Winter Pony Finals Southview

Loughborough Echo:
WYMESWOLD youngster Tabitha Kyle hit top form at the British Showjumping Winter Pony Finals at South View Equestrian Centre in Cheshire to land three championship titles, including the big one, the JA Classic Final with Nightgirl Van Het Sonnishof Z.
Eleven competitors faced course-designer Gillian Milner’s 12-fence 1.25m track with two doubles and five answered all the questions to provide first round clears and qualify for the jumpoff.
Kyle was the quickest by far on the Belgian-bred 10-year-old mare, wiping 3.68 seconds from 2021 champion Henry Squibb’s time on Lislan Picola to wrest the title and deny Henry a second consecutive win.
Kyle had qualified three ponies for this final but opted to save
Gangnam Style II and Atomic Du Bary for the imminent Pony Nations Cup competitions in Fontainebleau, France, and Lamprechtshausen, Austria, with Nightgirl stepping up to the plate at South View.
Afterwards Kyle praised performance of her horse.
“The first round was fairly easy but in the jump-off they whacked the fences up. However, that suited her and she was phenomenal. She’ll spin back to a tall vertical or a wide oxer and is way better when the fences are bigger, she respects them.
“I want to thank Charles Britton and Lynda Wright for an amazing show!”
Kyle also claimed both 1.10m and 1m Championships with Ryan Dorise’s consistent Running In Heels. She set a sizzling target to win the 1.10m Final from the front. Eight of the eleven starters returned to contend the the jump-off with Tabitha galloping to victory from first draw on the seven-year-old Irish-bred grey mare with 0.45 seconds in hand.
The 1m title was harder work as 17 competitors battled against the clock but Kyle and Running In Heels again claimed the upper hand from the opening round to win with 1.72 seconds to spare.
Kyle said: “She is only a 7-yearold but she is amazing and has stepped up so well. I had a bad draw in both classes and had to pull it out of the bag and she was so honest and tried her heart out. She is so careful and will spin back to a fence and gallop and she’s a lovely person in the stable as well – she’s perfect.”
Now the teenager’s attention turns to this weekend where she has been selected for Team GBR Nations Cup on Ponies in Fontainebleau, France and Lamprechtshausen, Austria the following weekend.