Stan Calvert 2017: Equestrian

Northumbria University Equestrian battled it out for Stan Calvert points against Newcastle this week and bounced back in style from 2016’s whitewash.

Katie Roberts admitted there was a mixed mood in camp before the action got underway.

“The team had mixed emotions - some were nervous and feeling the pressure whereas some were excited and ready to take Newcastle on,” she said.

This was due to all but two of the girls being new to the experience of competing in Stan Calvert.

However, Northumbria performed well and Roberts added: “Most of the girls are used to competition though so were fairly relaxed.”

Tuesday saw the dressage competition with the A team winning and taking one point but. The B team lost the overall point but Roberts added: “There were some great individual results within the B team.”

Roles were reversed on Wednesday for the jumping event with the B team winning and taking the point for Northumbria. The A team narrowly lost - although again there were some excellent individual results within the team

All the Northumbria riders had smiles on their faces and certainly looked to have enjoyed the Stan Calvert experience. Roberts added: “All the girls rode amazingly in both competitions.”

This battling draw proved to be a huge confidence boost and Roberts said: “It was a massive improvement on last year when we lost all of the points available. We certainly weren't going to let that happen again.”