GISBURN showjumper Carol Richardson has qualified an impressive string of horses for the Permanent Show Organisers Association National Championships, due to be held next year in the Midlands.

Carol has five horses through to the Championship finals, after a successful showing in the Osbaldeston arena qualifiers, near Blackburn. She secured three of the top four placings in the leading class, the PSOA Open qualifier, winning on the bay gelding Panama O'Hec, who also headed the Graduate qualifier at the Show. She finished second in the Open on the ride of just four weeks, Time for Gold.

Carol's fourth-placed Open ride was the giant 17.1hh Panama Springbok, who she has produced from an unbroken three-year-old and owns jointly with Liz Astall. The nine-year-old is now Grade A but has been out of action since June, after contracting a virus. Since his return he has proved to have lost none of his form, sharing first place in an Osbaldeston Open with Time for Gold and being well placed at Birchinley Equestrian Centre.

Carol also rides the 15.2hh bay mare Little Miss E D for Liz, who herself evented the horse, and has qualified her for the PSOA under £500 final. "Little Miss E D proved a bit too careful to event and wouldn't jump a fence into water, although she was happy enough to go through the water itself."

Carol continued: "She's still in Foxhunters, but finished third in the Open at Pembroke County this season. She won a Foxhunter at Birchinley recently and collected 21 rosettes in three days over the weekend." One of Carol's surprise PSOA qualifiers is Pre-Eminent, who made the Graduate final with a third place at Osbaldeston.

"The horse has been in livery with us for Reg Bright, who lives nearby at Nelson. Reg hurt himself a week before the qualifier and asked me to take over the ride. I'd never sat on the horse before and had a £100 bet which Reg said I could qualify it for the Graduate final - he paid up straight away."

Completing Carol's PSOA qualified string is the young horse Ludicrous.

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