UK Armed Forces Equestrian Championships

In April, two Second Lieutenants from the North West Officer Training Regiment (NWOTR) travelled to Addington Manor in Buckingham for the UK Armed Forces Equestrian Championships (UKAFEC).

2Lt Meg Oakeley Queen’s Own Yeomanry and 2Lt Jasmine Kirlew Royal Artillery travelled down to the Cotswolds to represent the North West. The pair train with the Army Medical Services (AMS) under the loan scheme at Jill Carenza Equestrian Centre. The Carenza’s yard is a well-established riding centre in the Cotswolds, which loans horses out to a number of different Armed Forces riders.

For 2Lt Kirlew, this was her first show jumping competition and first time representing the Army on her hireling, Sonny. 2Lt Oakeley competed at UKAFEC in 2016, but this would be her first competition with her newly paired hireling, Touchdown Charlie.

On the Saturday morning, 2Lts Oakeley and Kirlew had a lesson with Emily Carenza before preparing their horses and equipment and travelling to Buckingham. The competition was already well underway in bright sunshine, with riders from the Navy, Army, RAF and Police performing some excellent dressage tests and show jumping rounds.

With the horses settled in, 2Lts Kirlew and Oakeley pitched their tent and camped near to the stables. By Sunday morning, however, the pair realised that their horses had got the better deal after discovering that the tent wasn’t particularly waterproof!

Sunday brought more warm weather and excellent riding from all Armed Forces riders. 2Lt Kirlew and Sonny had a very successful day, jumping two double clears and securing 5^th place in both the 70cm and 80cm classes! 2Lt Oakeley and Touchdown Charlie had a very enjoyable day, the pair rolled a few poles but jumped some lovely rounds in the 80cm, 90cm and 1m classes and secured 6^th place in the 1m class, a very pleasing result for 2Lt Oakeley’s first competition at this height.

After an enjoyable and successful weekend all round, the pair are looking forward to the rest of the season and will be back to training with the Army as soon as university exams are out the way!