Islander Kelly Read secured victory in the British Showjumping 1.05m National Amateur Final at the annual British Showjumping National Amateur and Veteran Championships held at Aintree Equestrian Centre last week. 12 of the 43 starters made their way into the jump-off but Kelly has an established 2-and-a-half-year partnership with Sophie Szydlowski’s 14-year-old skewbald mare LK Pick N Mix – bred by Hayley Webster on the Isle of Wight – and negotiated the route smoothly and quickly to win by 0.88 seconds. Kelly, from Ashey, has said:
“Luckily, I was drawn second last to go but there were only three clears. I knew what I had to do and she’s quite quick anyway, so I got the turns in and pushed on in between as she’s only got little legs. “She loves the atmosphere, the clapping and the music, she lights up and knows when it is a big occasion; she just loves jumping and gets super-excited”.
28-year-old Kelly spends a lot of her time travelling to shows on the mainland. An Osteopath by profession, Kelly fits her work in around her horses. “I mostly travel to stay away shows as there is only one British Showjumping show on the island per month and my horses take priority – they are my expensive hobby!
