The inaugural British Dressage Arab Championships, held last Saturday at Solihull Riding Club in the West Midlands (7 October 2017), proved a great success. The Championships, which are supported by Allen & Page, saw many qualified combinations from across the UK converge at the centrally-located competition venue to battle it out for top honours.
Eight titles were up for grabs, from Intro to Elementary and with sections for both pure and part-bred horses.
Shining at Intro level was Sue Box (54) who travelled from her home in Monmouthshire with the delightful grey gelding, HS Emerillon (FT Wuotan x Vivaldi Rach) - pictured. Ten-year-old HS Emerillon and Sue are consistently successful competitors on the Quest Club circuit, this year achieving scores into the 70s. Maintaining that form at Solihull, the pair scored a super 70.10% to win the championship title. Sue, who trains with Helen Dawson at Sinai Dressage Horses, also competes in Endurance and is Finance Director for Endurance GB.
A popular winner of the Novice for Pure-breds was David Froggatt (49) who travelled from Lancashire with 14-year-old chestnut mare Shaarinah (Kais x FS Bengali). The pair were awarded a score average of 68.54% from judges Simone Bentley and Andrea Hessay. Shaarinah is certainly no stranger to the big time as she was Ridden Pure Bred Arab of the Year at the 2016 Horse of the Year Show where she also won Best Mare. David and Shaarinah have been enjoying dressage success all year with scores into the 70s.
Event rider Alex Mersh (23) travelled home to Kent with the satisfaction of a job well done with his ride, the bay tobiano Fames Dakota. Alex and ‘Jovi’, as he’s known, a seven-year-old breeding stallion owned by Robyn Crisp, scored a fabulous 70.32% to take the Novice for Part-breds title.
“To say I'm proud of this boy right now is a huge understatement, I can't tell you how I feel about what he's achieved today or this year for that matter!” said Robyn via the Silvabak Stud Facebook page. “Fames Dakota took the British Dressage Novice Arab Championship with a fantastic score of 70.38%. Not only that but he got the second highest score of the day over all levels against the Pure-breds and Part-breds! He did an amazing test, behaved like a pro the whole day and pulled it out the bag when he needed to most!”
Enjoying a great victory and the highest scorer of the entire show was Susannah Rogers (52) from Powys with her 15-year-old stallion, La Picasso (by Ras Al Jadi). Susannah and the beautiful grey scored 72.50% to take the Preliminary for Pure-breds title.
Congratulations to all the champions and to everyone who took part. British Dressage thanks Allen & Page for their support of this exciting new Championship as well as the team at Solihull Riding Club for putting on a fabulous show.
Intro C Pure-bred Championship
Sue Box with HS Emerillon, 70.10%
Intro C Part-bred Championship
Jo Crowther with Sirnunn Supreme Gold, 64.89%
Preliminary Pure-bred Championship
Susannah Rogers with La Picasso, 72.50%
Preliminary Part-bred Championship
Aimee Stunt with Treenhill Aristotle, 66.66%
Novice Pure-bred Championship
David Frogatt with Shaarinah, 68.54%
Novice Part-bred Championship
Alex Mersh with Fames Dakota, 70.32%
Elementary Pure-bred Championship
Emma Thomas with Binley Prince Salim, 65.29%
Elementary Part-bred Championship
Jacqueline Armitage with Denmoor Roxborough, 69.41%
For full results click here.