Mc-nificent Helen rides off with gold
City student saddles up for GB glory in Nations Cup
NEWCASTLE University student Helen McAll helped propel Team GB to a first-place finish at the Student Riding Nations Cup Series in Switzerland.
McAll and her team-mates won seven medals at Switzerland’s leg of the AIEC Cup – including gold in showjumping, silver in dressage and the overall gold.
The 22-year-old said: “Winning the overall gold was an amazing experience, really thrilling.
“Everything came together just at the right time.
“It was an action-packed event, three days of competition with social events in the evening.
“The horses provided were of a range of abilities which produced an exciting competition and which played in team GB’s favour.”
McAll added: “Student riding is a unique equestrian competition where you compete on borrowed horses in dressage and then different horses in show jumping.
“You only have five minutes to warm up and get to know your horse before entering the arena to be judged.
“Having ridden a variety of horses at varying ability when growing up and competing in BUCS helped me hugely in developing a great feel for the horse, enabling me to give my best performance in the ring.”
This was a fourth national call-up for McAll, following competitions in Romania and the Netherlands in 2015 and Poland a year later.
She has been riding since early childhood and her first pony Magpie is still going strong at 32 years old.
McAll started competing in pony club, like most equestrians, competing in every discipline possible (polo, eventing, dressage, showjumping andmounted games) before choosing showjumping.
The student, who hails originally from East Sussex, said: “There are two phases to equestrian competitions – dressage and showjumping. Selecting the horse you ride is made by drawing out of a hat.
“The warm-up time is limited to five minutes, so it is essential to have a good feel and make quick judgements on how to get the best out of your horse.
“In addition, riders are only judge against other riders on the same horse and the lowest penalties wins overall.”
Talking about the forthcoming season, the postgraduate student added: “We have a strong team for BUCS this year so I have high hopes of qualifying the team for the National Finals.
“Having been placed 11th in 2015 and fourth in 2016 individually, I would also love to win a medal this season.
“I hope to compete for Team GB next year in Belgium and if all goes well at the nationals then selection for the FISU World University Equestrian Games next summer is my aspiration.”