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Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is celebrating medal success following the recent World Firefighter Games in Liverpool.
Faversham firefighter Louise Ayley, Canterbury firefighter Emma Reynolds alongside Cheryl Garland whose partner, Dave Hulks, also works from Canterbury fire station, were all selected to represent Britain in a series of equestrian events at Aintree Racecourse.
The trio have added to the massive 161 gold medals already won by the British team who are currently top of the medal table. Galloping to glory, Louise scooped gold medals in the novice dressage, the combined training section (which combine the show jumping and dressage scores) and in the display team show jumping, where Emma also scooped bronze.
Elsewhere, Cheryl achieved silver medal success in the preliminary dressage, with Louise and Emma achieving fifth and seventh place respectively.
This was the first time show jumping and dressage featured at the games, which are the biggest multi-sport event for fire service staff.
Emma said: "I'm a keen rider and when I saw that the games were coming to Liverpool, I thought it looked like fun, so convinced Louise - who I used to work with at Canterbury fire station - and Cheryl - whose partner works with me - to take part as we all own horses and compete at a local level.
"It was a really tough competition and the standard was really high. In each event we were competing against 40 other riders. I competed with my horse Murphy and am really pleased with how well we did in the dressage and display team event. It was the first time that me and Murphy competed in a show jumping event!!"
Louise Ayley said: "I far exceeded all my medal expectations for the games and am really pleased to have represented KFRS and the British team in such a prestigious event. We had a fantastic time and met so many new friends from all around the world. It was a great experience - the best moment being when we competed in the display team show jumping, over 800 cheering spectators watched as we raced against the clock to complete the course - it was very exciting! It's great that equestrian events are now included and that such a large event was held in the UK, but next time the games will be in South Korea which might be a bit far for us!"
The games, held every two years, are open to all firefighters and their partners. Six thousand competitors from as far afield as New Zealand, South Africa and Thailand took part in the competition that has been held in the past in Hong Kong, Sydney and Las Vegas.
Emma added: "During the games, I was also approached by the head of the Mounted Police who invited Louise and I to take part in an emergency service show jumping competition at Royal Windsor in front of the Queen. If we qualify in this competition we will be eligible to take part in an event in Olympia, the home of all major international show jumping competitions, at Christmas. It is every riders dream to race in Olympia, so watch this space - there may be more medals to come!"
The World Firefighter Games is a non-profit making event, and are on course to raise a massive £100,000 for charity, with funds mostly raised from competitor's contributions.
Once the Games have closed, the money raised will be split equally between seven chosen charities including the Fire Fighters Charity, formally the Fire Services National Benevolent Fund FSNBF, the Burned Children's Club and Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
The games close tomorrow (September 3). |
