National team rider Sovanchandara Ly claimed top honours in the Grand Prix division of the Norodom Sihanouk du Cambodge Showjumping Championship at the Cambodian Country Club horse park on Sunday.

The first of the three-leg competition saw Sovanchandara adeptly handle her pony, who took the jumps over the 90cm obstacles like a well-groomed large horse.

Young  Sovanchandara, who comes from the non-government organisation Maddox, showed his riding skills by inducing his mount to some clean jumps.

Sochea Moeng emerged second best, with Phat Makara and Phun Pheaktra Soepetra sharing the third spot.

One of the female riders to excel on the day was Thara Cheng Along who topped the 70cm Intermediate Riders Category.

Alicia Khiem finished runner-up ahead of Lola Mottet.

The 50 cm Junior event was dominated by Ester Guibert, who pushed Gabriel Goosens to second place, with Phoung  Mean filling the frame in third.

Pony control for beginners saw some exciting fare, with Greta Masche climbing the top ahead of Adi Kad-yebek and Prak Virak.

The 50cm Senior event went to Pascal Kao.

Soerjd Ypma had to be content with second place in front of Tess Galloway Bussi.

The second round is slated for January 27 at the same venue, with the  championship winding up on February 10.

The overall winners in each category will be determined by the total number of accumulated points over all the three rounds.

To contact the reporter on this story: H S Manjunath at [email protected]