Show Jumping sisters from Burgess Hill Girls make National finals

Sisters Heidi and Kirstin Robbins, both students at Burgess Hill Girls, have triumphed at Sussex qualifiers to make it through to National equestrian finals.

In September, sisters Heidi Robbins, aged twelve, and Kirstin Robbins, aged fourteen, represented the Burgess Hill Girls Equestrian team at the National School Equestrian Association (NSEA) Show Jumping qualifiers at the Felbridge Show Ground in East Grinsted, East Sussex.

Heidi finished both first, on her pony Choccy, and second, on her other pony Sammy in the NSEA 70cm qualifier, beating sixty other riders aged ten to sixteen.

Kirstin competed in the NSEA 110cm qualifier against a number of other riders aged fourteen to sixteen. She finished second, an impressive result considering she has another two years in this category. Kirstin also recently won the Pony Club 90cm National Championships, beating one hundred other finalists over two rounds and a final jump-off.

At the start of October, Heidi and Kirstin repeated their success in a second NSEA qualifier at Felbridge Show Ground, with Heidi winning the 70/75cm, and Kirstin, going one better than September to win the 110cm event.

Having qualified both students are now working hard to see what they can do in their first NSEA finals. Heidi will compete in the NSEA Junior finals on the 20th of October and Kirstin will compete in the NSEA finals on the 22nd of October. Both events will take place at the renown Keysoe International Equestrian Centre in Bedfordshire.

Heidi and Kirstin are determined to do the best they can.

Heidi said: “We have been working really hard and spending a lot of hours practising so it is nice to see it has been worth it.”

Kirstin added: “We will be training every day to get our ponies super fit and ready for the finals.”

Lars Fox, Head of Burgess Hill Girls, is delighted to be celebrating the students’ achievements: “Heidi and Kirstin’s success are fantastic examples of the rewards that can come if you focus on your goals and work hard. I am looking forward to seeing how they get on in the National finals, I am sure they will do very well.”

Equestrian team manager Elisa Spivey is also excited about the future: “It is lovely to watch Heidi and Kirstin continuing the strong form of the Burgess Hill Girls Equestrian team in making the NSEA finals. We are also fortunate to have a number of riders who are improving rapidly, and I am sure will be inspired to follow in their footsteps. It is a pleasure to manage the team and see their commitment, their support for each other, and most importantly, to see them having lots of fun.”