Remix reunion pays dividends
Caroline Saynor takes two tickets with Remix and 18.2hh Diamantico repays his owner’s decision to nurse him back
CAROLINE SAYNOR picked up two tickets to Hartpury on Remix, a horse she sold and bought back four years later. The pair won the inter I and were runners-up in the prix st georges (PSG) with active tests, marred only by a miss in the two-time changes in the inter I.
Caroline and the Royal Blend 11-year-old have been back together for two years, after his previous owner, Allison Mercer, sent him to her to sell.
“I remembered how much I loved him and decided I couldn’t part with him a second time,” said Caroline, who trains with Emile Faurie. “Allison did a great job with him and took him to
medium, so I’ve spent the last couple of years consolidating his training. It was only his fourth inter I but the test suits him.”
Amy Tilston also picked up two tickets, with her giant 18.2hh Diamantico winning the medium bronze title and coming runnerup in the advanced medium.
The nine-year-old is homebred by Nibeley Union Jack out of a Welt Hit II mare, but had first slipping patellas and then kissing spines due to his size.
“We were advised he should be put down, but stood by him and had him treated. He has repaid us hugely,” said Amy who is now a brand ambassador for Petplan Equine alongside being a full-time radiographer in a trauma centre.
“Every time I move him up a level he gets it, although he did put in an unplanned change in the medium. We were on first, so it was a long wait to see if I had held on to the lead.”
Westhills Watermark came back from a pulled muscle to deliver the advanced medium bronze title for freelance rider and producer Emma Holmes.
Vikki Pengilly made her journey from Cardiff worthwhile, winning the PSG silver with Zion E, this year’s advanced medium Area Festival champion. Vikki, who trains with Gareth Hughes, bought the De Niro x Jazz 13-yearold a couple of years ago.
“He’s normally sharp, but he was so relaxed here he took some riding,” she laughed.
Another making a long journey, this time from Shrewsbury, was Anna Brown, who won the advanced medium silver title with Karen Vere Hodge’s Bocelli V.
The 11-year-old Vivaldo
gelding has an unbeaten record of four tests and four wins since he was imported from the Netherlands earlier this year.
“I’d hoped to break the 70% mark, but we broke in the trot half-pass and got fours. He was hot but lovely to ride,” said Anna, who trains with Isobel Wessels.
HEDLEY-GRAY BENEFITS FROM DUTCH COURAGE
JUDGE and trainer Gwyneth Lewis kept Laura Hedley-Gray’s Dutch going for her while she was in Vietnam for three weeks, and warmed her up for the test. The duo took the medium silver title.
“She pushed me to try for the very best work and not settle for safe. I bypassed the regionals as I didn’t think we were consistent enough, but Gwyneth made all the difference today,” said Laura, who runs a dog day care service.
Verity Franks triumphed in the novice silver on Daiquiris Jiggery Pokery (Piglet), a five- year-old home-bred mare by her own Flayne Don Daiquiri out of Pokomoko, a mare she also bred.
“We had a lesson with Becky Moody this week and she kicked my backside!” said Verity. “Piglet was brave as she’s inexperienced and the wind was pretty bad.”
Jacqui McLeod spotted her prelim bronze winner, Burglar Bill II, on the hunting field with the Flint and Denbigh, and went on to produce him as a show hunter. He then went to another hunting home but was returned because he kept jumping out.
“He was 19 when he came back, and he needed a job, so I affiliated for dressage in May, and qualified in the first round at Aintree,” she said. “We’re farmers, so we drove over after work from North Wales in the dark last night, and as I was second on at 7.37am, I warmed up in the dark. It’s been rather surreal as I then had a long wait to see if I retained my lead.”
The prelim silver winner, Nicola Porter with ex-racehorse King Of Chav’s, credited help from Louise Robson of Thoroughbred Dressage with their improvement.
“He can be tricky but he was foot-perfect today,” said Nicola, who works as a vet nurse.
Ellie Roberts, 15, headed the medium under-18 title on her Welsh section D Tyngwndwn Golden Boy, who had just won the elementary freestyle at the native championships. Emily Clark Attwood, 17, won at elementary with her six-year-old Johnson gelding Inspector Gadget. She trains with Sophie Barker.
Leanne Cameron was quick to credit her trainer Natalie Widdowson with helping her to novice victory on Partridgehill Cariad, and Ella Stuttard, 16, won the prelim on her New Forest pony Linbrook Numero Uno. It’s Ella’s first season doing dressage after being a showing rider.