Alison Bucknell,
of Reinhill Ranch
http://www.reining61.com
Qualified for the, rookie level 2, limited Non Pro and intermediate Non Pro at the European Reining Championships.
These were to be held at CS Ranch in Switzerland from June 26th till July 2nd ,and so off we went.
http://www.cs-ranch.eu
The horse she qualified is A Twisted Face he is a 5 year old gelding Quarter horse originaly bred by Oakland Reining horses and trained by their resident trainer Julien Andre.
http://www.oaklandqh.com
However the enormity of the competition on the first day took its toll and she unfortunately did not get placed in the Rookie Finals.
A long night of work and training followed with the help and guidance of Gregory Legrand and we all went to bed in the small hours feeling very tired.
http://www.gb-quarter-horses.com/actualites.html
The next morning saw Alison in full competitor mood and she swung into action in the Intermediate Non Pro scoring a 209.5 to gain a 9th place, so all the night time work had focused her mind, but more was to come.
Saturday morning came and the competition got underway at 8am again, and today in the Limited Non Pro Class she was one of the last riders to ride, and she rode a scorching 208.5 which secured her a 5th position riding against some stiffest competition from the best non pro riders in Europe and judged by 5 top International Judges, some of whom were at WEG 2010.
After all this excitement she was allowed to let her hair down on Saturday night at the riders party.........and I believe she got a first in THAT competition!!!!!!!
So her European positions for 2011 are,
European Limited Non Pro 5th
European Intermediate Non Pro 9th
That has now moved her into the top 20 riders rankings in the Limited division in Europe
Congratulations to Alison and a big thank you to everyone who has helped her along the way.
For pictures go to REINHILL RANCH on facebook or www.reining61.com
from a very proud Bob