‘Finishing second was not an option’
One rider flourishes under pressure to perform, while two others have success fresh from Stoneleigh
MEL ROWLEY proved to the rest of her family that she can still hold her own, with an advanced medium silver win.
“The pressure was on,” laughed Mel. “My husband, Phil, is the reigning champion point-to-point trainer and my daughter, Isabella, was part of the Wheatland’s winning team at the Pony Club regional dressage championships this year, so finishing second was not an option!”
Her win came on The Don II, a nine-year-old son of Willem Van Nassau, who was bought after coming to Mel’s for backing.
“He’s always had the component parts to be good, it was just whether he’d have the brain,” reflected Mel, who trains with Kate Cowell. “He can be a bit of an introvert or like a marauding bull, but today I got the halfway version.”
Mel’s win was not without drama as a major smash on the motorway meant she arrived with minutes to spare.
“Luckily the organisers managed to slot me in later. This is always an amazing venue but they’ve gone the extra mile for this show. Anyone competing here will have no doubt they’re competing at a championship — it’s amazing!” she added.
Local rider Jane Critchley won the inter II, albeit with only herself to beat, riding her mother Felicity Scott’s Shining Light.
She also had the satisfaction of watching pupil Chloe Naylor win the advanced medium bronze with Karisma.
Shining Light, by the showjumping stallion Shine On, was ridden to grand prix level by Felicity, who still hacks and schools “Beacon”, but is now giving Jane experience at big tour level.
“We’re careful of him as he’s older, but he really enjoyed himself out there — particularly his lap of honour,” said Jane.
For Chloe, it has been a rapid rise through the ranks. She did some dressage with the Meynell branch of the Pony Club, but it was Team Quest that turned her into a dressage diva. The 15-yearold was on the winning Dunstone Diamonds team back in 2015 and teamed up with Karisma 12 months ago after spotting her for sale online.
“I’d tried a few when I went to see her, but she felt safe and forgave the mistakes I made,” said Chloe, who is planning some Premier League outings next year.
‘THE LOVE OF MY LIFE’
TWO winners hot-footed it from the National Championships at Stoneleigh to record victories. Helen Dunning moved up from a second in the medium silver at Stoneleigh to a first in the bronze section of the prix st georges (PSG) riding Bojack JX, and Jane Morris’ seventh at medium was topped by a win in the PSG silver.
“This was his third test at the level,” said Helen who works for Childeric Saddles and bought the horse to event. “I’ve had him three years now and we’re heading for CCI2* eventing.”
Bojack’s dressage career started by necessity, Helen explained: “My farrier was on holiday, so I had to get him shod by someone else — that one shoeing resulted in a problem
that meant he had to wear plastic shoes temporarily. I couldn't event with them and, with the added pressure of work, I decided dressage was the way forward for a while.”
Jane Morris’s Quinet Du Buisson Z, seventh at Stoneleigh behind Bojack, was bought as a three-year-old project from Two Mills Sport Horses.
“He’s the love of my life,” said Jane, who trains with Alice Peternell. “It hasn’t all been plain sailing with him — it took two weeks to get one change and two years to get the other one, but he loves them now. He’s got piaffe and passage and I’ve high hopes for grand prix.”
Jade Clark rode Helen Dolisniyj’s Lusitano gelding Espirito to an easy win in the inter I bronze. Helen bought the son of Spartacus as a three-yearold in Golega, keeping him and competing him in Portugal until bringing him to the UK two years ago.
“We had a little wobble in twos but he’s getting better and better,” said Jade. “We’re off to
the MCI [Masters Du Cheval Ibérique] Europeans at Bury Farm next week, but ultimately he’ll be sold so I’m hoping he’s still here for the Area Festival Championships next year.”
It's always extra special to have a big win on a home-bred; Gemma Pinson’s inter I silver winner, Spitfire, is by Santana out of the part-bred Friesian mare Debonnaire, whom she bought as a schoolmistress.
“I rode three tests on Debonnaire and then she picked up an injury, but she bred me two fabulous foals,” said Gemma.
Field House brought a real championship feel to the show, with an impressive number of tradestands, and lunchtime demos on both Saturday and Sunday. The bridle number draw, as last year, was a real winner with some fabulous prizes, including lessons with List One judges.