British Pony Team of Amy Inglis, Millie Allen, Beth Adams and Beth Vernon Win in Hagen

The Pony Team representing Great Britain in the Nations Cup at event in Hagen, Germay took pole position this afternoon.

Chef d�Equipe Clare Whitaker commended the team after the competition by saying �The team have been absolutely superb today, their performances were fantastic with the first three riders going clear in the second round meaning that our fourth rider Beth Vernon didn�t even need to jump. The depth of talent we have across our pony ranks has most certainly developed during the past year and we truly have a very strong pool of talent to select from this year. We are now looking forward to the Grand Prix on Sunday and I can only hope that we perform as well on Sunday as we have today�.

The four riders representing Great Britain were:

Amy Inglis from West Sussex aged 15 years-old Mandy Hall�s with 11 year-old bay gelding Nils d�Hurl Vent produced a faultless double clear in her role as pathfinder.

14 year-old Millie Allen from Stockton-on-Tees with her father�s (Peter) 9 year-old bay mare Song Girl incurred 4faults in the first round followed by a clear in the second.

Beth Adams, from Halesowen aged 16 with Some Like It Hot a 13 year-old chestnut mare owned by her mother (Julie) was the second member of the team who also produced a double clear.

16 year-old Beth Vernon from Mansfield with Falaza, the 11 year old grey mare that won Gold with at the Pony European Championships last year incurred 8faults in the first round with no need to jump in the second due to the team already having secured their podium position.

The team�s performance meant they were lying in 2nd place after the first round which saw them sitting just behind the Netherlands who had finished without penalties. However, 8faults incurred in the second round meant that we managed to relegate them to third place with France moving up into 2nd place to finish on a total of 5faults.

The Children�s Team under the watchful eye of Chef d�Equipe Corinne Bracken secured 4th place in their Nations Cup competition. With only three competitors making up the team it meant that the team was a member short whereby teams usually consist of four allowing for a drop-score in each round.

The team of three finished on a total score of 24faults having incurred an unfortunate 20faults in first round.

Pathfinder was 13 year-old Ella Popely from Haywards Heath with Sandra Pavitt�s 12 year-year old bay mare Amaryllis van de Heffink whom produced a double clear. Their performance was matched by 13 year-old Emily Ward from Cheshire and Michael Whitaker�s 9 year-old brown mare Witch. Shrewsbury based 13 year-old Olivia Poole with her mother�s (Michelle) 14 year-old bay mare Residenz had an unfortunate first round where 20faults were accrued however their performance vastly improved in the second round with just a unlucky 4faults being incurred.

The competition continues from Denmark with both Junior & Young Rider Nations Cup competitions along with all four age groups having their own respective Grand Prix�s.