British Dressage National Championships 2024!
To say I am proud of this mare would be an understatement. Six months ago, Newmills Deep River stepped in to the dressage arena for the first time, having previously hunted and show jumped in Ireland. In three competitions we qualified for the BD Regional Championships where we produced a super test to place second, securing our ticket to the Preliminary Gold class at the Nationals.
The Nationals were by far the biggest event River has ever been to, but in typical ISH fashion, she took it all in her stride to perform another great test receiving 68.726%, 69.828%, and 73.448% from the judging panel finishing on a score of 70.517%. In a class of all warmbloods, this lovely Irish Sport Horse mare proved she deserved her place at the Nationals. We didn’t win, or even come in the top 10, but I still went home and opened a bottle of Taittinger to celebrate our success.
This journey would not have been possible without the support of River’s wonderful owner, Carolyn Monro. Carolyn has been swept along this experience with us, and has been such a great team member and supporter. It would not have been possible without her (or her breaking her leg last year and giving me the ride on River 😉).
And thank you to Judy Harvey for her training sessions, and Lorraine Sattin for her help preparing my test riding.
What a weekend it was!
Super lesson on River, with Judy Harvey just ahead of the LeMieux British Dressage National Championships this weekend. I can’t wait to show off this fabulous mare!
Fabulous to be back training with Dan Greenwood after nearly three years! I’ve certainly missed him, and so happy to back. Sushi was an absolute dream, especially in the windy outdoor school😁. I adore this dancing partner, and I’m very grateful to Dan for helping me bring out his ✨ sparkle.
Thank you Loraine for giving up your day to come with me- we certainly make a good team when it comes to getting ready in seconds!😂
Pre-Nationals schooling session in the sunshine with lovely River 🥰
Sushi’s final schooling session before Thursday’s competition 🥰
Next up was our gorgeous Rosabaya, in the sunshine!
We had a very technical training session (I had a good kick up the backside), but the difference in Rosabaya was evident. We even finished with some work on flying changes 😁.
Rosabaya loves to work, and is such a pleasure to train.
Yes, I know how lucky I am!
Sushi
Two super days of training with Judy Harvey last week..
First up was Sushi, polishing up some movements for our next competition. Counter-canter for straightness in the medium/extended canter was especially useful!
He worked his socks off, and as always put his (cheeky) all in to the lesson.
I love this horse🥰
Rosabaya and I had a fabulous training session with Judy Harvey on Thursday. This beautiful mare is continuing to get stronger and more confident every time she goes out. We will be spending the next month concentrating on progressing her training, and be out competing again in May to get our final qualifying scores 🥰
On Wednesday Sushi and I headed out to Cherwell Equestrian Centre for another Advanced Medium test. We may not have put together the ride I was hoping for, (overcooked the warm up) but it was still a solid day at the office, with another qualifying score and a smattering of 8’s. We will spend the next month training, and out again competing in May. Looking forward to getting our tests more consistent ❤️
I’m absolutely thrilled with how Rosabaya performed today, despite the horrible weather. She put on her dancing wellies, and I donned my snorkel, to win our Medium 69 with a fabulous score of 70.75%, 9% higher than second place! What a mare😍
And an even bigger win- Rosabaya loaded and travelled beautifully, AND stood on the lorry when we arrived for more than 15 minutes! We even were able to tack up in the lorry 😍😍.
The soaked breeches and knickers 😂 were worth it to have such a super day. Thank you Bella for coming and braving the rain with me 🙏
Advanced Medium 91
Absolutely thrilled with Mr Handsome ❤️ today at Cherwell Equestrian Centre, winning our Advanced Medium 91 by over 7%😮!
We had taken the winter off competing to work on Sushi’s suppleness, and it really showed.
Thank you to Liz for being top groom, and a huge thank you to Helen and Mike for being such fabulous owners. What a horse!❤️❤️
A huge Thank You to all my regular clients, I’m now at capacity for regular lessons. Please contact me for occasional lessons or to go on the waiting list for a regular slot. I’m very lucky to have such a variety of students, from high level competitive dressage partnerships, to show jumping riders, to grass roots pairs. It certainly keeps me on my game and constantly striving to improve my coaching for everyone. Bring on 2024!
