Eve gallops to Liverpool success

Eve Staveley rounded off the amateur classes at this year's TheraPlateUK Liverpool International Horse Show with victory in the CSIAm-A class, sponsored by Irish Horse Gateway.
 
Seven combinations made it through to the jump-off, with Eve riding Shadow IV, clocking 40.44 seconds to take top spot by seven hundredths of a second from Jade Meekings with Pauls Lass.
 
Third place went to Liverpool International show promoter Nina Barbour with the bay mare Douglas Delight, jumping clear in 42.61 seconds.
 
Lincolnshire's Ava Vernon took top honours in the CSIAm-B jump-off class, sponsored by Easibed.
 
And she did it in style on six-year-old gelding Here I'm B, a horse that as been produced by Great Britain international rider Holly Smith.
 
Ava triumphed in a time of 28.11 seconds, just 14 hundredths of a second quicker than Madison McCrory and Wynton D, with Debbie Lawrence and Berlin van Kloosterholt finishing third.
 
"I was holding my breath! It was pretty close," said Ava, who is based neat Skegness.
 
"It is only my third ever show on this horse. He is only six, and I have only had him since October. I have ridden him just a handful of times, and this was his biggest show by a long way.
 
"He is quite a fast horse, so once I got into the jump-off I trusted him to jump the fences and I just tried to go as fast as I possibly could. He is a very mature six-year-old.
 
"He coped with it very well. Holly produced the horse and is a great trainer.”