Reining Futurities
The reining class for young horses were back at Equita Lyon this year. The classes were reserved for 3 and 4-year-old horses for professional riders, and for 3 to 5-year-old horses for amateur riders.
The Futurities Open for 3 and 4-year-old horses were dominated by two young French trainers:
- Jérémy Ropert, based at the CDS Quarter Horses in the Paris region, who was riding Blackmaneshiningface, who won Levels 2 and 4 of the 3-year-old Futurity with a score of 212.
- Clémence Neveux, who works at CM Quarter Horses between Grenoble and Chambéry, who won Levels 2 and 4 in the 4-year-old Futurity, riding Sparkin Step, with a score of 217.5. This was the top score in these young horse classes, and at the show in general (at the time of writing).
The two French trainers were particularly satisfied with their performances because both horses were bred and trained by them from the outset. This is also good for French breeding, since these horses are well known in international competitions and have a bright future ahead of them.
This was Jérémy Ropert's first participation at Equita Lyon "and I really appreciated the organisation and the atmosphere of the show" he said. Clémence Neveux is a "local" and comes to Equita Lyon every year, but that does not stop her from praising the development of Western-riding area in recent years.
As for the Reserve Champion titles, the 2 Levels of the 3-year-old Futurity Open were won by a Belgian rider, Jolien Rottiers, with a score of 206.5 on her horse Hillbilly Dreamin. In the 4-year-old Futurity Open, her companion, Matyas Gobert, took the Reserve Champion title in Level 2 on Wild West Walla with a score of 214, while the Canadian rider Morey Fisk took second place in Level 4 with A Wallflower, owned by Annemanna AB.
In the amateur Futurities, there were 3 French victories:
- Clothilde Alboud, the rider from the Lyon region, won the Level 2 of the 3&4 Non Pro Futurity on her horse Sophie Split N Oak with a score of 201
- Alexandre Giarratano won the Level 4 of the 5-year-old Futurity on his horse TM Spartaco with a score of 209
- Jayson Henri and Sweetly Starlight won Level 2 of the 5-year-old Non Pro Futurity.
These were the first 5-year Futurity classes organised in Equita Lyon.
The Level 4 of the Non Pro Futurity was won by a regular at the show, Gina Schumacher, who was riding her horse Whizasweetpirate BB and scored 205.5.