation for them, following a difficult week when regular rider Ally Brown was ruled out of the National Championship on Doctor’s orders having been diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae from a fall earlier in the season. Her subsequent replacement in their National Championship team, Louise Collinson from Newmarket, competed admirably in one of her first proper Team Chases, but the team could not match their past feat of winning the Championship on this course.
There was a short break for lunch, during which the now-traditional Roger Helmer MEP Foot Chase took place, over a 1.5 mile natural country route with 8 fences. Ross Kent interrupted his preparations to ride a bicycle from John ‘O Groats to Lands End to win the event, closely followed by well-know Team Chase rider William Grant. It was a case of keeping in good company, as Ross works in the Northampton office of Carter Jonas where his employer is the event organiser Philip Cowen! The Westerby Bassett Doghounds won the team competition, and first Pony Club team were The Ugly Ferrets, of George King and Tom Wallace.
The Quorn Quartet’s UK Hunt Team Chase round provided a thrilling end to a day of top class Team Chasing, which was supported by nearly 90 teams from all over the country, each containing 4 horse and riders. Relentless Fight the Ban vowed to return again in 2011 to successfully defend their title, but the real winner on the day was the sport which enjoyed a big day in the beautiful scenery and rolling countryside of South Leicestershire. |
