British Young Riders Win European Eventing Double Gold
Waregem, Belgium
Photo: Helen Revington
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(L-R) Harry Dzenis, Emily Llewellyn, Laura Collett & Emily Parker with Chairman of Selectors Alex Colquhoun |
After four days of top competition, the Jump Savings British Young Rider Team took their fifth consecutive Team Gold medal Sunday out at the Young Rider Eventing European Championships held in Waregem, Belgium (11-14 September).
The British team fought off the challenge from 11 other nations to take the Gold, beating their nearest rivals, the Germans, by more than 11 points. 19 year-old Laura Collett from Wiltshire and 20 year-old Emily Llewellyn from East Sussex added to the British medal tally by taking Individual Gold and Individual Bronze respectively, beating more than 50 other competitors to the top accolades.
The exceptionally talented combination of Laura Collett and Rayef, owned by Jason Houghton, lead from start to finish and had only one show jump down to finish on a final score of 47.5. Emily Llewellyn only added one show jump time penalty to their dressage score to finish on 49.8.
Laura was delighted with hers and Rayef's performance: "I'm still in shock! Rayef was absolutely amazing all week, I couldn't fault him."
"I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get my third European Championship title, especially Sam Watson who has been a real motivation to me."
Alex Colquhoun, Chairman of the Young Rider Selectors, thoroughly enjoyed the European Championships: "It was an incredibly thrilling championship. There were points when it was quite tight at the top, but all of the riders held their nerve against some really tough competition."
"I am absolutely delighted for the team, Laura and Emily. It is an absolute honour to be involved with such a talented squad of young equestrians."
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