Over 300 competitors from Grassroots to Open level took part in the 2018 Pony Club Tetrathlon Championships, held from 10 to 12 August in Warwickshire.

 

Exclusive to The Pony Club, Tetrathlon consists of four phases of competition; swimming, shooting, riding and running. To be successful, Members must be skilled horse riders as well as all-round athletes, with a steady hand for the shooting phase.

After three days of hard fought competition at Offchurch Bury and Warwick University Sports Centre, winner of the coveted Wilkinson Sword for winning Open Individual Boy was Kieran Harby from the Quorn Hunt Branch who finished on 4,494 points.

Kieran, who was one of eight Open Boys to score the maximum of 1400 on the Cross Country phase, said: “The win feels very good and surreal. I didn’t expect to come first, I just did my best. My plan now is to carry on competing with the aim of going to the 2019 Championships.”

Old Berkeley Hunt (Chilterns)’ Alex Bousfield won the Open Girls Championships, finishing on a score of 4,342. Just twelve points separated 1^st and 2^nd place; with Charlotte Whitaker from the Oxenholme Branch scoring 4,330.  Charlotte was part of the winning 2018 International Tetrathlon Exchange Girls team, beating teams from Canada, America, Australia and Ireland.

Seventeen year old Alex, who has competed in Pony Club Tetrathlon since she was eight years old, said: “I won the senior regionals, but I didn’t expect to win the Open Championships as the competition was very strong. I got off to a solid start with an 880 shoot and then equalled my PB in the swim alongside Holly Parker to jointly win the phase. That put me in contention, but I knew the Cross Country phase would be pivotal. I was lying in 2^nd place going into the run phase with only 14 seconds to overtake the leader, so the pressure really was on!”

Other results were as follows:

– Open Boys team Luke Townsend, Harry Kitchener, and Max Kitchener won for the Mid Surrey Branch on 11,424 points
– Open Girls team The Waterford Hunt Branch, guests from the Republic of Ireland, won with 11,530. The team consisted of Moya Whelan, Siobhan Whelan, Heather O’Connor and Ruth O’Connor.

The Beaufort Hunt team of Amy Peevers, Jess Telford, Emma Hatherell and Maddy Adamson finished first in the UK team competition on a score of 11,227.  Jess and Emma also formed part of the 2017 winning Open Girls team.
– Open Mixed team –  South Northumberland’s Jack Donaldson, William Quinn and Katie Bailey won with a score of 11,724

Intermediate section
– Individual Boys Joshua Mitchell took the top spot for the West Warwickshire Branch on 4,508 points. In 2017 Joshua was in the winning Junior Mixed team
– Individual Girls Beaufort Hunt’s Poppy Clark won with a score of 4,341. Last year Poppy was part of the winning Junior Girls team
– Boys Team Henry Stratton, Tom Connors and Tom Edwards won for the Beaufort Hunt with 12,000 points. 2017 saw wins for all three; with Tom Connors being part of the Junior Boys team, and Tom Edwards and Henry Stratton the Intermediate Boys Team
– Girls Team taking the top spot was Willow Andrew, Hannah Raw and Lucy Todd who scored 12,113 for the Zetland Hunt
– Mixed Team Tim Llewellen Palmer, Alastair Llewellen Palmer, Cressie May and Ellen Saunders won with 11,844 for the Cotswold Hunt

Junior section
– Individual Boys Ludlow Hunt’s Charlie Brown took the win with 4,653 points
– Individual Girls Gina Speakman topped the Individual Girl’s tree for Ryburn Valley on 4,552
– Boys Team Beaufort Hunt’s Josh Barker, Will Connors, Sam Bellord and Charles Hall won with 12,904 points. Josh and Will formed part of the 2017 winning Junior Boys team
– Girls Team  the South Oxfordshire Hunt Central team of Millie Mahoney, Mollie Palmer, Olivia Mahony and Ruby Ilsley topped the podium with 12,736
– Mixed Team Ludlow Hunt stormed to victory with 13,000 points, 820 clear of the runners up. The team comprised Individual Boys winner Charlie Brown, Thomas Brown, Matilda Wall and Holly Bailey

Grassroots
– Individual Venetia Mahoney from the South Oxfordshire Hunt Central team won with a score of 4,381
– Teams Venetia returned to the podium with teammates Elizabeth Jelfs and Jake Palmer Shaw to take the Grassroots Team win for the South Oxfordshire Hunt Central with 12,999 points

Pony Club Tetrathlon Chairman, Tim Vestey, said: “We are incredibly grateful to our host at Offchurch Bury, Harry Johnson, and to Lloyd Hunt, who built a challenging cross country course – those who went clear go home with a real sense of achievement. Competitors and parents alike were thrilled with the new venue, and we very much hope we can return next year.”

Pony Club Tetrathlon has been a starting point for several athletes who have graduated to compete in Modern Pentathlon, Triathlon and Pistol Shooting at the highest levels, including Olympic and Commonwealth Games.  Past competitors include Georgina ‘Gorgs’ Geikie, Georgina Harland, Kate Allenby, Coral Kennerley, Kate French and Heather Fell.

Notes to Editors

 

Images are available to download HERE
Please credit 1^st Class Images

Full results can be found HERE

Locations of winners

Name	Level	Area
Kieran Harby	Open Ind Boy	Nottinghamshire
Alex Bousfield	Open Ind Girl	Hertfordshire
Mid Surrey Branch	Open Boys Team	Surrey
Beaufort Hunt	Open Girls Team	Wilts / Glos
South Northumberland	Open Mixed Team	South Northumberland
Joshua Mitchell	Int Ind Boy	Warwick
Poppy Clark	Int Ind Girl	Gloucestershire
Beaufort Hunt	Int Boys Team	Wilts / Glos
Zetland Hunt	Int Girls Team	Co. Durham
Cotswold Hunt	Int Mixed Team	Gloucestershire
Charlie Brown	Jnr Ind Boy	Worcestershire
Gina Speakman	Jnr Ind Girl	West Yorkshire
Beaufort Hunt	Jnr Boys Team	Wilts / Glos
South Oxfordshire Hunt Central	Jnr Girls Team	Thame / Bucks
Ludlow Hunt	Jnr Mixed Team	Ludlow
Venetia Mahoney	Grassroots Ind	Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire Hunt Central	Grassroots Team	Thame / Bucks

Former Members referred to:

 

Gorgs Geikie competed at London 2012 and is a double Commonwealth Bronze Medallist Pistol Shooter.

Georgina Harland  won Olympic bronze medal at the Athens 2004 Games in Modern Pentathalon. She also won multiple World and European titles, and was ranked World number 1 for four years.

Kate Allenby Modern Penthalon Olympic Bronze medallist, two-time Olympian, and Pony Club shooting coach.

Coral Kennerley competes in the 10m Air Pistol Women’s competition. She finished 5^th in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Kate French has a number Modern Penthalon successes under her belt at Olympic, World and European level.  This includes an impressive 5^th place finish on her Olympic debut in 2016.

Heather Fell competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal in the women’s Modern Pentathlon.

 

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