SOUTH-EAST

Dannie Morgan stepped up from his advanced medium title at Hartpury to score plus-70% on his small tour debut with Southern Cross Braemar.

“My trainer Erik Theilgaard said I needed to crack on, not to wait. So ‘Barry’ had just a couple of days off after the winters. I was going to Pachesham for the young horse classes and, as they had a prix st georges [PSG] qualifier, I thought, ‘Why not give it a go?’” explained Dannie, who is also an eventer.

“We’re both green; I’ve never ridden a PSG before, but Barry’s very capable and tries so hard for me.”

Judge Debby Lush said: “I couldn’t believe it was Dannie’s first PSG. The canter pirouettes were green but going in the right direction and everything else in the test was at least a seven. The horse just needs to be more through for really high marks.”

Zoe Harrison and Virtue V (Vitalis x Krack C) were victorious in the medium 76 on a best-yet 74.84%. They were also equal first in the six-year-old qualifier and are aiming for their second Shearwater final at Stoneleigh,

Zoe said: “I planned the medium as a warm-up for the age class but, as it has turned so warm, I didn’t want to wear him out. I aimed for accuracy and to show off the difference within the paces.”

Amateur rider Amy Jack and Graf Hit VH Bloemenhof, third in the six-year-olds, scored 78.06% at elementary in their warm-up outing earlier in the week at Hickstead.

Lisa Pilbeam, also successfully combining dressage with affiliated eventing, was top scorer on a busy day at Petley Wood riding Florin II. The Fifty Cent six-year-old, owned by Jamie Flint and bred by his godmother Tucker Anderson, scored 75.4% in the novice qualifier.