Competition routes
A quick glance at the British Dressage website reveals an abundance of competitions and championships, and it can be overwhelming trying to select the best route for you and your horse. Jo Prestwich narrows down the options
We help explain the options
THE British Dressage (BD) office has fielded umpteen calls from the membership over the past couple of years, and it’s no surprise. With the implementation of the gold, silver and bronze sections, changes to rulings, and more and more competition options each year, riders have been left questioning their eligibility, and the best route for them to take with their horse or pony.
It pays to think carefully about your aims for the season, before planning your competition schedule.
“If riders thought about what they actually want to do this season, they would find it much more straightforward to get the information they are looking for,” says BD’s Winnie Murphy.
The traditional summer and winter regionals-nationals routes are no longer the only option, and nor are Area Festivals the only alternative (see box, p42).
The associated championships were brought in as an alternative for those without the “fancy” warmblood to take them up the grades, and to give the weekend rider a chance to compete like against like.
There has been a certain amount of geographical bias in the location of these championships: three are held at Keysoe, Beds, three at Vale View, Leics, and two at Solihull, West Mids, but that has not stopped a swarm of people heading for these shows.
Grand prix rider Harry Payne won the
2016 prix st georges (PSG) at the pure Spanish horse (PRE) championship with his own stallion Duque L. He trains plenty of riders with a non-warmblood — ex-racehorses, native ponies and gypsy cobs to name but a few.
“With my trainer’s hat on, every horse can be trained to do something correctly within the limits of his pace, but realistically for many, that quality is not good enough to be competitive at national level,” Harry says.
“That doesn’t mean to say that the horse isn’t correctly trained — a lot of time, effort and money has gone in to get to that stage, but it’s just the way it is. Financially these horses [non-warmbloods] are a fraction of the cost of a fancy warmblood and have a chance to be successful on a budget.
“The basis of dressage is enhancing a horse’s natural ability whatever level he’s at; some have more, some have less. The latter take more time to train and these championships give them a chance to show off their attributes within a class of their own ability.”
Harry has recently relocated from Northamptonshire to Rockrose Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
“Up here [in Scotland] this becomes even more important,” he adds. “There aren’t the number of opportunities to compete that there are further south, but I’ve had plenty of people bringing native ponies to train purely for the native championships, and around here there are plenty of Highland ponies out competing.
“Let’s showcase these breeds,” he continues. “Instead of over-pushing a less talented horse to get to the summer nationals, make the most of what they do have. Pushing a horse beyond its ability just breaks him both physically and mentally — how ethical is that?”
AREA FESTIVALS have remained healthier than ever, with regional “finals” introduced in 2017 to add an extra qualification leg before the national finals, and giving more riders the chance to qualify for a championship-like show.
Field House EC ran a very successful Area
Festival final last year, attracting rave reviews. The venue also hosted the combined training final in March this year.
“We are lucky in that we are well situated and get good entries most of the time, but the Festival final certainly boosted the footfall in the run up to the main event,” said Sarah Critchlow, whose family own and run the venue.
“If it brings in Pony Club and British Eventing members then it has to be a good thing for British Dressage and, like anything, if you make it special, people will come.”
New championships for 2018 include the Summer Music Festival, designed to fill the freestyle void after the winter championships, and the bronze championships, to give those competitors an additional final to target.
And, for those in remote locations or who struggle to find transport, BD has even teamed up with Dressage Anywhere to offer the
Online Associated Championships, whereby competitors film themselves riding specific tests and send the footage away to be judged.
It may seem that there is now an overload of extra classes and championships — there have been some comic asides as to when the championship for chestnuts mares will be instigated — but not so very long ago, there was just the summer nationals for riders to aim for. Now, every combination, whatever their type or level, has a prestigious final to target. How times have changed.
‘If you make it special, people will come’: the Area Festival system, sponsored by Petplan Equine, offers grassroots riders the chance to contest a major championship. Pictured are Amy Daye and Prince William, prelim silver victors at Widmer Area Festival in 2017