News & Info > Milton Abbey pupil wins 2018 Wessex Area Championship

Milton Abbey pupil wins 2018 Wessex Area Championship

Milton Abbey is delighted that pupil Aly (Alexandra) Geldard has won the 2018 Wessex Area Championship in the Pony racing class for ponies up to 148cm.   The race was held at Little Windsor on 7 May.<br />  

Milton Abbey School is delighted that pupil Aly (Alexandra) Geldard  has won the 2018 Wessex Area Championship in the Pony Racing class for ponies up to 148 cm. The race was held at Little Windsor on 7th May. 
 
Aly already had wins in the 138cm class at Godstone and Wincanton under her belt and was named Most Improved Rider (Pony Racing Authority) in the South East in 2015.   A boarder at Milton Abbey School, she rides out for Mark Gillard Racing in Hilton, Dorset before school every  day and wants to be a professional flat jockey.
 
In December 2017 Aly teamed up with Shotgun Minnie, a 147.7 cm thoroughbred mare with whom she has gone from strength to strength.    Aly and Minnie will be running in the National Pony Racing Championship at Bratton Down on 3rd June.
 
 
At Little Windsor Aly rode an excellent race, holding onto Shotgun Minnie until she saw an opening in the field.  Aly and Minnie delivered a nail-biting finish, beating the runner-up by half a length.  Aly is currently ranked 8th out of more than 250 children competing in Pony Racing in 2018. 
 
Mark Gillard of Mark Gillard Racing said,  “Aly has phenomenal determination and personal drive for someone so young and it is a joy to see her succeeding in the way that she is. We at Mark Gillard Racing are proud to have been a part of her journey.”
 
Aly’s mother, Justine Elmendorff, said,  “I am very grateful to Magnus Bashaarat and his staff at Milton Abbey School for the support they have given Aly over the past three years, helping her pursue a career goal so far removed from the usual GCSE curriculum.  No other school I know of would have allowed Aly out of school before lessons to work on a racing yard six mornings a week!”