There were tears in Charlotte Reeve’s eyes as she exited the ring after the Thunderbird Good Hands & Seat 1.10m Medal Final on Thursday evening. The Coquitlam-based junior rider made her debut appearance in tbird’s namesake equitation final and jumped to the top of the leaderboard with Corona OS.
“It means a lot [to win this class] because for the past two years, I’ve been working so hard to get [Corona] to come together and just trust me. It’s taken a lot of sweat and tears and it just feels unbelievable to finally have it pay off,” said an elated Reeve.
Open to junior and amateur riders, the Thunderbird Good Hands & Seat Medal Final is a jumper-style equitation class that features both 0.9m and 1.10m height divisions. Over the first round course riders are judged on their ability to “readily control their horse while negotiating the course, with good timing, rhythm, ease and good form.” The top four combinations then return for a work off to determine the final standings.
Thursday’s work-off test in the 1.10m division asked riders to canter the JustWorld International vertical, make a short rollback to an oxer followed by a trot jump and a change of lead before jumping the final tbird oxer.
Reeve was the clear winner. Earning a first round score of 83 from the judges, she had a ten point lead heading into the work off where she clinched the title. Amryn Takhar and Caramelo finished second and Ava Mikkelsen took third on Diamond Contender VF.
“I was hoping to win, but honestly, there’s some pretty good competition,” continued Reeve, who trains with Andrea Strain and has been partnered with Corona OS, a 16-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding, for three years.
“He was jumping overall really good, but I think the trot jump was [where we won it].”
Reeve and Corona OS will attempt to repeat their winning formula in the CET Regional Finals next week at tbird’s BCHJA Fall Finale.
Thunderbird Good Hands & Seat Final 1.10m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner
1. Corona OS / Charlotte Reeve / CAN / Charlotte Reeve
2. Carmelo / Amryn Takhar / CAN / Amryn Takhar
3. Diamond Contender VF / Ava Mikkelsen / CAN / Lauren Mercer
4. Caprice KDW Z / Bryn Harvey / CAN / Bryn Harvey
5. Miami / Katherine Zhang / CAN / Katherine Zhang
6. Designed by Picobello Z / Lucia Jakob / CAN / Lucia Jakob
7. Eloy / Mackenzie Hanson / CAN / Mackenzie Hanson
8. Tintoretto / Lindsay Iacoviello / CAN / Bronwyn Alexander
