Hard work pays off for Spires’ showjumpers Showjumping GOLF: QUARTET THE PERFECT MATCH FOR MIXED COMPETITION Water Polo

A score of 80 secured first place as Canterbury Ladies golf club hosted a 1-2-3 mixed competition on Saturday. The teams consisted of two men and two women, with the quartet of Maxine Field, Billy Field, Pauline Nicholls and Keith Nicholls emerging victorious. Top spot was decided on the basis of totals from one scoring on the par five, two on the par four and three on the par three holes. A score of 76 saw Claire Wilson, Mike Wilson, Elizabeth Berry and Pip Tyler finish in second, edging out the 74 put up by Diane Hollidge, Robert Hollidge, Marion Hawes and David Hawes. Earlier in the week Elizabeth Berry won Wednesday’s March medal competition with a nett 75. She was followed closely by Gillian Soutar’s 76 and Val Binns’ final score of 81 points. Sue Kerr also won the nine-hole competition with 13 points, beating Sheelagh Smith’s 12 points and Doreen Whiting’s 10. Spires Academy showjumpers finished in pole position at a schools’ equestrian contest to secure their first league victory of the season. Fifteen-year-old Codie Clackett set the tone in the first round when she claimed second place after completing her 30cm jumps. Ellie Wheeler, 13, then bolstered Spires’ early dominance with a firstplaced finish in the second round. Youngest competitor at 12-years-old, Sophie Bucchus, followed this up by earning fourth up against contestants in their 20s in her first ever showjumping competition. Hannah Rust, also 13, later tackled jumps at 60cm to seal second place and garner the remaining points needed to wrap up the overall win for Spires. The competition took place at Barton Field Farm Equestrian Centre, Littlebourne, on February 27, with Spires overcoming rivals from Canterbury Christ Church University, King’s School and Canterbury Academy. Nicky Lewis, Spires’ head of sports development said: “The accumulation of good results was enough for Spires to steal the first league win of the season. It was an incredible achievement, especially as two of the girls haven’t jumped in competition before and it reflects the hard work and dedication of the girls, as well as the high quality of the elite provision at Spires Equestrian.” Invicta will play for a second-placed finish in the Men’s Super 5s when they head into the final weekend of the British Water Polo League. The team kept their hopes of a runners-up position alive on Saturday when they beat Lancaster 8-6 thanks to a hat-trick from Jack Waller. Callum Bailey registered a brace, with Pat Baker, Ben Carter and Paul Cheetham also among the goals at Haberdashers. Sunday saw Invicta produce a superb performance to earn a 10-10 draw with Solihull to move one point ahead of third-placed Cheltenham. Invicta will now face already-crowned champions Manchester as well as Cheltenham in their concluding weekend of fixtures, which are due to be broadcast on the BBC red button.