Mum's the word

A student credits her mother for her victory in the under-25 grand prix and a rider returns from a broken hip to clear 7ft in the puissance

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ANTONIA PLATT claimed the Defender under-25 grand prix, despite not having sat on her winning ride, Marvin Van De Waterhoeve, for two weeks. The 21-year-old had been sitting university exams in Nottingham, where she is studying agriculture, but was able to shift focus to this exacting class, where she topped a six-strong jump-off by 1.62sec.

“I rode him at Chepstow and then drove straight from there to university to sit my end-of-year exams. I didn’t sit on him until this morning,” Antonia said. “My mum Rosalind has done a fantastic job keeping him going – she’s my work rider! There’s some real teamwork between us. My mum and dad are both incredibly supportive.”

The Charles sisters, Sienna – winner at Royal Windsor last year – riding Stardust and Scarlett on I Am Jordan opened the jumpoff, delivering competitive clean sheets that meant the remainder of the field had to push against the clock.

Hollie Pearce rode James O’Hara H to axe 0.38sec from Sienna’s target and take the lead, with Antonia then jumping the only other faultless round, finding significant advantage with her big-striding 12-year-old gelding.

“When I walked the first round, I thought it would take some jumping,” said Antonia, who has competed up to 1.60m and on young rider teams. “But my horse warmed up really nicely, I had a plan and knew my distances, felt prepared and he was great.”

WALL TOWERS TO 7FT