NAF National Championships 2012
by Baron Halpenny, LincsMag Editor.
Date: 21 September 2012
The UK’s best amateur horse riders were at the British Riding Clubs National Championships, sponsored by Natural Animal Feeds (NAF), which took place at the Lincolnshire Show Ground on 15 and 16 September 2012.
Spectators were not only welcome to attend and watch the equestrian event but encouraged as there was no admission charge, thus making it a great opportunity for anyone who enjoyed the Olympic equestrian coverage to go and see some of the stars of tomorrow in action.
Dressage
There were many Dressage classes for members to compete in, both in teams and individually. Classes included Senior Open, Senior Novice, Senior Pairs, Senior Teams of Four, Senior Rural Riders and a Medium Dressage class (Senior individual only).
For Juniors there was a choice of Junior Novice, Junior Teams of Four and Junior Pairs Dressage. All riders in teams were automatically counted as individuals, although individuals could enter the competition as well.
Riding Test
The Riding Test was similar to the dressage test, but marks were allocated on the rider’s performance only, rather than the horse’s. For Senior competitions, two riders in a team would ride the same novice test, and the other two would ride the same advanced test. For Junior competitions, all team members rode the same test.
Show Jumping
There were Open and Novice Show Jumping classes for both Juniors and Seniors. For Seniors there was also an Intermediate class. The maximum height of the Senior Open Show Jumping at qualifiers and championships was 1.10m in the first round.
The maximum height of the Junior Open and Senior Intermediate Show Jumping was 95cm in the first round at both Qualifiers and Championships. The maximum height of the Novice Show Jumping (Senior and Junior, outdoors) was 80cm in the first round at Qualifiers and Championships.
Style Jumping
Though similar to Show Jumping the Style Jumping allocated marks based on the rider’s performance rather than the horse’s, like the Riding Test. The maximum height of fences for the Junior/Senior competitions was 85cm at the Qualifiers and Championships.
Rising Standards
Finalists contested titles in dressage, showjumping, riding test and style jumping, but also had a chance to compete in the Rural Riders team dressage, where six team members rode a test in the arena together.
This year also saw the introduction of the first ever elementary dressage class for juniors, which reflected the rising standards within the junior membership.
Results can be found HERE!
British Riding Clubs
British Riding Clubs is the UK’s largest movement for amateur riders, made up of more than 430 Affiliated Clubs and 21 Riding Centres and has in excess of 36,000 members. The clubs span right across the UK, from the Orkneys to the Channel Islands.
The National Championships is the largest event in the BRC calendar and saw more than 1,800 competitors come to Lincolnshire to take part.
Facebook Picture Album
To see more pictures from the NAF National Championships 2012, visit the Album on our Facebook page HERE!
