ARMATHWAITE HALL RIDER OF THE FUTURE £2000 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD - LONGLIST ANNOUNCED

Armathwaite Hall, generous sponsor of the annual Armathwaite Hall Rider of the Future Scholarship that provides £2000 of funding for approved training to a junior rider, has just announced the longlist of riders under consideration for the 2000 award.

After just two seasons of staging BHTA horse trials and a major country fair, the Armathwaite Hall team has earned an enviable reputation as an innovative and competitor-friendly venue, this year introducing the new concept of a cross country start box with an extra rail removed for safety. Much safer, the idea has quickly been taken up by other organisers and publicised as a major development by the Blenheim organisers.

The Armathwaite Hall Rider of the Future Scholarship was first presented in 1999 to Emilie Chandler, who has enjoyed a tremendous season with her string of horses, using the £2000 training grant to further her ambition of achieving international successes at the highest level.

Selection committee members Mandy Stibbe, Gill Watson, Chris McGrann, Armathwaite Hall Director and Joint Organiser Charles Graves and Joint Organiser Frank Hewitt-Smith, have drawn up a longlist of 42 riders registered with the JRN and JOIT programmes, whose applications have been selected from the large number received and will now be given further, more detailed consideration.

A subsequent shortlist will then be announced, with the winner chosen by the selection committee at the end of the eventing season. The prize includes a long weekend with a top British International rider at their yard, where the emphasis will be ‘hands-on’ stable and horse management, plus advice on running a professional eventing yard. The remainder of the £2000 prize is to be spent on training with approved BHTA trainers of the winners choice.

The remaining riders on the short list will be invited to attend a cross country course walk with a British International rider at a major three day event.

Commenting on the longlisted riders, Frank Hewitt-Smith said, “Last year we were pleased with the calibre of riders nominated for the award - this year we have found the quality of the applications to be a least as high and the selection process has not been easy.

“We will now be keeping up to date with the progress of the riders for the remainder of the season, drawing up a short list of 15 from which this year’s scholarship winner will be chosen.”

The AHROTF Scholarship is being sponsored by Armathwaite Hall for an initial period of five years, with an option to renew. This year’s 42 longlisted riders are:-

SOUTH WEST REGION

Laura Toogood Chippenham, Wiltshire

Louise Brassey Shipton Moyne, Tetbury

Abi Walters Cambourne, Cornwall

John Westmore Newquay, Cornwall

Ali Brewer Hartpury, Gloucestershire

Jade Lazonby Exeter, Devon

SOUTH EAST REGION

Melissa Standen Hawkhurst, Kent

Natalie McGoldrick Waterlooville, Hampshire

EASTERN REGION

Kizzy Murphy Braintree, Essex

Edward Cross Harston, Cambridgeshire

Sophie Hyde Little Baddow, Essex

Iona Barclay Woodbridge, Suffolk

Fiona Jonason Soham, Cambridgeshire

Henry Dove Billesdon, Leicestershire

Fiona Gordon-Lennox Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

SCOTTISH REGION

Olivia Haddow East Kilbride, Glasgow

Ibby MacPherson Blairgowrie, Perthshire

Sarah Dow Edinburgh, Lothian

Tessa Elliot-Lockhart Cleghorn, Lanark

Camilla Hook Drem, North Berwick

Fiona Rawson Mauchline, Ayrshire

CENTRAL REGION

Kitty Boggis Bampton, Oxon

Jemima Ensor

George Davies Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

Zoe Gullet London

Ian Clark Badminton, Gloucestershire

WALES & BORDERS REGION

Sally Dawson Alderley Edge, Cheshire

Emma Brazier Inkberrow, Worcestershire

Hannah Moore

Rachel Cox Tarporley, Cheshire

Danielle Toole Droitwich, Worcestershire

Emily Philip Bridgenorth, Shropshire

Helen Waterhouse

Charlotte Hirst

MIDLANDS AND NORTH EAST REGION

Marilyn Anstey

Niki Pyrah Leicestershire

Hannah Brown Sheffield, West Yorkshire

Letitia Thompson Grantham, Lincolnshire

Charlotte Slater

NORTHERN REGION

Oliver Townend Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

Emma Barr-Young Great Ouseburn, York

Lucy Bell Darlington, Co. Durham