Five dedicated women from a riding club have won their class and qualified for the National Show Jumping Championships.

All five ladies from Bicester and Oxford Riding Club - Lynn Hitchcox, Jo Webster, Krista Baskerville and Leanne Lewis competing as a team of four, along with Nicola Bullock, who rode as an individual – finished within the top 12 at the British Riding Clubs Area 6 80cm show jumping qualifier held at Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) on Sunday.

They have all qualified for the British Riding Clubs National Championships at Lincoln in September.

Mrs Hitchcock, who lives in Kingswood, said: “It was great. It was such a hot day, and we’re a new team, but we came together brilliantly, and our camaraderie was outstanding.

“The whole day was a team effort and all of the volunteers were amazing too.

“We’re really excited about the nationals, it’s nice to be picked for your club. It’s a lovely night away with all the other riding clubs across the country, from as far as Scotland.”

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Mrs Hitchcock started riding at the age of two, and said that all of the riders have competed on and off throughout their lives.

She added: “I like the competition. I’m quite competitive, and I like to win. So does Jo.

“Both of us were in a team in February that qualified for the 70cm class national tournament in March, so this will be the second time we’ve qualified this year.”

A relatively new club, Bicester and Oxford Riding Club was formed through the merging of Bicester and Oxford Riding clubs, 10 and 50 years old, respectively.

Chair of the club Mandy Hervieu said: “The rationale of the club is to create a positive, supportive community of local horse owners.

“Whilst this team and our other teams have done well at regional and national competitions, we pride ourselves on being extremely inclusive to horse owners of all abilities and interests.

“Whether competitive or not, we are happy to welcome more members.”

Mrs Hitchcock said: “The riding club is brilliant. I joined two years ago, and I’ve always felt really included.

“It has every sort of activity, show jumping, dressage, carriage driving – whatever you can think of.

“There’s a really good social scene too. We do wine tasting, bingo, and people of all ages are welcome.”

British Riding Clubs hosts seven national championships per year, ranging from intro dressage all the way up to 110cm show jumping.

The organisation exists to provide support and encouragement to amateur riders of all levels, from the dedicated competitor to the leisure rider.

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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