Equestrian success for Kilgraston girls
Kilgraston schoolgirl, Rebecca Norval has triumphed once again after clinching three medals at one of the toughest equestrian competitions of the season.
She impressed judges with her horseback acrobatics at the British Vaulting Championships where she was competing for the first time in a senior event. The 16-year-old helped her team to a gold medal victory after three hard fought rounds.
Alongside partner and team mate Andrew McLachlan, Rebecca retained the British junior title in the Pas de Deux (pairs) category and also claimed a bronze medal in the highly contested junior female individual class held at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire.
The sixth former finishes the season on a high after last month being crowned Scottish junior champion in both the individual and pairs events.
As a member of the British junior team, Rebecca clinched a silver medal in Europe this summer and has now set her sights on the World Equestrian Games in 2014.
The secret to her success, she says, is hard work and never missing a day’s training.
“I started vaulting at the age of nine and there’s never been a day when I’ve not wanted to train,” she said. “As I’ve got older it’s become more challenging to balance my training with schoolwork and school sport where I’m in the first team for both hockey and netball. I’ve learnt the importance of time management and personal organisation.
“I board at school several nights a week. Boarding helps me to cope with my work. I live an hour away from school so not having to travel as much helps me to get my study done and frees me up to go home to train one night a week and at the weekend.
“There’s a lot of fitness involved in vaulting. I love both gymnastics and riding so I’m glad to have found a sport that combines the two.”
Kilgraston sixth former, Olivia Morison, is also celebrating after being chosen to take part in a prestigious national equestrian competition.
The 17-year-old has been selected to ride for the Scottish junior eventing team in the British Championships later this month at Weston Park in Shropshire.
National Schools Equestrian Association competition
At the end of September, Kilgraston girls also attended the National Schools Equestrian Association competition at Kingsbarn Equestrian Centre in Falkirk for Show Jumping and Dressage.
In Dressage, Georgina Chalmers-Gray finished on 75% with both of her horses in the novice dressage which (with the difference in the collective marks) meant that she just narrowly missed out on second place and her other horse was 5th.
Katy Allen also rode very well for 67% in the novice 24 dressage on Sunday, finishing mid table in what was a very large class.
Georgina also finished 2nd and 3rd on the open elementary section, which was a fantastic result.
The 80cm Show Jumping team of Daisy Foniciello, Zoe Niven, Daisy Galbraith and Heather Halley were 3rd out of 13 teams. The 90cm Show Jumping team of Daisy Foniciello, Zoe Niven, Katy Allen and Amber Shillington were also 3rd out of 8 teams – an all-round fantastic achievement.
The course was very tight and technical and the girls should be commended for riding so accurately. The 80cm class in particular saw many of the other schools eliminated.
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