Inter-schools show jumping is, as the name suggests, a show jumping competition between schools that runs throughout the school year. Over 40 schools take part and there is a league in which each school counts their five best results. A win counts for ten points and the points decrease down to one point for sixth place. Each team has four jockeys. The season kicks off in Wexford the first weekend in September but for St. Gerard’s the real start is our own competition held in Boswell on the second weekend in September. We get a full turn out of all our show jumpers that weekend and usually field five teams. Rosemary Crosse gets the difficult job of putting the teams together. From then on there are competitions every second or third weekend usually on a Sunday which is great as it avoids clashes with rugby or hockey.
Almost everyone who jumps for St Gerard’s School also plays hockey or rugby so whilst the rest of the team gets Sunday for a lie-in jumpers can be on the road before nine having washed and plaited horses and show jumping goes ahead even if it’s wet. There have been times when we have jumped in snow storms!
For the last three years St. Gerard’s have finished in the top six teams which we see as a great result but I certainly hope to finish at the top in the future.
Equestrian Team for Inter-School Showjumping, Saturday 16th September 2017
