College News

Harry’s rise to show jumping stardom

Harry Wood, a first year student studying A Level Business, Geology and Geography at QE is looking forward to another exciting year in his show jumping career as he prepares to participate in the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead in July. Accompanying him will be his team of three horses: Johidoki, Amelias Boy and Elvis C. Harry, who discovered his love for show jumping at the age of seven and who expertly balances his A Level studies with his show jumping commitments, first started competing with ponies and collected several prizes. These included a team silver at the Welsh Home Pony International and an individual award at the Longines Global Future Champions Tour in the CSIP Grand Prix in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands. Last year as a horse rider, he finished second in the 1.30m/1.40m speed class and won a class whilst taking part in an international competition in Cavan, Ireland.

To further his progress, Harry is also part of the ‘Step up to Gold’ programme, an initiative funded by Sport England and the Government which provides members with training and physiotherapy sessions, and guaranteed entry into a show jumping contest taking place in Kronenberg, the Netherlands. Looking ahead to his upcoming tournament, Harry explains: ‘I have been horse riding for as long as I can remember, my parents used to sit me in a basket and allow me to ride with them when I was a child. This year is going to be really exciting, each competition is different therefore I am looking forward to trying out all of the new courses. John Beilby, Strategic Communication Director at QE, adds: ‘We always enjoy hearing about what our students do outside of College and it is incredible what Harry has already achieved as a show jumper. We wish him every success for his contests this year and hope he obtains many more rosettes to add to his growing collection’.