British European and World Champion vaulter Joanne Eccles from Scotland, has added the FEI World Cup Vaulting individual female title to her list of international achievements.
The FEI World Cup™ Vaulting final that was held in Bordeaux, was the culmination of five international qualifying competitions. Joanne, who led the competition throughout, won with a convincing performance and score of 8.84. Her nearest rival proved to be younger sister Hannah, who moved up from third place in the final round, to finish second, in what was the sisters first FEI World Cup final.
“To have another title is just brilliant and made even better that Hannah did so well,” said Joanne, who has a new routine in the pipeline for the forthcoming season and was therefore ‘determined to enjoy’ the final performance of her winning marionette routine. It was a last minute ticket to the final for Hannah who was allowed to compete after a withdrawal. “Hannah thought her World Cup season was finished before Christmas so she came here totally relaxed and not expecting too much – and loved every minute,” said Joanne.
The sister’s success was shared by father and trainer, John and their 18-year-old horse Bentley, who has been with the Eccles family for 12-years. “None of it would have happened without Bentley – he is as steady as a rock and so trustworthy and he has been just brilliant throughout the season,” commented Joanne a final year dentistry student at the University of Glasgow.
Joanne won her second consecutive European title at Le Mans, France last summer and was a sensation at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010, in Kentucky, where she won the World Championship title.
Lucy Bell, chef d’equipe to the British Vaulting team commented; “Both Joanne and Hannah produced stunning routines out in France and it’s fantastic that they were both rewarded with such great scores and final placings. It’s a fantastic start to the girls 2012 season and a great achievement to both of them who have worked so hard to get there.”
Individual female final results:
1 Joanne Eccles (WH Bentley) 8.837
2 Hannah Eccles (WH Bentley) 8.227
3 Anne-Sophie Musset Agnus (Harley) FRA 8.214.
For further information and for all the results from the final, visit www.jumping-bordeaux.com