Mamma Mia are magic
Trials and tribulations aside, the victorious team win by a whisker, while a coloured cob tops the elementary championship
EASTERN MAMMA MIA showed determination to take the team championship — overcoming a series of personal challenges as well as the opposition.
“All of us have had traumas or issues in our lives, but we put it behind us and made this happen. It’s amazing what you can achieve if you put your mind to it,” said Sarah Carmichael, who also took the individual novice championship and the prize for the highest-scoring test, 72.42%, on her six-year-old Hoemathika M, appropriately known as Happy.
“I’ve had health issues and had surgery nine days before this competition, but was back on board after three days,” said Sarah. “I let nerves get the better of me on Saturday and was so annoyed with myself. On Sunday I was really focused, I knew exactly what we had to do and was ecstatic about my score.”
Sarah sourced Happy from Lottie Flinn a year after team-mate Margaret Phizacklea found her seven-year-old Apache gelding Good Guy there.
Margaret, who calls the gelding Preston after the nearest town to
Lottie’s Oaklands Dressage base, took individual medium honours after an inauspicious start.
“I went wrong in my first test and was mortified,” said Margaret, who trains with Carl Hester. “I sent a WhatsApp message to everyone apologising.”
Margaret, a vet, nearly didn’t get on Preston when he turned himself inside out with Lottie’s groom when they went to try him.
“My daughter told me I had better get on the bloody horse after driving hours to get there, or she’d not support my horse trips again. Therefore, we lunged him, I got on and we haven’t looked back,” added Margaret.
“He’s helped me get over separating from my husband and he is the most lovely horse.”
Kelly Greaves, competing at elementary for the team on Fenton’s Flint, also credits her horse with helping her get through the break-up of her marriage. They secured a top-10 placing on the Sunday.
Everyone pulled together to help team member Jane Littlejohn, who caught a vomiting bug on the Saturday night.
“They mucked out, fed, groomed and got me on, so I knew I had to go out and do a good job,” she said. Competing at advanced medium with Urban Knight, they garnered eights for their changes and extended trots.
The team paid tribute to trainers Mark Ruddock and Hayley Liddiard who, they said, walked a million miles between the various warm-up areas to make sure all the riders were supported.
TIGER TIM TRIUMPHS
SOUTH WEST WOOD DUCKS — Danielle Rhodes, Helen James riding Hillgrove Rockwell, Jessica Allies on Nabretto and Sophie Quarterman riding Knightswood Diamond Geezer — took second place, with Danielle on Jannick, a barock pinto Friesian/warmblood, finishing just two collective marks behind Sarah Carmichael to come second at novice individually,
Danielle took the elementary championship with her other ride, Tiger Tim, a coloured gypsy cob with amazing rhythm. Both horses are owned by Denise Kersley, who has supported Danielle as she set up on her own after a career that included riding out for National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls.
In third was Central Foggy — Lisa Sterrow riding Montreal Skyline, Casilda Courtier-Dutton on Flicker In Clover, Shirley Wright riding Vanilla Courage and Madelaine Gardner with Whatapallava — finishing just over 4% behind South West Wood Ducks, in a close-fought finish.
The advanced medium/prix st georges combined championship title went to Laura Fisher and her horse of a lifetime, Sam The Man Veldhoek, a former two-star event horse by Oswin.
“We’ve had huge issues with the changes, but we nailed them and got a ‘clear round’ for the first time here. He tried his socks off all weekend,” said Laura, who represented Wales.