The ultimate courses of day 4 on the Petplan Winter Space Competition Championships and the NAF 5 Star Winter Dressage Championship (15–19 April) at Addington Equestrian delivered two extra memorable tales – a 19-year-old former eventer successful the prelim bronze in his first British Dressage (BD) season and an Aberdeen-based chartered accountant accumulating a second title.
Hannah Comery received the huge, 46-strong prelim bronze Space Competition championship, which ran all day, scoring 72.06% with Ballylahive Prince.
Going early within the class, Hannah then confronted an extended wait. “We have been on at 9am – we actually sat all day watching the scores are available,” she mentioned. “There have been just a few shut ones – I used to be pondering ‘Oh gosh’. It’s a bit surreal.”
The check itself had a nervy begin. “He was a bit upset concerning the commentary from the loudspeakers, so once we have been going across the exterior, he was a bit scorching. However as quickly as we went in, he simply received on with it.”
Ballylahive Prince could also be new to affiliated dressage – however removed from new to his rider. “I’ve had him 11 years, so we all know one another inside out,” Hannah mentioned. “Which is why I wasn’t bothered when he was messing round within the prize-giving afterwards – he used to do this on the day eventing.
“He’s 19 now, would you imagine,” Hannah added, with a contact of emotion in her voice. “So I used to be a bit pondering ‘I don’t know if I wish to maintain operating him.’ However he was all the time actually good on the dressage within the eventing, so we thought we’d do this. For me, he’s one in 1,000,000.”
Winter Dressage Championships: From Aberdeen to Addington
Aberdeen-based Carmen Gammie, on her personal Lets Make An Opera M, received her second title of the Winter Dressage Championships, scoring 71.33% to win the Nupafeed superior medium freestyle silver, having received the prix st georges (PSG) silver within the Winter Space Competition Championship courses earlier within the week.
“The nice bits have been actually good,” Carmen mentioned. “We had a little bit of a mishap going into canter – a little bit of a communication breakdown between the 2 of us. However as soon as we received into the canter, it was actually good.”
Wednesday’s (15 April) PSG silver was solely their fifth outing on the degree. “We wish to consolidate the PSG work a bit – really feel a bit extra assured doing that, as a result of it’s type of a wing and a prayer in the mean time,” Carmen mentioned. “Possibly then we’ll strive an inter I by the tip of the yr.”
For all of the championship success, Carmen is clear-eyed about the place dressage matches into her life. “I’m a chartered accountant – I work for an funding financial institution, so it’s type of simply an excessive interest,” she laughed.
“I simply get pleasure from it so long as we’re having a pleasant time and ticking the bins. However he’s actually coming into his personal within the final yr and a half. It seems like we’re unlocking potential I didn’t actually know we each had.”
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H&H dressage and sport horse editor, and sports activities supervisor
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the journal’s dressage editor and sports activities supervisor, overseeing protection of equestrian sport. After finding out equine science at Myerscough School, he spent 4 years working for main dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing on the 2015 Nationwide Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs together with Aachen and Saumur. He holds a grasp’s diploma in Literature from York St John College (2021).