Area Prince Phillip Cup and mounted games results ...
Massive success for Seniors ... 05/09/2009
They came, they saw, they made few mistakes … and really deserved a better result.
The team of
- Eleri Jones (Timmy),
- Mari Edwards (Tilly),
- Anna Hickey Roberts (Lielie),
- Sam Major (Nibbs) and
- Suzi Williams (Tickety Boo)
qualified for one of the Runners Up Finals with 15 other teams, for the last spot in the Prince Philip Cup Finals at HOYS.
There were 3 heats of each race, with only the first two going through to the final. And in 6 of the 10 races, F&D came 3rd in their heat, only narrowly missing 2nd on a few occasions. They also had two 4th, a 5th and a 6th. So unfortunately they only gained a point from each of their heats and finished in joint 15th place.
They deserved a better ending to the competition and to their season: they have gone from strength to strength all year. Nevertheless, they are still the first F&D senior team to reach the Zone finals since 1997, and the first to reach the PC Championships for about 30 years (I believe). They have set a new standard for future teams to reach and exceed. And I hope they realise how much they achieved, even if the end result was a little disheartening.
And a final word to all our PPC competitors this year, as we are about to end our season with the display at the Denbigh Show…
Thank you all for your dedication and enthusiasm throughout the year. Very few pony clubs get the chance to take 5 teams to local competitions. We have been incredibly fortunate to have so many of you interested in competing and improving. I hope you all return next season, with a few new ones!
Mounted Games Area ... Smallwood 24th May 2009 29/05/2009
A full set of photos for this event are available on Picassa albums:
Seniors
The Diamonds team (Ceri, Louisha, Sam, Yaz and non-rider Eden) did really well, getting into the final of Ball & Cone, Tack Shop and Rope, and finishing with 12 points. Unfortunately they lost the tie breaker so finished in 8th place.
The Stripes team (Anya, Nan, Suzi, Wenz and non-rider Alex) also got into three finals: Bending, Sock and Rope, and finished in 6th place on 17 points.
The Quarters team (Anna, Eleri, Mari, Sam and non-rider Wil) were one of only two teams that managed to get into every final. They were in 4th place going into the last race, where they finished 5th. Thankfully that was just enough to keep them out of a tie-breaker with Sir WWW B, who were 4 points behind them going into that race. So the Quarters team have qualified for Zone in Eleri's final year, finishing in 4th place with 33 points.
Juniors
The Stripes team (Charlotte, Eden, Sophie, Tomos) had a fantastic day. They got into the finals of Stepping Stones, Sack, Quoits and Four Flag. They finished on 19 points with Cheshire South Lions, and unfortunately lost the tie-breaker. But they finished above every other B team and even a couple of A teams, so watch this space!
The Quarters team (Alex, Alys, Becky, Georgia, Wil) also had a great day. They only missed one final (edit by webmaster), and finished the afternoon on 30 points and in 3rd place. Becky and Georgia have once again qualified for Zone, in their final year of Juniors.
So congratulations to Senior and Junior Quarters for qualifying for Zone. This is the first F&D Senior team to go to Zone since 1997 when Fran, Rhian, Sara and Sian went. And this is the second year running that the F&D Juniors have gone to Zone, but hopefully this time Becky will actually get to compete!
And well done to the Senior Stripes and Diamonds and Junior Stripes also: in Gwil's own words he was "very pleased" with everyone. We're lucky to have so many of you interested in Mounted Games, you all performed really well, and are yet to reach your full potential.
Mounted Games friendly ... Hope 18th April 2009 19/04/2009
We had a very successful day on 18th April, hosting the F&D Mounted Games Friendly. Thanks to all those who helped out: the day went really smoothly, and the other teams really enjoyed themselves.
Seniors
Both the Quarters (Anna, Ceri, Eleri, Mari and Sam) and Stripes (Alex, Anya, Nan, Suzi, Wenz) did very well in their heats: Quarters finished with 30 points and Stripes with 25, and both qualified for the A final. The Dimaonds team of Lousiha, Sam, Yaz and two Waen-y-Llyn members (Charlotte and Megan) did really well considering they only met that morning! They finished with 18 points and going through to the B final.
