RAF TEAM TRIUMPH AT ROYAL TOURNAMENT

The 23rd to 26th June saw the members of the RAF Equitation Team compete at the Combined Services Royal Tournament. Every year approximately 120 horse and rider combinations battle it out over 3 days of show jumping to be crowned overall Junior or Senior Rider along with the prestigious Olympia qualification going to the top 8 Senior riders.

This year was going to be no exception with the sun promising to shine throughout. The RAF Competitors this year were:

• Wg Cdr Dawn Elson- Zippy
• Wg Cdr Jane Austin- Mr Willoughby
• Flt Lt Caitlin Wroe- Alligator
• Flt Lt Carrie Moore- Max
• Flt Lt Liz Hale- Ollie
• Flt Lt Jules Fleming- Ufo
• FS Simon Allen- Sam & Dollar
• Cpl Paula Golder- Charmed
• Cpl Sarah Marshall- Minnie
• Cpl Kelly Kyte- Havannah
• SAC Mel Stoner- Rio
• SAC Martin Catterall-

The classes range from 1.00m up to 1.20m and test all ranges of abilities. They are split into Junior and Senior classes and riders gain points depending on their final placings. The classes available are as follows:

• The Futures Cup (Junior- 1.00m)
• The Princess Anne Cup (Junior- 1.05m)
• The Prince of Wales Cup (Junior & Senior- 1.10m)
• Teams (1.05m)
• The Kings Cup (Senior- 1.15m)
• The Queens Cup (Senior- 1.20m)
• Six Bar (Junior- starts at 0.85m)
• Junior Derby (Junior-1.05m)
• Senior Derby (Senior- 1.20m)

The RAF achieved an incredible run of success gaining a placing in all bar 2 classes. SAC Martin Catterall, whose first outing with the team was only a few months ago at Aldershot managed to get a very credible 2nd in the Futures Cup... a combination to look out for in the future! This was quickly followed by Cpl Paula Golder getting a 2nd in the Princess Anne Cup. The first class for the more senior riders came next with the Prince of Wales Cup. A mixture of Juniors and Seniors meant that there were over 80 competitors in this class however Flt Lt Jules Fleming riding Ufo managed to get a good double clear under their belt to give them 3rd place overall. This also meant a good start to the overall points for Olympia.

The next day saw most of the Junior riders having a go at the team competition. With only 3 teams being awarded prizes it was going to be tough and unfortunately too many faults for each team kept them out of the placings. Next we saw the novelty Six Bar competition take place in the magnificent indoor arena on site. 4 riders made it through to the final round with 3 of these being RAF. The height of the fences were 1.25m in this round and SAC Mel Stoner on Rio produced the only clear to take the win. A credible mention must go to SAC Martin Catterall for getting 2nd along with Cpl Paula Golder.

Back in the outdoor arena it was the turn of the Senior Riders in the Kings Cup. 3 members of the RAF team jumped with 2 making it through to the jump off. With 12 riders going through it was going to be an exciting jump off. Flt Lt Caitlin Wroe put in a good round only lowering 1 pole for a total of 4 faults and overall 5th. Flt Lt Jules Fleming was last to go and again jumped a superb clear. Unfortunately their time was not quite good enough and so settled for 2nd. With 2 good rounds under their belt and still the last day to go they opted to withdraw from the Queens Cup as the ground was quite hard as well as the time getting on. This left Caitlin as the sole representative in the Queens Cup. This was a big test for the pair as it was the biggest class they had ever jumped up to this point. They did very well and only had a few fences down.

The last day was derby day... an exciting two classes for everyone. As with the famous derby course at Hickstead riders will find themselves up against a bank, derby rails, table top and of course a devils dyke! It is also a much longer course than your average and so really tests both horse and rider fitness. In the Junior Derby credible rounds came from Flt Lt Carrie Moore and Cpl Sarah Marshall both just lowering 1 or 2 poles. However it was towards the end that we saw excellent clears from Cpl Paula Golder and SAC Mel Stoner. Both going forward to the jump off there were 5 riders competing for the top prize. Paula and Mel both had good rounds with Mel getting 2nd and Paula 4th.

The final class saw Flt Lts Jules Fleming and Caitlin Wroe jumping. With an early draw Jules did not get much of a chance to see how the course was riding. This did not stop the pair achieving a fantastic clear round and setting the mark for everyone else. Withdrawing from the Queens the night before had payed off! Caitlin had two fences however there was still a chance that it would be good enough for a placing. It was not till much later on on in the class did we see one more clear but it did mean a jump off. Jules was 1st to go and set off fast.. it was all or nothing! Once again Ufo jumped his heart out and they had another very good clear to put the pressure on the last rider. She put in a very good round right up until the last fence where they touched the pole and it fell. This meant a win for Jules and more points towards Olympia.

Once the derby presentation had completed they announced the overall junior and senior riders. Cpl Paula Golder took the junior prize and Flt Lt Jules Fleming took the senior as well as the overall Olympia qualification. Never have the RAF managed to achieve both junior and senior awards.

A big thank you must go out to everyone at the Defence Animal Centre for holding such a fantastic competition. Every year it is a real pleasure to compete against some of the best riders in the military and also provides an excellent social environment too!

Also, thanks must go to the RAF Sprots Board and Lottery for allowing us to represent the RAF but also to our Chef D'Equip, Wg Cdr Jane Austin for getting all the entries in and sorting out all the stables and accomodation. I would also like to briefly mention our new team photographer, Cpl Rachel Malthouse who managed to make it for a day to meet the team. Hope to see you at more competitions.

We now move forward to the Royal Navy Champs towards the end of July. Good luck!