British Dressage Winter Championships
Monday, April 10, 2006
Gareth Hughes and Korenbloem Sandman beat Damian Hallam and Spirit Freedom for the first time on British soil at the Horse & Hound Winter Championships. Gareth took the Speedi-Beet Advanced Medium with Rebecca Patmore's eight-year-old gelding. Damian Hallam and Spirit Freedom were slightly off form in the advanced medium, making small but costly mistakes.
Andrew Gould took two titles — the NAF Prix St Georges Freestyle and the Grange Hotels Intermediaire I Freestyle — in two days with Numero Uno, after not wining a national championship since 2004.
Jane Brewin's Nadonna and Roland Tong took the Equine Herbals Elementary Open in addition to their elementary music win. Pippa Prideaux's Geisha and Jackie Stolper carried on where they left of last year, adding the Nupafeed Advanced Medium Music Freestyle to the medium and elementary titles she won in 2005.
Nick Lawson riding Glenys and Phillip Hemmings' stunning Abbey Tiron took the Blue Chip Feed Balancer Novice Restricted. Bought as a three-year-old from the Brightwells Auction, the son of Jazz has been given time to mature since being placed in the Panacur Final at last year's national championships.
Darryl Thickett and Jill Smith's Gribaldi gelding Rex took the Albion Medium Freestyle. Charlotte Thompson, 22, took the Horsesense Prelim championship riding the six-year-old Saab, building on their semi-final win. Finnish rider Tuula Aer scooped the Equine Herbals Elementary Restricted title with her own Rivaldo II.
