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European Working Equitation Championships Almonte, Spain in September 2005

European Working Equitation Championship Bracciano, Italy in January 2005

THE II WORLD WORKING EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIPS, LISBON 27TH – 29TH OCTOBER.

The II World Working Equitation Championships were held at the Sociedade Hípica Portuguesa, Campo Grande, Lisbon on 27th – 29th October. Countries represented were Portugal, Italy, France, Spain, Mexico and Great Britain. The Portuguese won gold medals in both the individual and team sections. The individual title was won by David Oliveira on his 13 year old purebred Lusitano stallion, Mulato.Two Spanish riders tied for second place - Pablo Mondaca riding Marquesa and Alfonsa Martin Garcia riding Rumba. In the team event, Portugal won the gold medal , Spain won the silver medal and Italy won the bronze medal. South America was represented by 3 riders from Mexico; unfortunately Brazil was unable to send any horses and riders. France – absent from the 2005 Championships in Italy – re-appeared in Lisbon with a team of riders on purebred Camargue horses. Great Britain was represented by Alex Downing on Mafioso, Holly Barber riding Galan, Diane Clough riding Queluz and Leila Rahmatallah with Morena. Alex Downing, with Mafioso, was the highest placed UK rider, finishing in overall 15th place; Holly Barber also gave very good performances and finished in 17th place in the individual competition. The Championships began on the afternoon of Friday 27th October, with the flatwork tests held in the new indoor arena. This section was won by David Oliveira (Portugal) on Mulato, second was Pedro Torres (Portugal) with Oxidado and third was Pablo Mondaca (Spain) on Marquesa. The overall impression was of low marking in this section – the highest scores were just over 68%, with the majority of riders achieving less than 60%. There were 5 judges for the whole competition – 2 from Portugal, 1 from Spain, 1 from Mexico and 1 from Italy.

The two obstacle sections took place on Saturday 28th October – the style section in the morning and the speed round in the afternoon. The main grass arena provided a brilliant setting for these sections. The same 3 top riders in the flatwork tests again triumphed in the obstacles/style section. This time David Oliveira and Mulato scored just over 70%. Overall the scores all scores were higher in this section, though several riders were elimimated due to course errors. The obstacle/style section was the strongest section for the British riders – at the end of the first 2 parts of the competition , the flatwork and the obstacles (style), the British team stood ahead of the French team. Unfortunately the team positions were all to change in the afternoon as a result of the speed tests – this is the section of the competition in which the Italians excel. The fastest rider in the speed section was Roberto Petoralli (Italy) on Mosqueeto Bull. Second was Fabio Fontetrosciani (Italy) on Shan and third was Miguel Fonseca (Portugal) riding Saturno. Half of the top 8 places in the speed test were taken by Italian riders; the fastest UK riders were Alex Downing (17th) and Holly Barber (20th). The cattle test - always a popular spectacle with the public – was held on Sunday 29th October, the last day of the Championships. This test forms part of the overall team result – the individual competition ended the previous day with the speed test. The French team won the cattle test, Spain was second and Portugal was third. The Mexicans fielded a team of 3 riders in the cattle test whereas the Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese comprised of 4 riders. The Mexicans were at a clear disadvantage. Despite Mario Agular (Mexico) clocking up the fastest time of everyone in the competition to pen his cow, the Mexicans were still placed last in this section. Prior to the start of the cattle test, Great Britain had put in a request to compete in this section hors concours – the British team was down to 3 riders also, as Morena had been withdrawn due to the lameness. This request by the British team was met with approval by several key members of the competition’s organisation but was refused by the judges, so the decision was taken to withdraw the UK team from this section . The II World Working Equitation Championships reflected the excellent organisation of the APSL and the Sociedade Hípica Portuguesa, and the warm hospitality shown towards all visiting riders was very much appreciated. Representatives of working equitation in Belgium and in Sweden came to watch the Championships, and attended the meeting of WAWE (World Association of Working Equitation) which took place in Lisbon, and expressed their intention to send riders to future championships.

The 2006 Junior European Working Equitation Championships took place in Oristano, Sardinia on 10^th – 12^th September as part of the “Sardegna Cavalli” Horse Show.

Riders from Portugal, Italy and the UK competed for the individual title which was won by Portuguese rider David Gomes on his purebred Lusitano, Rafa. In second place was Francisco Silva, also Portuguese, riding his Portuguese cruzado Ortega, and in third place was Mattu Giovanni from Italy. Portugal won the team gold medal and Italy won the team silver medal.

The riders from Great Britain were 16 year old Holly Barber, with her partbred “cruzado” Galan, and 11 year old Charlotte Lee with her young Lusitano mare Vingadora. Holly gave solid performances in the dressage test and obstacle course, and excelled herself in the cattle penning test with the 5^th fastest time. Charlotte was competing for the first time in a working equitation championship; back home she is experienced in showing working hunter ponies. Her determination and single mindedness throughout the competition attracted many admirers. Congratulations to Sue Barber, proprietor of Pine Lodge School of Equitation in Norolk, who put forward these 2 young riders.

The “Sardinia experience” was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part – the journey was a long one for the horses (overland to Genoa and then a 14 hour ferry journey to Porto Torres in Sardinia) and also for all the teams, but well worth the effort involved.  The accommodation at the Ala Birdi Horse Country holiday complex in Arborea was excellent and the friendly atmosphere amongst the teams and competitors will be remembered by everyone for a very long time. Our grateful thanks are due to Maria Grazia Sechi, President of the Sardinia branch of FISE (Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri).