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Great Britain confirmed their progress in this comparatively new sport in both the World Championships and the Belgian Open Young Riders Championships in Vielsalm over 2 days of competition. Britain took the Team Silver behind France, and British Riders topped the leader board in two of the three phases. Young Becky Hine from Cumbria took the overall Individual Silver in the Young Riders Competition. Although the French took the Championships for the second year in a row, they were hard pressed every step of the way by the British team of Anthea Kendrick, Paul Turner, Stephen Ramsay and David Hay-Thorburn. These were more than ably supported by the two individual riders Faye Hamilton and Ros Evans. On the first day, Anthea Kendrick put in an excellent performance to win the navigational section of the competition. Faye Hamilton finished equal third, with David Hay-Thorburn and Stephen Ramsay in 9th and 10th respectively. Becky Hine, on a borrowed horse, was lying 4th at this stage in the Young Riders competition. On day two there was no let up in the rain, and the riders were faced with a tough course in very unpleasant conditions. However, the British riders are fairly used to rain and the conditions largely didn't bother them. David Hay-Thorburn and Brenfield Mhairi made short work of the difficulties scoring an outstanding 144 points to win this Phase. Fellow team members Stephen Ramsay and Paul Turner were right up there with David in 5th and 6th place. For the Young Riders, Becky Hine won the final Phase by an astonishing 20 points ahead of her nearest rival. Amy Gibson and Richard Elliot both put in excellent performances to show that there is plenty of young talent coming through the ranks for the future. Rob Jones, British Chef d'Equipe said: "These championships showed that TREC is becoming a very serious competition, and that Britain is doing remarkably well. The French Chef d'Equipe admitted he considered that the British offered the most serious challenge. With a good sponsor we could win next year." RESULTS OVER RESULTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Team competition: 1st France (1179 pts) 2nd Great Britain (1089 pts) 3rd Switzerland (1024). Overall Individual: 1st Olivier Gradwohl (Fr - 411 pts) 2nd Laurent Mazzogut (Fr - 404 pts) 3rd Marc Couffin (Fr - 403 pts). GB placings: 5th David Hay-Thorburn (387 pts) 22nd Faye Hamilton (319 pts) 7th Stephen Ramsay (374 pts) 28th Ros Evans (292 pts) 20th Paul Turner (328 pts) 37th Anthea Kendrick (240 pts) Phase winners: POR(Orienteering) Anthea Kendrick (230 pts) CP (Control of Paces) Marc Renard (Bel. - 59 pts) PTV (Cross Country Obstacle) David Hay-Thorburn (144 pts). YOUNG RIDERS Overall 1st Sarah Josis (Bel. - 363 pts) 2nd Becky Hine (GB - 339 pts) 3rd Axelle Laine (Bel. - 325 pts) Phase winners POR Sarah Josis (231 pts) CP Sarah Josis (40 pts) PTV Becky Hine (124 pts) TEAM David Hay-Thorburn Ardrishaig Argyll Anthea Kenrick Windemere Cumbria Stephen Ramsey Park Dalkeith Edinburgh Paul Turner Talgarth Brecon YOUNG RIDER Richard Elliot Kilmarnock Ayrshire Amy Gibson Ladykirkmonkton Ayrshire Becky Hine Ambleside Cumbria INDIVIDUAL Ros Evans Saltcoats Ayrshire Faye Hamilton Lanark South Lanarkshire
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