Tricky day for the Ladies...
By TMX Archives on 4th Jun 08
MANSFIELD Maun ran the fourth round of the ACU Ladies Trials Championship on Sunday at a very wet and muddy Pear Tree Farm, Lea, near Matlock, Derbyshire. It turned out to be a very tough event much harder than the organisers had originally planned!
The 15-sections were set out on the Saturday – a lovely warm, sunny, dry day.
Come Sunday morning however, heavy rain from 8am till 11.30am caused havoc with all of the sections. Added to this, some ‘kind' person removed the road marking to the venue (thanks)!
Prior to the start, everyone was welcomed to the event by Mansfield Maun MCC president, Ron Wagstaff.
At 11am the 23 riders in the Adult and the Youth A and B classes went to section one, with the 19 riders from the Youth B and C classes starting at section nine.
Donna Fox fived the opening section, while Becky Cook, Emma Bristow, Joanne Coles, Niki Wraight, Helen Lang and Emma Morphett all escaped for threes. This must have woken up Ace Sherco-mounted Donna. On the very next hazard just Hannah Styles and Fox were the only ones to get through for single dabs – apart from Joanne Coles who produced a brilliant clean. Right from the first lap, even though the sections were already being eased because of the rain, it was obvious it was going to be a high-scoring event.
The best on the first punch card in Youth C was Nikita Smith, who circulated for just ten-penalties on her card. Her only five was on section 14, a mud bath. On section 15, a long hill-climb, she managed a three, while Kate Hunter lost just two here. A slower, but more controlled ride from Catherine Alford on her 80 Beta helped her to record a clean.
Also on section 15, but on route two, Niki Wraight and Helen Lang were the only cleans on the first punch card.
The first lap scores in the Adult class on route one, were Donna Fox 40, Becky Cook 45, and Emma Bristow 54. Meanwhile, in Youth A, it was Joanne Coles on 53, Hannah Styles 56 and Harriet Peacock on 64.
As the second lap started, the heavy rain stopped, but the damage had already been done. One rider was spotted by the farmer riding outside the taped route, which was to keep the riders to the edge of the field, so the farmer closed the gate, forcing everyone go round through the wood. In addition, the event photographer fell and broke his ankle – and this was still the start of the second lap!
In the sections, all the Adult and Youth A competitors cleaned section six, while on route two, single dabs successes came from Helen Lang, Hannah Kirtley-Paine and Emma Morphett, with a two from Niki Wraight.
Helen Lang was the only one to get through section 15 for a dab – everyone else posted a five.
On the third lap some of the sections started to dry out, but the scores were still high. Fox lost 42 on her third card.
Donna and Joanne Coles cleaned section two on the climbs between trees, a dab from Cook and threes from Hannah Styles, Emma Bristow and Harriet Peacock.
In Youth A Intermediate, Emma Colwell improved throughout the day, but the best ride in the class was Robyn Alderson on 183, with brilliant cleans on sections six and ten.
All the young girls In Youth C deserve a medal, just for getting to the finish, but Nikita Smith was the only one to keep her score on double figures. All the rest were way over 100. With conditions as they were, Nikita did manage to clean 16 of the 45 sections.
In Youth B, Chloe Richardson had only 13 fives to win this class and finish on 140 marks, followed by the ever improving Catherine Alford and Danielle Whitham.
ACU LADIES TRIALS CHAMPS
Rd 4 – Castrol Ladies Trial (Mansfield Maun MCC)
LADIES CLASS (Route A): Donna Fox (250 Sherco) 129 marks lost, Becky Cook (250 Gas Gas) 138, Emma Bristow (250 Gas Gas) 165.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 7) rounds: 1 Cook 77 points, 2 Fox 69, 3 Bristow 62, 4 Sunter 39, 5 Baxter 33,
YOUTH A (Route A): Joanne Coles (125 Sherco) 161 marks lost, Hannah Styles (Sherco) 183, Harriet Peacock (125 Sherco) 189.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 7) rounds: 1 Coles 80 points, 2 Styles 68, 3 Peacock 60, 4 Bullock 26.
YOUTH B (Route B): Chloe Richardson (125 Sherco) 140 marks lost, Catherine Alford (80 Beta) 160, Danielle Whitham (125 Beta) 163.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 7) rounds: 1 Richardson 74 points, 2 Whitham 72, 3 Alford 62, 4 Percy 26,
LADIES INTER (Route B): Niki Wraight (250 Scorpa) 130 marks lost, Emma Morphett (125 Gas Gas) 148, Helen Lang (125 Scorpa) 195, Hannah Kirtley-Paine (125 Gas Gas) 205, Francesca Kirtley-Paine (125 Gas Gas) 211.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 7) rounds: 1 Morphett 72 points, 2 Wraight 54, 3 Lang 52, 4 Kirtley-Paine 41, 5 Kirtley-Paine 40, 6 Ellis 37, 7 Crabtree 19, 8 Cannom 15, 9 Point 11.
YOUTH C (Route C): Nikita Smith (80 Beta) 95 marks lost, Kate Hunter (80 Sherco) 145, Victoria Payne (50 Gas Gas) 157, Maisie Payne (80 Gas Gas) 177, Louise Alford (80 Beta) 179.
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 7) rounds: 1 Smith 77 points, 2 Hunter 69, 3 Payne 52, 4 Richardson 47, 5 Payne 41, 6 Alford 40, 7 Wallis 35.
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP
YOUTH INTER A (Route B): Robyn Alderson (125 Gas Gas) 183 marks lost, Emma Colwell (125 Sherco) 192, Harriet Shore (125 Gas Gas) 197.
NEXT ROUND: Jun 29 – Scarborough Ladies Trial (Scarborough & DMC).