LEO Lamb concluded the British Showjumping Spring Championships with victory in the Winter 7-year-old title atop his mother’s Carron Nicol’s talented horse Gmail at Arena UK in Lincolnshire.
A field of 30 riders and their horses tackled a challenging 12-fence 1.25/1.30m course with 13 producing first round clears to qualify for a jump-off against the clock.
Lamb took advantage of Gmail’s speed and big, scopey stride to outpace their rivals mid-draw and clip 1.61 seconds off the time.
Lamb said: “He’s the best I’ve ever ridden and accumulated £4,500 in prize money last year – a great achievement for a young horse.
“He can be playfully cheeky but we don’t mind, he’s a superstar and knows he’s special. We’re very excited about next year and hope to step up the levels to compete on British teams.
“A rider in America made an offer to buy him last Christmas and I was in tears at the thought of losing him. But we’ve decided to keep him – he has the talent to go all the way to the top.”
The 22-year-old Stratford-upon-Avon based rider has competed on Gmail for the past 11 months and claimed their place in the final with a win in the direct qualifier at Solihull Riding Club’s Winter Classic in February.
And the horse was making a winning return to these Championships after taking the 6-year-old title last year.
The partnership notched several wins to add to their tally in the summer, including the Chepstow International 6-year-old Final at the David Broome Event Centre.
