With a little help from her friends
Dawn Grundy defies the medics to win the medium silver on Stephen Barr’s home-bred Rough Lee So Schufro
North-West Summer Regional Championships, Cheshire
DAWN GRUNDY was smiling until she was fit to burst after her advanced medium silver win, having made it back into the saddle just in time to compete.
“My consultant reckoned it was going to be a close-run thing and I’m just about ‘legal’ to ride,” she said.
The operation to repair wear and tear to her shoulder was back in the spring, and Dawn did in fact ride within a couple of weeks of it — including one show.
“I went back to the physio a couple of days later and she asked what I’d been up to as the mobility in the joint had decreased so I
decided I’d better behave myself,” added Dawn.
And behave she did, drafting in the help of Freya Metters, who has not only kept the horse ticking over but picked up her own qualifying ticket with the eyecatching chestnut 24 hours earlier in the elementary silver.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have been here competing without Freya and my other half Stephen,” added Dawn, who trains with Sarah Kingwells. “Freya’s done all the schooling and Stephen, as he keeps telling me, has made all the difference by hacking him once a week.”
Another of Sarah Kingwells’ pupils also went home with a red rosette — Lisa Green, who topped a prelim section riding her five-year-old Chiquila. The win, with over 1% in hand, set up a predicament for the hair stylist.
“I’ve a regular client who is getting married on the same day as the prelim at the nationals so I’ve had to ring her and cancel the booking,” said Lisa. “I think she’s sort of forgiven me but it’s a top 10 placing or else!”
Lisa bought the Chico’s Boy x K2 mare as a rising three-year-old.
“I knew if I rode her well enough she was good enough,” said Lisa. “And my husband is thrilled as he’s now got ‘the happiest wife ever’.”
DAD TO THE RESCUE
LINDSAY POXON’S “horse of a lifetime” Believe In Me won the epic seven-hour long elementary silver championship, the seven-year-old having missed the best part of a year with suspensory trouble.
The Belissimo M x Weltmeyer gelding is a graduate of the Brightwells Addington Sale.
“I rode him for just a matter of minutes and my mind was made up,” said Lindsay. “He made everyone who sat on him look like a grand prix rider but the bidding was fairly brisk. I went out in the end as he went over budget and as I just couldn’t bear to watch him sold to anyone else. When I came back in I asked who bought him and they answered, ‘Your dad’.”
Claire Dutton bagged herself a second regional championship with Christine Williams’ Azzaro II wining the advanced medium silver 12 months after winning the elementary gold. Claire originally bought the 007 x Gribaldi gelding for herself but as he didn’t grow very big Claire sold him 12 months later.
“However, as he’s matured he’s
CLAIRE DUTTON ON AZZARO II
grown and muscled up and he certainly doesn’t feel small,” said Claire, who originally shared the ride with Christine. “He’s a great little horse and a real competitor.”
Claire wasn’t the only one getting a second bite of the cherry — both Mandy Denley and Noah Brook were winning their second regional titles in as many years. For Mandy, riding her The Sting gelding Eyes On Me, last year’s prelim title was upgraded to novice silver (section A), while Noah won the novice silver (section B) for the second year in a row, with his Oliver gelding Gabana HFD.
Sixteen contested the novice gold with first to go Belinda Brereton, riding her own Galaxy Moone, defying the “coffin draw” to win with 3% in hand. The Negro x Painted Black gelding was bought as a two-year-old from
Carl Hester after he told Belinda she needed to buy the youngster.
“He was very big and strong to begin with and I did wonder whether I’d ever really be able to ride him, but he’s mellowed,” said Belinda of the six-year-old.
Belinda splits her time between Britain and Ireland; the horse is the current prelim and novice national champion in Ireland and is off to Hickstead next for the upcoming young horse championships.
The north-west regionals historically have huge classes but entries were down by some 80 tests over the three days. Whether this was down to the general cost of competing at the bigger shows, more taking the Area Festival route or the much-discussed late arrival of qualification emails remains to be seen.
“It’s a great venue with a great atmosphere,” commented Henry Boswell, who rode Margaret and Kate Lister’s Ampere gelding
Folt to win the medium gold and finish second in the advanced medium equivalent.
It was Michael Eilberg who pipped Henry in the latter, scoring over 70% to win with Daltry, as did Hilary Janion’s QEG Lux in section A of the prelim. The Lux Z x Clover Hill gelding jumped to Foxhunter level and won in the show ring at county level before turning to dressage when Hilary took over the reins.
‘He’s a real competitor’