High scoring winners dominated through the levels at Summerhouse EC, Glos, where the talent of Team Hester’s young protégées, past and present, presided over the novice, elementary and medium open championships.
The Blue Chip Novice Open was won by 27-year-old Katie Bailey with Susan Fearis’s six-year-old gelding Fernando II (by United), who scored 77.18%, just ahead on collectives from Lucy Cartwright with Isobel and Justin Wessels’ six-year-old Dutch gelding San Marco (by Status Quo).
This talented combination, winners of the Shearwater five-year-olds championship last year, also impressed with a decisive win scoring 78.12% to claim the Shadow Horse Elementary Open title, also the highest score of the non-music classes at this championships.
Twenty-three-year-old Amy Woodhouse was also on top form winning the Albion Medium Open with Carl Hester’s eight-year-old British-bred gelding Delicato (by Diamond Hit) on 74.36%
Freelance rider/trainer Sam Rahmatalla, a former Talent Spotting winner, also enjoyed a day to remember riding Keith Taylor’s eye-catching eight-year-old Hanoverian Elite State Premium mare Seagry Sanay (by Stediger), winning both the Charles Owen Advanced Medium Open (pictured) and Nupafeed Advanced Medium freestyle, as well as gaining two wild cards in the Albion Medium Open and Spillers Medium Open freestyle.
Bought by Keith at the 127th Hanoverian Elite Auction in Verden as a four-year-old, this quality mare is fast proving one to watch for the future, having won, or been well placed in numerous young horse classes, including representing Britain in the final of the CDI Young Horse Championships in Vidauban, France, where she came third. She also won the Badminton Young Horse qualifier and the Pavo Cup qualifier in the UK for five-year-olds.
“She is a serious horse and a serious prospect for the future,” said Sam, who has ridden “Saucy” since travelling to Verden with Keith, who owns Seagry Stud in Wiltshire, to buy her. “At the auction, she was the one who really stood out for me, she is so trainable, incredibly well put together and has an amazingly powerful engine – she’s a Ferrari of a horse!”
Sam, who trains with Carl Hester, describes Saucy, who has produced two stunning foals by embryo transfer, with a third by Tolegro due just before the winter championships, as “very sweet, very kind and pure quality”
“Saucy can be sensitive and hot, although she’s never mareish,” says Sam. “Occasionally nerves at the big occasions have got the better of her, but time and maturity have helped her deal with new things. We’ve got an amazing partnership now so we’re looking forward to seeing what she makes of Hartpury!”
The Charles Owen Advanced Medium Restricted title went to 25-year-old Katie Richards and Jane Rymell’s 11-year-old British-bred gelding Riesenstern (by Rubin Star N), who won with a clear margin on 74.079%.
Katie, who is based at Swalcliffe Park Equestrian, near Banbury, produces dressage and event horses with her partner Owen Cooper, who she met when they both worked for international event rider Matt Ryan.
“Jane has owned ‘Rubin’ since he was just six months old and originally bought him to go eventing”, explained Katie, who combines competing in eventing and dressage and trains with Caroline Hunt, Gareth Hughes and Judy Harvey.”I began riding Rubin as a five-year-old and we enjoyed some success eventing up to novice. However, he wasn’t really fast enough to continue up the levels, although his dressage scores were always good, and that prompted us to aim him for affiliated dressage instead.”
Katie and Rubin have qualified for the regionals at every level and competed at both the summer and winter national championships at medium restricted level in 2014.
“He’s a very consistent, trainable, sensible chap with three really nice, correct paces and good rhythm, he’s also a nice person and a lovely horse to have around – I look forward to riding him every day,” said Katie.
Lesley Warrington, from Toddington, Glos, enjoyed a memorable trip to her first regionals, winning the biggest class of the championships – the KBIS Prelim -- as well as the Baileys Horse Feeds Novice Restricted Freestyle with her own six-year-old Irish-bred gelding Shannondale Dynamo, (by Shannondale Sarco ), who she bought as an unbacked three-year-old, originally to event.
