Kate and I were on the Young Rider Team together in 2012, my brother started to help crew for her in 2018 and Dan, Will, my Mum and I all crewed her for her first senior Championships in 2019 because Kate's Mum, Rachael, was also competing in the same Championship. The very first time a Mother and Daughter combo have made it onto a Team GBR team together, a feat in itself getting two horses to the start line of a Championship, but they both also completed the Championship course.
So when Kate asked us to crew her for an 80km at the Cumbrian Challenge of course we said yes. Readwood had two horses competing Eros and Nessie, with Jess and Kate riding. It also meant we got to visit my brother Will as he lives at Readwood.
Both horses flew through the initial vetting and went out onto what is a technical and tough course. The weather was perfect, not too hot, the rain held off and not too windy. The pair came into the first vet gate just behind the lead horse but managed to present 2 minutes ahead so were out on the next loop in the lead.
The second loop made for an exciting race as the horse in third caught up and started to pull away as it was just flying on the downhills, whereas Kate and Jess were picking their way across the rocky terrain. Crewing was just as quick as we tried to get them every 5km due to how tough the course was. Just sloshing one crew point and then doing a full crew stop the next.
I swear crewing is harder than riding! They came in behind the leader for the last vet gate, presented ahead again but sadly the other horse didn't continue on the last loop. Which was a great shame not just for horse and rider but also as it makes for a fun last loop for both riders and crews when the competition is hot.
Kate and Jess went out on the last loop and brought both the horses home for a steady 1, 2 across the finish line. Jess getting her first win as the pair had ridden the whole ride together and Kate had taken the top spot in their last 80km so it was only fair Jess got the glory this time.
Both horses recovered well and were ready to go into the final vetting without much crewing. Eros passed with flying colours but sadly Nessie needed a three card trick and was vetted out. Nessie didn't know he was out though and we smothered both horses in praise and carrots.
We headed home for a celebratory takeaway together, even though Nessie was out he still rode a great ride and we had all had a good day, so plenty of reasons to celebrate still, and the next day we all went bouldering at the local climbing centre. A lovely weekend full of activity and friends, it made me miss racing so much but I also enjoyed being part of the day as crew.
Thanks for watching,
Beth
Негізгі бет Crewing for my GBR teammate - Vlog 95 - Beth Endurance
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