Page 80 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2019

78
REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
The race was a poignant one for The Royal Lancers; we remem- bered Mick Welborn who was a force majeure in RAC Triathlon, creating the RAC event and driving novices, amateurs and more seasoned racers to achieve a great deal and more importantly take part and enjoy the sport. The overall team competition, the aptly named Welborn Cup, was the goal. OC D Squadron had another strong outing posting the fastest swim time of the day, coming third overall, and breaking up an otherwise Light Dragoon filled top-five. Another stalwart performance from the Adjutant saw him come in tenth with tremendous efforts from Tpr Willis in 18th and Cpl Yorke in 21st. The strong team per- formance gave us second place overall with the Light Dragoons deservedly taking first place.
As we look ahead to the 2020 season, we are hopeful we can transform our team of gifted amateurs into a slicker more pro- fessional squad and attempt to de-throne The Light Dragoons at next year’s RAC competition. We also hope to couple with burgeoning cycling and swimming squads in Catterick to ac- celerate some of our gifted novices (and creaking veterans) to individual success in Army North and wider-Army and civilian competitions.
AJH
Chapka Triathlon – Tpr Collins receiving his win in the Junior Category at the Army North Triathlon Race in Richmond
2019 has seen Lancers on horseback on the hunting fields of both England and Ireland, the plains of the Masai Mara and racing in the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown Park.
The 2019 Military Racing season was a frustrating one for Capt Kellard. Everything appeared positive when ex-King’s Royal Hussar trainer Jamie Snowden asked Capt Kellard to ride in the Royal Artillery Gold Cup. Unfortunately, an equine flu outbreak that halted racing across the UK ruled the horse, Vieux Lille out of running in the race. With many trainers unable to produce runners on the day, Capt Kellard was unable to find a mount and was forced to watch from the side-lines. Undeterred by the bad luck, Snowden and Kellard plotted a route to the Grand Military Gold Cup for the same horse.
Maj Purbrick with Capts Kellard and Henson out with the Cottesmore
The plan was to hold Vieux Lille, or Vinny as he is known in the yard, up at the back of the field and creep into the race. Jamie en- couraged Capt Kellard to get on the inside rail at the earliest op- portunity, the aim to save as much ground as possible through- out the race. Everything started positively, the pair exactly where they had planned to be as they sailed over the first fence. As the field entered the first bend – a tight downhill left hander which is notoriously difficult to negotiate as everyone jockeys for position at the beginning of the race – Vinny found himself short of room as other runners pressed him into the rail. The writing was on the wall from that first bend experience, as the door was slammed shut, Vinny was put on the back foot and was robbed of some much-needed confidence heading into the back straight. He jumped very carefully for another circuit, never re-
Equestrian Sport