Posted: 4th July 2017 | Back to news feed
Up-and-coming Hartpury event rider Victoria Leabeater will take the next step her in development as she represents Great Britain as part of the team at the upcoming CIC2* European Eventing Championships.
Leabeater, who has just finished the first year of her BSc (Hons) Equestrian Sports Science degree, is set for an exciting summer as she heads off to Belgium later in July with the rest of the six-man team.
The youngest on the squad, at 20 years old, Victoria will be travelling to Tongeren with her 14-year-old mare Dolces E to compete in the bi-annual championships. This unique format sees the team complete a dressage test together ahead of then completing a normal CIC format event.
The pair have had some great results over the first half of the season, including fourth at Nunney International in the Open Intermediate, fifth in the Intermediate at Aston-Le-Walls and second in the Intermediate at Tweseldown.
Leabeater said: “I’m so excited that Dolce and I have been selected to compete in Belgium for the GB team and I’m so thankful to everyone that has helped us get here.”
Victoria is a member of the equine academy at Hartpury which provides a range of bespoke support to riders, giving them access to world-class coaches and facilities to progress their riding alongside their study.
Academy Director, Lizzel Winter said: “Victoria was up against a large number of riders that were on the initial long list squad selection, so to make the team is a great achievement and we’re excited to see what Belgium has in store.”
Other members of the equine academy are also flying high, with Georgia Cabb recently winning the Silver League Semi Final Qualifier at Aintree, taking her a step closer to competing at Horse of the Year Show as she now heads to the regional finals.
Lucy Pincus will also be flying the Hartpury flag in dressage as she heads to Hickstead to compete in the International-under-25 Class.
Hartpury University Centre has more than 1500 students completing Foundation degrees, Honours degrees, HE Diplomas and postgraduate qualifications in Sport, Equine, Animal, Agriculture and Veterinary Nursing on a specialist 360-hectare campus located near to Gloucester and Cheltenham.
It is the world’s largest equine education facility and our University Centre sports teams regularly win national titles in rugby, football and equine, while many more students are involved in recreational sport. Hartpury also boasts an extensive animal collection, animal science laboratories with industry standard equipment and a fully working farm.
Hartpury University Centre has a growing reputation for producing high quality research and graduates that make a real difference to the industries we serve.
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