Stitched Up scores
HAYLEY CRUSH’S 15hh homebred mare, Stitched Up — so named because as a newborn she sustained a large cut on her neck that needed stitching up — recorded her second BE90 win in as many weeks at Tweseldown (4).
“I bred her out of my mare, Alfies Girl, whom I compete to novice,” explained Hayley. “I didn’t do much with Stitched Up until she was six because I was hoping she’d grow — but she never did. Her sire, My O My, was over 17hh.”
The Kent-based freelance trainer and rider admitted to being “pleasantly surprised” by Stitched Up’s proficiency — she also won at Little Downham (3).
“I can’t hack her out at home because she’s too spooky and snorts like a dragon. The first time I took her cross-country schooling she shook with fear,” recalled Hayley.
Another home-bred mare, Mischief Machine (Florence), netted her rider Lucy Dodd a BE90 win at Weston Park (2) on the pair’s final run of the season.
The seven-year-old is by the Welton Crackerjack son Bazaars Chief out of a hunter mare called Breeze.
“Florence has a lovely temperament and has been quite straightforward to produce,” said Lucy. “This year I’ve worked hard on the dressage with my trainer, Lucas Poole, and we seem to have cracked it.”
The pair now have two Mitsubishi Motors Championship regional final tickets and Badminton 2019 is the ultimate aim.