‘She nailed it’ – Iveagh branch member wins London mini major, plus find out which top rider wore a turkey on their head

Norwegian rider Geir “Jimmy” Gulliksen and Iveagh branch of the Pony Club member Juliana Nelson teamed up to win the GS Equestrian Pony Club London Horse Show mini major this afternoon (17 December).

The pair were last to go and Juliana was chasing a steep target of 22.07sec, set by the Newmarket and Thurlow branch’s Emily Appleby on her whizzy pony Rockyview Hannah, with Emily partnered by Guy Williams. But the 11-year-old Northern Irish rider threw caution to the winds to come home in 21.23sec with the grey Cumbak Kid.

“She came in last to go after watching everyone else and just nailed it,” said Jimmy.

It was the second year in a row that an Iveagh branch member has won the London Horse Show mini major, after victory for Cliodhna McEvoy on Tynnan Tuttle Pip last year. Cliodhna was at ExCeL this afternoon to see Juliana keep up the Iveagh’s record in the class.

Jimmy, who has been riding at the London Horse Show for 33 years, only received the call-up to fill a space in the competition at 10am this morning. But he said he was happy to have the chance to bring his sensitive grand prix horse, the grey Calvino Z stallion Equine America Grandino H, in the ring and jump some smaller fences.

“You hope you don’t let the kids down, so you have to focus even though it’s small fences,” he said. “You have one down or something stupid happens like forgetting the course and the whole world is going down for these kids.”

Mini rider Lexie Lane partnered Shane Breen to third, with Shane fully entering into the spirit of the competition, wearing a lit-up Christmas jumper and kitting his ride Haya out in reindeer ears.

Shane surely tied for top place in the outfit stakes with Daniel Delsart, who sported a turkey on his head and popped a mini Father Christmas on his ride Granby’s forehead as he lined up alongside another Iveagh rider, Medb Kinney.

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