Despite the high temperatures, two riders preferred to perspire with pride.
Both Joanne Curling and Cheryl Hammerson opted to celebrate wearing tailcoats even in the hothouse atmosphere of the indoor school at Belmoredean.
As Cheryl, who won the advanced gold pick-your-own (PYO) with 67.19% put it:
“There’s no point in keeping the champagne in the fridge waiting for a special occasion. Make now a special occasion.”
Her 13-year-old Di Mondez (Dez) is big-moving but has a high wither and a long neck. Cheryl explained: “I thought he was lazy but he wasn’t — he was blocked. He’s taught me a lot and continues to do so.
“I now feel that focusing on qualifying for the regionals at a level where he can be competitive has held me back. I’ve decided to push on,” added Cheryl, who is currently studying for a personal trainer qualification.
Joanne bought 11-yearold Rhondeo son Keystone Renaissance as a just-backed three-year-old. She won both the silver advanced PYO and the advanced medium qualifier with plus-67%.
“This show was the first time I’ve worn a tailcoat and the first time we’ve done an advanced test.” said Joanne. “I’m proud of ‘Mika’ and of myself. We got sevens for the five-metre half-circles and half-pass back to X and eight for the rein-back.
“All through his career, self carriage is something the judges have said we needed to work on, but that is coming with strength and age. I believe if you rush horses, you break them.
“It’s been a long slog, but it’s been enjoyable because I’ve learnt so much along the way — and hopefully we’ll carry on doing so.”