The gloves came off for the A final and it was a battle for first place between the Quarters and Stripes. Quarters won 3 races, 2nd in two, 3rd in two and one fourth. Stripes won 3 races, 2nd in two, 3rd in two and one fourth. By the last race they finished equal first on 23 points, one point ahead of United Pack. They raced in the Two Flag for the tie-break. The Stripes made a couple of mistakes and the Quarters were victorious.
In the B final, the Diamonds were consistently good: they got two 1sts, five 2nds and one 3rd. They finished on 25 points and in second place.
Senior A Final
- 1st Flint & Denbigh Quarters ... 23 points (won on tie break)
2nd Flint & Denbigh Stripes ... 23
3rd United Pack ... 22
4th Berwyn & Dee ... 12
Senior B Final
- 1st United Pack ... 29 points
2nd F&D& WYL mixed ... 25
3rd Cheshire Hunt South ... 18
Juniors
The Quarters (Alex, Alys, Becky, Georgia, Wil) qualified for the A final, and the Stripes (Charlotte, Eden, Megan, Sophie, Tomos) qualified for the B final.
The Quarters didn't get off to a great start with two 3rds, but things improved and they got two 2nds and two 1sts, and also an unfortunate elimination. They finished with 18 points and in 3rd place, behind United Pack A and Waen-y-Llyn.
The Stripes got two 1sts, three 4ths and a 2nd before the last race. At that point, three of the four teams were on 14 points and it was a battle for 2nd place behind Cheshire Hunt South A. The Stripes raced really well and came in 2nd, and finished the competition in 2nd place.
Junior A Final
- 1st United Pack ... 24 points
2nd Waen y Llyn ... 19
3rd Flint & Denbigh Quarters ... 18
4th Cheshire Hunt South ... 8
Junior B Final
- 1st Cheshire Hunt South A ... 22points
2nd Flint & Denbigh Stripes ... 17
3rd Berwyn & Dee ... 16
4th United Pack ... 15
Mounted Games friendly ... Maelor 11/12th April 2009 17/04/2009
Seniors ... Session 1
The Quarters team (Anna, Eleri, Mari, Sam Major, Wil) did reasonably well with a first and two seconds. They finished with 30 points and in 7th place. The Stripes team (Alex Major, Anya, Nan, Suzi, Wenz) also did reasonably well and finished just behind the Quarters with 28 points. The Diamonds team (Georgia, Louisha, Sam, Sophie, Yaz) finished in 15th place with 20 points.
Session 2
Mari had a fall in one race and had to retire for the rest of the session - Wil stepped in and did very well having not practiced the senior races! They finished the session with 30 points, bringing their total to 60 points and putting them in 11th place. Stripes also finished with 30 points, giving them a total of 58 and in 12th place. Diamonds finished with 19 points and in 16th place.
Session 3
Mari was back with us and feeling much better after a bath and sleep in her own bed (unlike the rest of us who were camping or in lorries!). Quarters got another respectable total of 28 points. Stripes finished the third session with 24 points, and Diamonds with 23 points.
So after three sessions of heats, the Quarters had a grand total of 88 points and were in 10th place overall. The Stripes had a grand total of 82 points and were in 12th place overall. So both qualified for the B final. The Diamonds got a grand total of 62 points, and would start the final session with a runoff to try to join the Quarters and Stripes in the B final.
Finals
- Diamonds didn't put a foot wrong in the tie break, not only beating the team they were competing against for the last spot in the B final, but also finishing before the two teams competing for the last spot in the A final!
Unfortunately, their luck didn't last into the final, but they did manage to beat the Quarters in the Sock race! They finished with 12 points and in 7th place, but they still did really well for a team who have been swapping ponies and haven't trained together! Quarters got a first and two seconds and finished the final on 32 points and in 5th place. The Stripes did really well, and a win in their last race took them to 41 points and into a tie break for first place in the B final. Our hearts were in our mouths as it was neck-and-neck all the way, but then Braham Moor's final rider made a mistake, allowing F&D Stripes to sail into first!
