Cheap buy proves his worth
Norton Disney (1), Lincs
MARKETING manager Siân Lovatt steered her own 15hh 13-year-old Barrontop Ziggy to take the spoils in a BE80 section.
Siân paid £250 for the gelding 10 years ago.
“My main aim was to rebreak him, school him and sell him on,” she explained.
“He pulled it out of the bag here”
ELEANOR CALLAGHAN “I used to hate jumping – I called myself a rm dressage diva – but Ziggy has taken me to riding club competitions, showjumping and combined training championships, and now he’s winning in eventing.”
Like many combinations, the duo’s run-up to Norton Disney had been thwarted by the weather.
“I hadn’t managed to jump a cross-country fence, or even ride on grass, before coming here,” Siân admitted. “Ziggy can be spooky and tense, especially in the showjumping, but although he had a good look at a couple of jumps he was very rideable. Across country he eats up the ground and makes me feel like I could jump the moon.”
Eleanor Callaghan was delighted to win at BE90 with her own eight-year-old gelding, Qenzo De Reve.
“My mum bought ‘Sheldon’ as an unbroken three-yearold and rides him most of the time,” said Eleanor. “I work full-time on a hunting and point-to-point yard so he’s had to take a back seat, but he’s an absolute doddle and pulled it out of the bag here.”
Young riders were out in force at this popular xture, which boasted remarkably good going despite the recent wet weather and pulled out all the stops to host three days of packed competition.
Amelia Blair-Baxter, 12, who was part of last year’s winning East Midlands under-18 BE80open youth team, beat a section of older rivals to head a BE90 aboard her 14.2hh pony, Little George.
Edith Dornan, 14, made it three wins in a row when she nished on her dressage score of 25.3 to top the under-18 BE80open with Little Black Shadow. The pair previously racked up wins at Little Downham (4) last autumn and Poplar Park last month.