Success For Princethorpe At Two Day Event

Run in conjunction with Stoneleigh Riding Club, 124 competitors took part in a two-day competition, over the May bank holiday weekend, 24 to 25 May. One of only a few ‘long format’ events open to schools and riding clubs in the UK. It included dressage and show-jumping on the Saturday and roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross-country on the Sunday.

Princethorpe College has been involved with this event for 21 years and this was the tenth year the College has hosted the event on the Princethorpe estate. The course looked magnificent against the backdrop of the Princethorpe Tower and included classes at 70cm, 80cm, 90cm and 100cm to appeal to a wide range of riders. 

Princethorpe College had riders competing at all heights and had good results across the classes with the school’s 80cm team ‘Cloisters’ finishing first overall in the Schools competition and also claiming the Gold Medal in the Independent Schools Association’s class. The school just missed out on more medals in the 70cm class where team ‘Benedictine’ placed fourth.  

Riding for 70cm team were Darcey Wilcox Smith, 10th on Court Chester, Charlotte Nicholls, 13th on Birtley Royal Guardsmen and Darcey Edwards on Tambrook This Is Me.  

Representing Princethorpe in the 80cm team were Lucile Bell-Barth who as well as her team rosettes also took individual Silver in both the Schools’ and ISA classes after finishing second on Farrell Hill Boy. Isla Edwards finished in individual 4th place overall on Ricardo Diamond and should be commended after posting a super dressage score (best in class) at the event. Emilie Bell-Barth finished in overall 5th place on Laburnum Prince and Jess Belcher completed the team on Hendir Phoebe’s William. Also competing in the 80cm competition was Jess Hedgecock on Ballylee Tower.

In the 90cm class, Lizzie Nichols placed 6th on Tickety Boo and also won the highest placed Warwickshire rider. Also representing Princethorpe was Jess Hedgecock on Golden Girl.

Our congratulations go to Shebbear College in Devon, who took Gold in the 70cm and 100cm classes and to The Grange School from Cheshire who won the 90cm class. It was lovely to welcome their talented riders to the event.

Grove du Toit, Headmaster, said, “The College was delighted to welcome school and riding club competitors to the Princethorpe estate. It was great to see such a strong presence of school participants, many of whom had travelled long distances to take part in the competition. It was also wonderful to welcome former pupil and College equestrian team stalwart, OP, Claudia Newman to the event. Our thanks go to members of Stoneleigh Riding Club, our Grounds and Estates Teams and all the volunteers, without whom we would have been unable to stage such an exciting competition.”

Congratulations to all the riders who took part, we hope you enjoyed competing at Princethorpe.