Harry Charles has been crowned the new Voltaire Design under-25 British Champion.
Harry was riding Chavira, an 11-year-old bay mare owned by Ecurie Zet.
The track proved challenging for many of the riders, as problems came all around the course. Just six combinations were able to find the key to jumping clear in the first round, including siblings Harry, Sienna and Scarlett Charles, along with Robert Murphy, Leonie Aitkenhead and Emma Crawford.
Current world number one under-25 rider and last year’s leading rider of the show, Harry set the standard in the six-horse jump off.
He was third to jump but produced the first clear round, in 32.68 seconds, which was to prove unbeatable.
Harry used Chavira’s nimbleness to his advantage and utilised the short cuts around the course. Their round gave them the perfect start and ensured they put pressure on the remaining competitors.
Leonie Aitkenhead, 24, from Lincolnshire also went clear in the jump off to finish in second place with a time of 33.64 seconds.
Harry said: “I’ve tried to win this class for seven years, so it is nice to have finally achieved it.
“I thought Robert would be the one to watch, and I know his riding inside out. He’s a very fast rider on a very fast horse so when he had one down, I thought I could take it a bit easier.
“Chavira is a really new horse to me. I only started riding her in October, so this is only our fourth show.
“She has very little experience against the clock, but I just wanted to take care of her, not ask her too many questions and hoped it would be enough.
“I’m proud of her for winning this and I think you’ll see a lot more of her in 2023.”