A new pair triumph
Northallerton (2), North Yorkshire
JORDAN KAVANAGH experienced both ends of the success spectrum when, no sooner had he steered Hayley Blackburn’s Extender to a win in BE100 section L, he found himself soaring head-first into the water from his next ride, Dollar V.
“Dollar lost her footing and tripped over, completely submerging me. However, I hadn’t brought any spare clothes, so it was an interesting drive home,” smiled the full-time rider from Doncaster.
Extender is a relatively new ride for Jordan, who commandeered the eight-year-old Quintender gelding for eventing over the winter.
“He’d been competing in dressage and showjumping with his owner, but she ran out of time for him and I suggested he might be well-suited to my job. He’s taken to it really well. The only bad run he’s had was at Stafford (1), where the ground was deep and he hated it.”
Jordan runs a competition yard where he specialises in schooling and sales liveries.
“I’ve always worked for myself, but my business has taken off in the past couple of years, which has
enabled me to get out eventing,” he explained.
Sophie Johnson’s Ludos Rebel had finished third and second in his two previous starts, so a win was on the cards for the sixyear-old “gentle giant”, who duly delivered in BE90 section K.
“He came over from Ireland 18 months ago as a very green baby and hasn’t stopped growing since — he’s now 17.2hh and I’m only 5ft2in,” said Sophie, for whom this was a first trip to Northallerton. “I’m based in Newark, so it was quite a trek up the A1 for us, but it was a lovely course which was testing enough for the level.”
This summer running of Northallerton, which was a late addition to the calendar when nearby Breckenborough (2) had to be cancelled, hosted two wellsupported BE105 classes over a completely separate track. They were won by Helena Youmans (Castle Kelly) and Lauren Dale (Cotterstown Magic).
“The summer courses were all completely different to the spring ones and ran in the opposite direction,” said organiser Tina Walker.