Olivia Poole is set to mix it with the stars
Shrewsbury showjumper Olivia Poole has booked her ticket to the prestigious Horse of The Year show.
Olivia earned a place alongside the cream of the equestrian world for the October event at the NEC in Birmingham by triumphing in the Scoops Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Qualifier.
The seventh of this year's championship qualifiers took place at the Royal Norfolk Show and the sun certainly shone down on Olivia and Chinook BH.
A total of 43 competitors competed in the class with the hope of securing one of the three sought-after direct qualifying tickets for the Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Championship final.
That will take place during Horse of the Year Show later this year. Eleven combinations produced a first round clear and this gave them all a chance of claiming one of those slots.
The jump off saw five double clears being produced and with just the three places up for grabs, the early competitors faced a nervous wait to see whether they had done enough.
The fastest double clear came from 16-year-old Olivia and she was on board her mother Michelle's eight-year-old bright bay mare Chinook BH.
Olivia and Chinook BH were drawn as the penultimate combination to go in the jump off.
After seeing four previous combinations produce that all important double clear, she knew that she would need a quick but foot perfect round to be in with a chance of taking a Championship final place.
The pair went on to cross the finish line clear in 43.52 seconds and this proved fast enough to take the win.
Tim Davies, from Bury St Edmunds, riding eight-year-old bay mare Havanna De Cavron, took second place.
Tim Stockdale, from Roade in Northamptonshire onboard eight-year-old chestnut mare Miss Fritz, claimed third place and the final qualifying slot.
