Equestrian Neave

On Sunday 15 April, the 2018 Dominic College Equestrian Representative, Year 8 student, Neave Schofield, encountered harsh winter weather while representing Dominic at the 2018 Inter Schools Horse Trials.

With the event held at Huntingfield Pony & Riding club grounds, Howden, with an 8.30 a.m. start Neave was preparing her mount, Benton Park Campaign, in harsh winter conditions in preparation for her dressage test.

Neave was the only student competing from Dominic, and so she was teamed up with her sister Sarah and friend, April Oates in a 3-member scramble team.

Neave and her fellow team members performed commendably throughout the day, starting with dressage test in which the riders are required to perform a set sequence of walk, trot and canter manoeuvres around the arena in a 6-minute test which they have committed to memory. This is not an easy task under the pressure of having every step scrutinised by the judges. It was a very impressive effort on their part.

The afternoon session saw the cross country phase commence. For our team competing at grade 4, this meant an adrenalin-fuelled canter around a 1.8 km course involving 17 jumps in 6 minutes. All riders got round the course with clear of any penalties.

Finally, we came to the show jumping phase, which also saw all riders completing clear rounds.

When the final scores were calculated, the team had performed exceptionally well on the day with Neave and April finishing 1^st in their individual group competitions and Sarah finishing 2^nd in hers. Their total team score saw the girls finish 2^nd overall in the team competition.

Congratulations Neave, the Dominic Community is proud of your equestrian work representing us.