Page 47 - 1RHA 2024

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Alpine Ski Maint
this season due to honing his recce skills on the GPO course but no doubt he will make an appearance in next year’s line-up.
Seeding Results:
Bdr J Cottrell – 9th
Lt K Johnson – 16th Gnr G Brison – 21st LBdr E Rowe – 36th Bdr D Gallimore – 56th
The team posted some strong results, setting the conditions for success at the Gunner Championships. With 3 weeks of train- ing under their belts, the team proudly returned home for a short but well-earned Christmas break to relax ahead of an intensive competition period.
With limited opportunity to fully embrace the festivities, the team gathered in Larkhill on the 1st of Jan to embark on their journey back to Les Deux Alpes for the Royal Artillery Championships. Upon arriving in resort, the team had a day to run out and get their ski legs back, followed by some ski maintenance in order to prepare skis for the races that lay ahead.
Race week was tiring but some strong results were posted. The most challenging race came in the form of Individual Slalom with only 18 out of 68 skiers completing 2 runs due to the icy condi- tions, the remaining 50 crashing out or retiring along the course. Across the races, both Lt Johnson and Bdr Cottrell picked up medals in the female category and Gnr Brison took the overall Royal Artillery Junior Champion Title. Often navigationally chal- lenged leading to disqualification, Bdr Gallimore gathered him- self for the final race (Super G) before heading home. With formi- dable intervention from supporters, he finally found the ability to follow the proven route and soared to success achieving a bronze medal in the novice category.
Ex ALPINE TIGER Results
Individual Slalom (junior) – 1st Gnr Brison Team Slalom – 5th 1RHA A Team Individual GS (female) – 3rd Lt Johnson Individual GS (junior) – 2nd Gnr Brison Team GS – 5th 1RHA A Team
Individual Super G (junior) – 1st Gnr Brison Individual Super G (female) – 2nd Bdr Cottrell Individual Super G (novice) – 3rd Bdr Gallimore Team Super G – 5th 1RHA A Team
Royal Artillery Alpine Combination (junior) – Gnr Brison Combined Team – 5th 1RHA A Team
1RHA Alpine Group Photo
Up next was the Divisional Championships (Ex SPARTAN HIKE) in Serre Chevalier. Due to pre-deployment commitments, Lt Johnson and Bdr Gallimore were unable to attend so Bdr Cot- trell readily stepped up as Team Captain. WO2 Wilkes, ex 1RHA, now 14RA with his abundance of experience as last year’s Royal Artillery Captain filled the fourth team spot. Despite the team not being at full strength, Bdr Cottrell did notably well, finishing sec- ond in the cut in the female category. This performance quali- fied her to attend the Army Championships (Ex LION’S CHAL- LENGE), once again bringing Army wide recognition to 1RHA’s notable talent.
The competition ramped up as Bdr Cottrell moved on to the next phase, Ex LION’S CHALLENGE where she competed in all elements of alpine racing up to the gruelling downhill event. Her most notable performance was 8th in Super G, where she showed incredible promise to go on to further successes.
This season, 1RHA achieved some encouraging results, particu- larly from those new to racing. Altogether the team showed they had breadth and depth, with the ability to deliver good results even with its more experienced racers away on operational tours.
Finally, a word of thanks to The First Trust for their funding support this season. This funding generously supported athletes through- out the season, from the RA training package all the way up to the Army Championships, providing new kit, maintenance equip- ment and supplementing the personal contributions. It allowed members of the Regiment to learn a new skill in a challenging but rewarding environment away from Regimental Duty, with a num- ber identified by RAWSA (Alpine) Committee as potential talent.
Nominal roll
Lt K Johnson RHA Bdr J Cottrell
Bdr D Gallimore
LBdr E Rowe Gnr G Brison Gnr B Gleed
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