Racesafe British Juniors ready for European Championships

The 2015 Racesafe British Squad of six riders and their horses have all arrived safely at Bialy Bor in Poland ahead of the FEI European Junior Championships this week.

Chairman of the Racesafe British Junior Selectors Darrell Scaife said: “All the horses are looking in really good shape and all the riders are extremely happy and excited to be here.”

The riders who will represent Britain on the squad this week are, in alphabetical order:

• Charlotte Bacon 17, from Oxfordshire with Sannanvalley Justice, a nine year old chestnut mare by True Justice who is owned by Miss Karen Huyton.

• Charlotte East 17, from Somerset with her own Clear Dawn, an eight year old iron grey mare by Clearway.

• Sam Ecroyd 18, from Flintshire with Opera House, an eight year old bay gelding by Verdi and owned by Mrs Penelope Ecroyd. 

• Alex Kennedy 18, from Somerset with  her own Chocolate Domino, an eight year old chestnut gelding by Diamant De Semilly.

• Alexander Tordoff 18, from Leicestershire with his own Emill, an 11 year old chestnut gelding by Unbelievable Darco.

• Ailsa Wates 17, from West Sussex with Woodlands Persuasion, a ten year old grey gelding by Cevin Z and owned by Mrs Pip Wates and Equine Aqua Training.

The four riders that will be representing Britain as part of the team will be named following the initial veterinary inspection tomorrow (Wednesday 12th August). Please visit the official event website for more programme information: www.eventingpoland.com

More about the squad:

Charlotte Bacon comes from a hunting and Eventing family, with her mother having once competed in the Junior squad. Charlotte’s brother also rides as a whipper-in for the Warwickshire Hunt. Charlotte and ‘Justice’ have had a consistent season so far, with a particular highlight placing fourth at Tattersalls Junior CCI*. Charlotte is a full time stable jockey for Aoife Clark, to whom she owes her success. Charlotte hopes to event professionally as a career, with her ultimate goal being to compete at the Olympics.

Charlotte East is currently is the only member of her family who rides, though her sister used to show jump. Charlotte started riding when she was four years old and began Eventing in 2011 aged 14 after show jumping in 128cm and 138cm classes. Charlotte’s highlight with ‘Grace’ this season was placing fourth in the Racesafe Junior CCI* at Brand Hall and they have since jumped double clear around the CIC2* at Barbury. She hopes to event professionally as a career and would one day love to be on the Senior team.

Sam Ecroyd has previously represented his country twice as a Pony squad member, winning team gold in 2010 and individual silver and team bronze in 2011. Sam’s family are all either involved in team chasing or hunting. He now events professionally and has a string of horses. This season Sam and Opera House placed fi rst in the Open Intermediate under 21 at Aston-Le-Walls and fourth in the CCI2* at Hopetoun. Sam also placed third in the Askham Bryan Young Rider Championships at Houghton with his reserve horse Wodan III.

Alex Kennedy comes from an equestrian background as her mother previously evented and now her younger brother and sister are members of the Pony Club. Alex has worked with Millie Dumas for the past two years and she purchased Domino from Millie as a five year old. Alex and ‘Domino’ placed second in the Junior CCI* at Tattersalls and jumped double clear around the CIC2* at Barbury. Next, Alex would like to compete in the Young Rider squad, with her ultimate Eventing goal to be a part of the Senior European Team and compete at the Olympics.

Alexander Tordoff comes from a hunting background, with both his parents having ridden previously. Despite never having competed and Alex being the only member of his family to ride currently, his parents have been a huge support throughout his Eventing career. A highlight of this season with ‘Em’ is being placed second at Brand Hall in the Racesafe Junior CCI*, which was a surreal experience for Alex. Having recently completed his A levels he is now riding full time and hopes to have a successful Eventing career and compete at The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

Ailsa Wates has always ridden; she comes from an extremely keen equestrian family. Her mum has always hunted and her grandparents are heavily into racing having once owned a winner at the Grand National. Ailsa is now studying for her A Levels and hopes to take a gap year afterwards to see how far she can get with her horses. Ailsa has had ‘Perry’ since he was four, her mother produced him and now they have a great bond. This season the pair have placed seventh in the Racesafe Junior CCI* at Brand Hall and tenth in the Open Intermediate under 21 at Aston-Le-Walls.

Good luck to all the riders, grooms, support teams and all connections. We are keeping everything crossed for you.