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Tamara Marshall bagged two first place awards at the North Island Secondary Schools Show Jumping Champs last month.
The 16-year-old from Rodney College competed in a team of four that came second overall. The rest of the team comprised Brooklyn Wilson (Rodney College), Paige Rynne (Rodney College) and Monique Balfour (Living Way School).
Marshall won both the accumulator and show jump with instant jump off round, as well as third place in the jigsaw.
The categories are all won on points based on speed around the course and clearance of the jumps.
“We were competing against 23 other teams so I was very happy with my results and the team’s effort,” Marshall says.
The team placed second overall, from left, Monique Balfour, Tamara Marshall, Paige Rynne and Brooklyn Wilson.
Marshall and Balfour both competed in the 1.00 to 1.05 metre ring, while Wilson and Rynne rode in the 80 to 90cm ring, coming third in the jigsaw.
“I’ve jumped as high as 1.15 metres so I felt pretty comfortable in this ring,” Marshall says.
Marshall is a member of the Albertland Pony Club and only started show jumping two years ago.
“I’ve been riding since I was two years old, and I took up jumping when I got a pony that suited those events.”
She currently owns two ponies on her family’s lifestyle block and trains three times a week.
Prior to the North Island champs, she had only competed in one school event where her team picked up first place.
“I do compete in events on weekends between Whangarei and Auckland and I would love to become a professional show jumper.
“Next year will present a challenge for me because at 17 you have to start competing on a horse, not a pony, and I’ve been riding mine for the last five years.”
Balfour also picked up two individual results. She came eighth in the accumulator and ninth in the show jump.
