South
West Endurance Rider picked for British squad – Press
release
Jill Semmens from Penzance, who is in the Senior
Development Squad of Endurance GB, has been selected
to ride at the Mont le Soie ride in Belgium at
the beginning of May. She is among five riders
picked to take part in the 82 mile FEI 2* event.
She
will be riding her 9- year- old 15.1 hh Anglo
Arab gelding Evermore Exciting, known at home as ‘Harvey’.
Jill has had her horse since he was three and has
gradually qualified him up from the basic 32 km
endurance ride to compete at the longer rides under
FEI rules.
“Hopefully, we will try to achieve a 160
kms ride this year but Harvey is still quite young
for that sort of distance,” explained Jill. “He
was not born until the end of August and missed
the spring grass as a foal so I always think of
him as a year younger than his official age.”
To
be selected for Belgium, Jill and Harvey went
to the King’s Forest Endurance ride in Norfolk
at the end of March and successfully completed
an 80 kms ER.
The South West Endurance Group already has three
members qualified for the European Championships
and for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky
next year, as well as Jill and Karen Jones from
Devon in the Development Squad.
At the Haywood Oaks Endurance Ride a week ago,
which was the first FEI event in the UK this year,
the South West riders were particularly successful.
In the 120 kms FEI 2* event Annie Joppie from
Goonhaven and her Arab gelding Dilmun, came sixth
and Karen Jones with Dancing Ruzala came 7th. In
the FEI 1* 90 kms class Rachael Claridge and Prince
Meliodas came third. This was their return to international
competition a year after Meliodas was badly injured
in an accident on the road.
In the same class Nicky Sherry came 10th on her
young horse Silva Zourra who was competing in his
first ever FEI event. The following day, she completed
the 50 mile CR on Simmering Blue Jasmine, finishing
with a Grade 1.
Nicky Sherry from St Breward and Rachael from
Cardinham, have also been invited, with other British
team members to South Africa in June, to take part
in an FEI 2* ride on borrowed horses.
