Rider scoops grassroots and novice league prize and £1500 worth of prizes

After a busy season of British Eventing at Little Downham, local rider Caroline Day took top honours in both the grassroots and novice leagues

At the popular Little Downham Horse Trials in Cambridgeshire, local rider Caroline Day topped both the Shearwater Insurance grassroots league and the Baileys Horse Feeds novice league, proving that venue loyalty and consistent results pay off as she claims over £1500 worth of bonus prizes. The vision behind the event’s leagues was to attract riders to return to the venue throughout the season, encouraging them to stay local during the pandemic. Both leagues rewarded consistency for horses looking to remain at the same level throughout the season.

“Thank you to the Little Downham team for always putting on such a fantastic event”, said Caroline. “These leagues are such a great idea and thanks to the team for putting together such an impressive prize pot. I’m very lucky to have such a venue less than an hour away. The going’s always great, and the courses are very professionally built and educational for all levels.”

For the grassroots league Caroline rode TOCES Bright Fellow, winning the BE90 class at the June event, followed up with a third place in August and a seventh-place finish in October. When it came to the novice league, Caroline dominated the leader board taking first and second overall. Out in front was TOCES Bright Lass, who notched up second, fourth, and ninth place finishes at Little Downham this season. She then stood second with Caroline Bridge’s Redpath Star Dancer, who was third in the June Novice and second in October’s Open Novice.

“Both TOCES horses are owned and bred by Julie Brega at The Open College of Equine Studies here in Suffolk. I’ve been working with Julie for several years and I’m delighted to be able to reward her continued support,” Caroline commented. “Caroline Bridge’s Redpath Star Dancer is such a talented horse who’s always a pleasure to work with.”

Essex-based Victoria Bax rounded out the top three in the Baileys Novice league with her own Alberta’s Pride. Their fourth and second place was rewarded with a month’s supply of feed and nutritional support.

The Shearwater Insurance grassroots league was a close fought league with the leader board changing right up until the final section of the season. It was junior rider Suki Wales riding Treneman who took second place, while third went to Norfolk-based junior Imogen Pohl who took top honours in the June and October BE100u18 with Ballingowan Chiara.