By Hattie R, Year 12 All-Rounder Scholar
The May Bank Holiday saw 8 Sidcot riders, 9 horses, Sidcot Team Manager (Zoe Aston) and a troop of supporting parents and family members battling the Friday afternoon traffic to head off to Hickstead Showground for the annual National Championships. It is a huge event at a prestigious venue, so it is always a privilege to be there. It is the culmination of a lot of determination and commitment during the year in order to qualify to compete in these championships.
The Sidcot riders for Hickstead 2025 were: Nelly, Hattie, Ella, Wilf, Safie, Olivia, Charlotte and Matilda.
It was a very busy and successful show for Team Sidcot this year! We took part in numerous classes over 3 days and achieved outstanding results. Our amazing Coach, Sophie Clarke, was unable to attend this year as her horse was due to foal (we missed you!), and so Zoe had an especially busy time filling the role of both Team Manager and Coach for the long weekend – she did a fantastic job, and we are very thankful!
Arena Eventing involves jumping a course of show jumps, immediately followed by a course of cross-country fences. Sidcot had qualified for each of the 4 heights available at the Championships as follows:
70cm - Ella, Nelly, Safie and Matilda. Team 4th.
80cm - Safie and Charlotte as individuals.
90cm - Hattie, Nelly, Charlotte and Wilf. Team 6th.
100cm - Hattie and Charlotte as individuals.
Team Sidcot had qualified for County and Elite Showjumping classes this year, which was a great achievement in itself, and the icing on the cake was some incredible results from these rounds.
County 100 SJ - Hattie, Olivia, Wilf, Charlotte. Team 7th.
County 110 SJ Horses - Hattie as individual. Placed 9th.
County 110 SJ Ponies – Olivia as individual. Placed 2nd!
Elite 100 SJ – Hattie, Olivia, Wilf, Charlotte. Team 3rd!
Charlotte had also qualified for the Dressage County Preliminary and was placed 3rd!
All riders finally finished the last class soon after 6:00pm on Monday, arriving back with the horses just before midnight at the end of the long weekend, feeling exhausted but thrilled from such an event filled and successful few days!
As always, a big thank you must go to the parents for all of their time and commitment to supporting the Sidcot Team. Without this, none of the above would be possible. Also, a final thank you to Steve Raynes for being the designated Sidcot photographer for the weekend, taking hundreds of great shots both behind the scenes and during the rounds.
Well done and thank you to all!
