'He's my horse of a lifetime'

A young Scottish showjumper is on the crest of a wave and emotions run high among the pony riders

- ELEANOR JONES, LUCY ELDER and JENNIFER DONALD

YOUNG Scottish rider Sandy McLean sealed an outstanding year with victory in the Yeti under-25 British Showjumping championship with his great partner, Gino F.

A field of eight came through to the jump-off, where Jennifer Billington and Flipper Darco UK Z set the standard with a clear in 35.78sec. The poles then started falling for her pursuers, until 21-year-old Sandy and the son of Ultimo made up for a juddering start by scorching home in 33.23sec to claim the top prize.

“I’m over the moon because I didn’t think I had that at all – I had a terrible stride to the first three fences, so I didn’t think I’d be anywhere near fast enough,” said Sandy, who hails from near Edinburgh but has recently moved to West Sussex. “You always feel the pressure going into these classes – I knew that Jennifer was fast and I knew her time had been beaten, but everyone was having the last fence down.

“The atmosphere was fantastic, I love this show, it’s one of the best in Britain.”

Sandy has been riding the crest of a wave this year, including winning team bronze at the young rider European Championships, but he says this win is “right up there” as one of his best and he credits Gino for being his “soulmate”.