“I bought him unseen from a dealer in Ireland after watching a video of him loose schooling -- he arrived as part of a consignment of 10, but he’s turned out to be exactly what I was looking for, “ said Lesley, who has a four-year-old son, Jasper, and works full-time as a finance manager. “’Frugal’ is a lovely person with a super temperament and luckily has proved to be very easy. I backed him myself in my lunch breaks, he was good as gold and never put a foot wrong. We did a bit of eventing and always got good dressage scores so we decided to affiliate last year and although we’ve only done less than 20 tests together, we’ve enjoyed some good results.”
Lesley, who trains with Sara Gallop at Summerhouse, usually keeps Frugal turned out 24/7 at home in her paddock during the summer months, but this winter decided to treat them both to a few months at full livery at a local yard, complete with an outdoor arena, which she says has made a big difference to their regional preparations allowing her to ride before work.
“I didn’t know what to expect taking Frugal to the regionals,” said Lesley. “I’m quite competitive and was quietly hoping we might be in the top 10 in the prelim, but he as soon as I got on to warm up, he felt fantastic and everything went right for us, which meant we got 8s for our trot work and a 9 for our free walk – I couldn’t be more proud of him!”
Current elementary open national champion Laura Wollen and Helen Farley-Higgs’ nine-year-old British-bred gelding Woodlander Buddy Holly claimed the highest score of this championships - 78.654% - winning the PDS Saddles Elementary Open Freestyle.
Summerhouse regional winners
KBIS PRELIMINARY
Lesley Warmington with her own Shannondale Dynamo 73.333%
BLUE CHIP NOVICE RESTRICTED
Eli Lovell with David Pincus’s Sheepcote Dream Lover 70.402%
BLUE CHIP NOVICE OPEN
Katie Bailey with Susan Fearis’s Fernando II 77.184%
BAILEYS HORSE FEEDS NOVICE RESTRICTED MUSIC FREESTYLE
Lesley Warmington with her own Shannondale Dynamo 72.13%
BAILEYS HORSE FEEDS NOVICE OPEN MUSIC FREESTYLE
Emma Castle with her own Go Girl 74.815%
SHADOW HORSE ELEMENTARY RESTRICTED
Abigail Kench with Helen West’s Pick Poket Chapelle 70.99%
SHADOW HORSE ELEMENTARY OPEN
Lucy Cartwright with Isobel Wessels’ San Marco 78.125%
PDS SADDLES ELEMENTARY RESTRICTED MUSIC FREESTYLE
Judith Johnson with her own CasperVII 71.346%
PDS SADDLES ELEMENTARY OPEN MUSIC FREESTYLE
Laura Wollen with Helen Farley-Higgs’ Woodlander Buddy Holly 78.654%
ALBION MEDIUM RESTRICTED
Holly Kerslake with Amber Barton’s Doctor Little 68.649%
ALBION MEDIUM OPEN
Amy Woodhead with Carl Hester’s Delicato 74.369%
SPILLERS MEDIUM RESTRICTED MUSIC FREESTYLE
Kathryn Gallagher with her own Waragon 73.833%
SPILLERS MEDIUM OPEN MUSIC FREESTYLE
Maria Griffin with her own and Adrian Baker’s Belissamio 76.444 %
CHARLES OWEN ADVANCED MEDIUM RESTRICTED
Katie Richards with Jane Rymell’s Riesenstern 74.079%
CHARLES OWEN ADVANCED MEDIUM OPEN
Sam Rahmatalla with Keith Taylor’s Seagry Sanay 72.237 %
NUPAFEED ADVANCED MEDIUM MUSIC FREESTYLE
Sam Rahmatalla with Keith Taylor’s Seagry Sanay 74.389%
MAGIC PRIX ST. GEORGES MUSIC FREESTYLE
Elder Klatzko with her own Woodlander Little Richard 71.208%
For full results, click here