Bicton Arena Show Jumping

Ivybridge Community College students competed in the prestigious NSEA inter-school equestrian Show Jumping competition at Bicton Arena on Sunday, 3 March.

The amazing team of Show Jumpers were Amy Stephens and Katie Reid in Year 8, Caitlin Johns  and Courtney Fletcher in Year 9, Ellie Smart, Grace Dahle and Hannah Preston in Year 10, Rebecca Reid in Year 11, and Millie Walton in Year 12.  They all braved Storm Freya to represent the College and the wind and rain didn’t stop these students from putting on a fantastic team performance. 

The 90/95cm Team won their Devon County Class, qualifying for the National Championships in April.  There were two 80/85cm Teams that finished 4th and 5th in a very strong class.  Katie Reid was 6th as an Individual in the 70/75cm class and Caitlin Johns was 5th in the 1m class and 4th in her first 1.10m class.

Arena Eventing Success at Bicton and Pontispool

Students have also been representing the College in the recent NSEA Arena Eventing competitions.  In this competition the riders must jump a course of show-jumps and then ride on to a course of cross-country jumps, all within a sand arena.  They are judged on their ability to clear the jumps without faults and on their accuracy of time around the course.  They compete against schools from all over the South West with the winning and second place teams qualifying for the National Finals.

There was success for the 90/95cm Team who finished in 2nd place at the competition held at Bicton Arena.  This gave them a qualifying place for the NSEA Eventers Challenge Finals at the prestigious Hickstead Arena, in May.  The teams in the 80/85cm and the 70/75cm rode really well and both finished in 3rd place. There was individual success for Ellie Smart and her horse Sunbeam, who finished in 7th place in a large class of over 40 competitors. 

An Ivybridge Community College Team then travelled to Pontispool Equine Sports Centre in Taunton, to compete in the 80/85cm Eventers Challenge competition in February to try and gain that qualifying place.  They again finished in 3rd place which is a fantastic achievement as the course at Pontispool is very challenging. Rebecca Reid on her horse Rico finished in 7th place in a large class of over 40 competitors in the 90/95cm class.   

Congratulations to all the Team: Rebecca Reid, Molly Northmore, Caitlin Johns, Mia Horswell, Courtney Fletcher, Ellie Smart, Hannah Preston and Katie Reid.