Local rider Jane Rogers has, once again, completed the great achievement of competing in the grassroots section at Badminton Horse Trials, presented by Mars Equestrian.
The two days prior to the famous international Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire, the Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships brings winners from regional finals from around the country to contest the overall British Eventing Championship.
Jane, from Axminster, has competed several times before at the event on her homebred palomino gelding, Corrieview Merlin Magic, but this year she managed to qualify her newer grey horse, Corrieview Oscar, as well.
Considered by many in the equestrian sector as the highlight of British Eventing’s serious amateur calendar, the Voltaire Design Grassroots Championships is a competition most can only dream of. With a rigorous qualifying process, only riders with the best scores are given a spot at the regional finals.
Jane managed to qualify both horses this year for the three-phase event — competing in the disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping — one at BE90 level and one at the higher BE100.
With good dressage scores on both horses, Jane had her work cut out to compete in the show jumping and cross-country phases on both horses in the same day.
Corrieview Merlin Magic had two poles down in the show jumping but jumped a wonderful clear in the cross-country section, finishing with an overall score of 37.5 and placed 17th out of 49 riders in the BE100.
Corrieview Oscar jumped clear in the show jumping but suffered a mistake in the cross-country, costing Jane 20 penalties, finishing 59th out of almost 100 riders.
Jane, 57, said: “I was very proud of them both. Oscar was amazing and tried so hard, just a green mistake [in the] cross country.
“Magic was amazing cross country. He was as awesome as he has ever been. [There was an] awful incident with a dog at the water jump with Magic — I was so proud of how he was so focused and locked on to the jump that he took no notice of it.
“Roll on 2023, I’m so lucky to have two such fantastic horses.”
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