Juniors ... Session 1
Quarters (Alex, Alys, Becky, Georgia, Wil) managed a first, a second and a third , and finished with 16 points and in 8th place. Stripes (Charlotte, Eden, Megan, Sophie, Tomos) finished with 10 points and in 11th place. Tomos fell in exactly the same place in the Bending as he did last week, but he got back onto his feet and carried on competing.
Session 2
- Quarters managed a second, a third and lots of fourths, and 24 points. They finished the first day with 40 points and in 8th place. Stripes got a couple of fourths and fifths, and 13 points, finishing the first day with 23 points and in 11th place.
Session 3
Quarters got a first and two seconds, and finished the session with 21 points. Stripes were unlucky - a fourth, fifth, two sixths and an elimination - finsihed the session with 7 points.- Quarters finished the heats with a grand total of 61 points and in 7th place. Stripes finished with 30 points and in 11th place. Both qualified for B final.
Finals
- Stripes got a third, three fourths, and three fifths. Finished the final with 12 points and in 5th place. They did really well for a young team, and they'll be the ones the watch next year! Quarters stepped up their game! They won four of their races and got second in the other three. They finished with a total of 32 points out of a maximum of 35, and won the B final.
Another team also deserve a special mention - Alex, Anna, Becky, Georgia and Louisha - who competed in the unmounted games on Saturday night. I only saw them doing the sack race, but they won it twice!
Meanwhile the parents were treated to another rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Ann, Chrissie and Claire, and with Jude and Ruth filling in for Gill (they are branching out into other Queen classics though!).
Mounted Games friendly ... Solihull 15th March 2009 17/03/2009
This week the Senior A team was Anya, Nan, Wednesday, Ceri and Suzi. The B team was Yaz, Mari, Anna, Eleri and Ross. Both teams won two of their heats but unfortunately made a few mistakes in others. Both teams finished the heats on 16 points and made it into the B Final.
The A team won three of the finals, and the B team won two of the finals. Unfortunately the A team also had a couple of mishaps, so they finished the competition in 3rd place on 19 points, and the B team finished in 2nd place on 21 points.
The Juniors were on later. The team of Eden and Sophie Greaves, Alys Williams, and Charlotte and Tomos Williams, were competing against 7 other teams. They finished all their heats in third or fourth place, and were in the B final. But then they really pulled the stops out - they won 5 of the 7 finals and won the B final with 22 points. So the youngest and most novice team have got their year off to a great start!
Mounted Games friendly ... Aintree 22nd February 2009 26/02/2009
Seniors were on first. Our “A” team of Anna Hickey-Roberts, Eleri Jones, Mari Edwards, Ross Williams and Sam Major finished the heats in 7th place out of 12, qualifying for the B finals, but were only 3 points shy of making the A finals. The “B” team of Anya Dreiling, Ceri Williams, Nan Jones, Suzi Williams and Wednesday Rytter had a bit of bad luck in the heats and finished 11th out of 12, with 12 points and were in the C finals.
The “A” team raced well but found it difficult against good competition. And just when we thought they were going to win their first race, Anna learnt the hard way that you have to pick up the flag by the cane and not the material! They finished 3rd in the B finals with 18 points.
The “B” team seemed to up their game in the finals. They managed two firsts in their 8 races, and were only a stride away from another, despite all our shouting to Nan to go faster! They won the C finals with 22 points.
The junior team of Alex Major, Alys Williams, Becky Sedcole, Georgia Williams and Robyn Cannell unfortunately had sickness and a fall to cope with, but still managed a few first and second places and qualified for the A finals. Alys was too ill to carry on for the finals, so we were down to four horses and five riders. They did really well considering, even managing to win one race and got a couple of 2nd places, and finished 3rd overall on 17 points.
Thank you to everyone who competed, all the parents for their support, and the fan club that came for the day! Our next competition is at Atherstone on 15th March, and hopefully we’ll have even more good news there.
Lastly, Anna, Eleri, Mari and Sam will be going to Builth Wells on 8th March to try out for places in the team representing Wales at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. On behalf of everyone involved in the mounted games in F&D, Gwil and Fran would like to wish you all the best.
