“That was very, very unexpected,” said Vickie Archer after securing the PDS Saddleselementary freestyle restricted with Chris Thorne’s Caeser Himself (pictured) at Merrist Wood, the fifth winter regional. “I train with Elouise Webb and the last few weeks we’ve both felt the regionals were going to arrive a couple of weeks early for him but he pulled it out of the bag!” said Vickie.
Vickie has ridden the Cardinar gelding since Chris bought him two years ago. “He’s always been a naughty horse, so much so that he has the nickname of Asbo,” she added.
Sara-Jane Lanning’s gamble at buying a very green 11-year-old has paid off in spades as Mi Amigo won his fifth regional championship since his purchase in November 2013 winning both the Equitop Myoplast elementary open and the Albionmedium open.
“He’d been lightly competed as a five-year-old and spent the next six years in a field,” said Sara-Jane. “I was teaching at a yard and they asked if I’d have a look at him. I saw him trot across the arena and bought him. At his age I wasn’t sure how he’d take to learning new tricks but it turned out to be very well indeed!”
Amy Francis rode Southern Cross Stud and Anna Ross’s Southern Cross Barossa to win the Equitop Myoplast elementary restricted. Amy has worked for Anna for the last three years and ultimately it is Anna who will ride the Breitling/Dimaggio seven-year-old.
“It felt like the best test he’d ever done and I could see Anna smiling so I knew it must be okay,” she said.
A delighted Joanna Sawford headed sec A of the KBIS prelim with Devotion. The Don Crusader mare was imported as a yearling by Joanne’s trainer Ben St John James.
“I was thrilled just to qualify let alone win,” said a shocked Joanne who fits in the riding round her day job, which involves a huge amount of travel. “I keep the mare with Ben and his partner Roland Tong, which is fantastic as it is a complete contrast to the pressure of my job.”
Joanne and Devotion weren’t the only winners to hail from Roland and Ben’s Team Edge yard as head rider Emma Bailey rode Samantha Dyer’s Dutch Class to win the other section of the KBIS prelim. The seven-year-old Jazz gelding is in his first season of competition and this was only his fifth show.
Nikki Crisp rode Anne King’s UB40 gelding Ardie to win the Spillers medium open freestyle. “He is very talented but a little bit tricky,” said Nikki who has ridden the Dutch bred for two years now. “He’s so powerful with a very goey hind leg but they do overpower him at times!”
The horse was originally bought as a three-year-old in Holland having just done his grading. “He wasn’t cut until he was six,” added Nikki. “He was very hot in the warm-up but he’s very professional and as soon as he went into the arena he settled down and got on with it.”
Jess Wilton’s homebred Santo Hit won the Spillers medium restricted freestyle. The breeding stallion is by Sandro Hit out of a Weltruhn mare and his oldest stock is this year’s five-year-olds.
“We breed, produce, train and sell from the stud,” said Jess who runs DressageInc with her other half Jamie Britton. “I haven’t really got time to get out competing but he’s such a fab horse that I decided I’d have to make some!”
Jess’s decision to try some music classes came after she wrote for a judge a couple of times. “I decided it looked really good fun so I gave it a go,” she added.
Eventer Lauren Innes gave the dressage riders a masterclass in test riding to win both the Blue Chipnovice open and the PDS Saddleselementary restricted riding Amor W with scores of 72.96% and 72.69%.
“I started doing dressage as he not quite brave enough to go up the grades,” explained Lauren who has evented up to CCI** level. “It’s a real shame as he’s a little winning machine and so straight forward to do anything with.”
Lauren is currently looking for a city job following a degree at Oxford. “Sadly he’s going on the market as eventing is really my game,” she said.
Eventer turned dressage diva Anna Lawson won the Charles Owen advanced medium restricted riding Bryan II. Anna has ridden up to CCI* level but got the dressage bug when she started competing an event horse to get a bit of mileage.
“I kept putting off the eventing to do dressage,” said Anna who ended up winning the prelim at the winter championships in 2013. Anna had taken that horse Carentino Z up through the grades to advanced medium level before Bryan II joined the team in July last year. Currently Anna is studying human biology at Oxford Brookes University and managed to fit an exam in between her regional tests at Merrist Wood.
Suzanne Lavandera rode Janet Gee’s Keystone Daganay to win the PDS Saddles elementary open. Suzanne bred the now seven-year-old, selling him to Janet s a foal.
“He is by Dimaggio, out of a State premium mare,” said Suzanne who is hoping to qualify the horse for the summers at both medium and advanced medium level. “He’s a lovely, lovely horse with three outstanding paces and is so reliable in an arena. It’s quite distracting at Merrist but he never looked at anything.”
Olivia Oakeley and Don Carissimo are losing no time in creating a good partnership as the Don Crusader/World Cup III won the MagicPSG freestyle and the Charles Owenadvanced medium. Olivia has had the ride on Anne and Steve Keen’s horse since December and is aiming him at small tour by the end of the season. “I’m still testing the water but every test gets better and better.”
Alice Oppenheimer put in the perfect dress rehearsal for the upcoming trip abroad with a win in the Nupafeedadvanced medium freestyle with Tantoni Sir Socrates.
KBIS Prelim Regional Championship A
Joanna Sawford riding her own Devotion 72.895%
KBIS Prelim Regional Championship B
Emma Bailey riding Dutch Class 71.923%
Blue Chip Novice Open Regional Championship sec A
Lauren Innes riding her own Amor W 72.069%
Blue Chip Novice Open Regional Championship sec B
Jade Guyton riding Fiderstan 71.954%
Blue Chip Novice Restricted Regional Championship
Jamie Brown riding Furst Impression 71.6%
Equitop Myoplast Elementary Open Regional Championship
Sara-Jane Lanning riding her own Mi Amigo 72.18%
Equitop Myoplast Elementary Restricted Regional Championship
Amy Francis riding Southern Cross Barossa 72.865%
Albion Medium Open Regional Championship
Sara-Jane Lanning riding Mi Amigo 71.93%
Albion Medium Restricted Regional Championship
Jessica Wilson riding Santo Hit 71.3%
Charles Owen Advanced medium open Regional Championship
Olivia Oakeley riding Don Carrisimo 71.5%
Charles Owen Advanced medium open Regional Championship
Anna Lawson riding Bryan II 70.39%
Baileys Novice Freestyle Open Regional Championship
Sadie Smith riding River Rise Escala 77.407%
Baileys Novice Freestyle Restricted Regional Championship
Georgina Bryce riding Trefadwyn Dylan 72.87%
PDS Saddles Elementary Open Freestyle Regional Championship
Suzanne Lavendera riding Keystone Daganay 78.71%
PDS Saddles Elementary Restricted Freestyle Regional Championship
Vickie Archer riding Caesar Himself 71.92%
Spillers Medium Open Freestyle Regional Championship
Nikki Crisp riding Ardie 73.111%
Spillers Medium Restricted Freestyle Regional Championship
Jessica Wislon riding Santo Hit 74.72%
Nupafeed Advanced Medium Freestyle Regional Championship
Alice Oppenheimer riding Tantoni Sir Socrates 76.778%
Magic Prix St Georges Freestyle Northern Regional Championship
Olivia Oakeley riding Don Carrisimo 71.5%