A SHOW jumper from Worcestershire has jumped to victory in the second round of the Equissage Pulse Senior British Novice competition. 

Robert Jeffries, from Great Witley, rode his horse Figo MH to victory in his first appearance at this stage of the competition.

Forty horse and rider combinations headed to Cheshire’s Dean Valley to compete and try tosecure passage to the final at the British Showjumping National Championships later this year.

Seventeen combinations advanced from the first round where the competition stepped up a notch.

Ten of the starting 17 rode their way to the jump off, but Mr Jeffries was among two combinations that stood head and shoulders above the rest.

He and Joshua Bailey on Frankly Dynamic posted to the only triple clears of the class and were separated by a mere 0.3 seconds. 

But it was Mr Jefferies who crossed the line in the fastest time, stopping the clock with an overall time of 43.39 seconds.

"It was really good to win," said Mr Jeffries.

"The horse I won on (Figo) I produced alongside my trainer Amanda Carpenter and it was his first-ever win.

"It was a big win. It's a professional show jumping event and I've now qualified for the finals in August.

"It's amazing so I'm really pleased.

"I was very confident going into the race. I had a good horse underneath me, he was really good on the day."

Mr Jeffries, who has been riding since the age of 14, is quietly confident of putting together another good display in the finals.

"It will be a lot bigger, there will be about about 60 horses to go in the class," he said.

"I feel that I've got a chance, I'm feeling confident with the horse.

"It's a big class but I feel that I stand a good chance."

The finals will be held in Warwickshire in August, where riders will tackle a completely different course to the previous rounds.

"It will be my first time riding there," added Mr Jeffries.

"I'll walk the course on the day to get a feel for related distances and turns because no course is the same when you get there.

"I will try and get a sense of how the course will be flowing, the speed I'll be going at - it's quite technical.

"I've been riding for 14 years and I just keep going every day.

"The dream is to jump abroad. It's very expensive but I really enjoy it."