Woodford House successfully defended its annual secondary school equestrian event title at the Hawke's Bay A&P; Showgrounds in Hastings on Monday.

The event, which comprised showjumping and dressage, attracted 120 riders from the Central North Island.

Riders competed for individual prizes in all classes while also gaining points towards schools' overall titles.

The four riders from each school who gained the most points had their points added to find a total for their school.

The showjumping competition was in two phases, accumulator and derby. Riders could compete in the 80cm, 1m or 1.10m section. This was a closely fought competition, with Woodford House winning narrowly by 4 points from Nga Tawa Diocesan School.

The dressage competition comprised three classes: preliminary, novice and elementary. Gisborne Girls' High School won the dressage title with 17 points, 3 points clear of Hastings Girls' High School, with Karamu High School third.

In the overall competition, points from the dressage and showjumping were added together for a final standing. Again Woodford House came out on top, 7 points clear of Nga Tawa, followed by Napier Girls' and Hastings Girls'.

The event was organised by head of equestrian and Year 13 student Ella MacGillivray, with assistance from the riders and parents of the Woodford House Equestrian team.

Woodford House head of sport Chris McIvor was extremely pleased with the event: "The showgrounds proved to be an excellent choice of venue ... the weather played its part but really it is all about the young riders, in particular the new riders getting out there and having a go."

Source: www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz

 Sourced from: http://www.equinetrader.co.nz/news/woodford-riders-keep-title-nz-/