Millfield achieve their best Hickstead result to date

Millfield School in Somerset took first place in both the team and individual events at the prestigious National Schools and Pony Club Jumping Championships at Hickstead.

The school has an excellent track-record at the championships, winning the senior title in 2016 and 2017, and the junior title in 2018 and 2019.

The team, comprising of Millfield pupils included Hatty Kingsford in Year 11 on Killycloghan Classic Melody, Freya Barry also Year 11 on Delilah, Tara Kay in Lower Sxith on Amandas and Sofia Scriven in Upper Sixth riding Rock DJ; the team achieved three faultless rounds, enabling them to win the overall team event. Hatty won the individual event too after a magnificent performance and took home two rosettes.

Hatty and Tara had been part of the winning junior team in 2019, and after last year’s competition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic they were finally able to return to add another Hickstead event and defend their titles.

Reflecting on her performance, Hatty said, “She was an absolute superstar today, I was quite nervous going in but she jumped two super double clears with some tight turns in the second round to make us the individual winners too.”

Tara was second individually, with Freya finishing fourth behind Mayfield School's Ella Mulder and Skye Kay in Year 10 placed 6^th. The junior team placed 3^rd in their division with Prep’s Emily Gulliver in Year 6 securing a fantastic 4^th place.

Danny Anholt, Chief Coach of Equestrian said “We’re so proud of our winning riders, who performed with such elegance. We were subjected to a thunderstorm just before the jump off, so the ground conditions deteriorated very suddenly. Our riders rode so sensibly, whilst keeping a competitive edge. The maturity and competence they demonstrated was remarkable. Team First and Individual 1st, 2nd and 4th, coupled with the Junior Team’s third place makes this Millfield’s best Hickstead result to date.”

Equestrian Sport at Millfield encompasses not only show jumping, but also dressage, cross country, eventing and polo. The Equestrian Centre is certified to train to Fellowship level in the British Horse Society "Where to Train" register and offers training for the British Horse Society Equine Excellence Pathway in Complete Horsemanship as part of the school curriculum. 90 stables across the campuses give students the ability to bring their own horses to the school, and the state-of-the-art facilities, including both indoor and outdoor arenas, cross country schooling fences, polo pitch and an off-road canter track, give pupils the opportunity to train daily with experienced coaches and excel in their event.