Festival Focus - Bury Farm
Bury Farm Equestrian Village hosted our last Summer Area Festival of 2024, where the competitors took the final opportunity to qualify for the Summer Area Festival Championships.
Rebecca Campbell and Toby Horse, were second in the Elementary Bronze with a great score of 68.97%. Rebecca spoke to us about her experience, “I have loved competing in the Area Festival series; it's really welcoming while also feeling super special and competitive. Seeing the range of different combinations and their stories is so inspiring too!”
On the lead up to Bury Farm Equestrian Village Summer Area Festival, Rebecca shares that her “amazing trainer Matt Coz helped me prepare for our day at Bury Farm.” The lovely Toby is known not to be the biggest mover, so Rebecca worked really hard on their accuracy and transitions. Looking back on their test Rebecca tells us, “my favourite bit of the test is the medium canters - Toby is really bold but obedient so we can really go for it and not worry about getting him back.”
The 17-year-old gelding has had quite the journey to this point, Rebecca explains, “Toby was originally a Darley foster foal, so his mum was a Connemara and his dad was a Thoroughbred. His owner Sarah has had him since he was tiny, and he was a grassroots eventing star, he went to Badminton at 100 level!” He had a fluke injury and was out in a field for almost two years before Rebecca took the ride on him. Toby is “loving his new career” and the combination are currently getting our scores at Medium. “We can't wait for the Championships! We're entered and getting ready” Rebecca tells us.
Mia Kirby and her gorgeous young mare WFD Wild Thyme won the Novice Bronze class with an impressive 70.07%! Reflecting on her Area Festival experience Mia tells us, “the Area Festival series has been the perfect way to introduce Lottie to bigger competitions. The atmosphere is competitive yet friendly which makes the series so enjoyable.”
On the day Mia tells us she, “couldn’t have asked for anymore” describing her test, “she felt so relaxed and with me the whole way through, so I was over the moon with how it felt. I was particularly pleased with our final halt as it was straight and square, which isn’t always easy on a five-year-old!”
Looking back on the incredible success the combination had, Mia shares, “I still can’t really believe we won. I was sixth to go in a class of 48 so it was a long day spent refreshing the scores. To win against such strong company and far more established horses was the most amazing feeling”
The pairs journey began when Mia brought Lottie as a just backed 3 year old from Windmill Farm Dressage. “she hadn’t grown big enough for them but at 15.2hh she is the perfect size for me” Mia explains. “Lottie’s such a happy little soul and her favourite thing in the world is having her ears scratched, so we do a lot of that! I’ve produced Lottie myself with the help of my amazing coach Mark Boxall. He’s not only helped with our training but also the psychological side of things, he knows how my mind works and how to get the best out of both me and Lottie.”
“At our first area festivals at Parwood in January we came third in the Prelim silver and got a wildcard for the Winter Area Festival Championships where we finished second.” Mia and Lottie have continued to go from strength to strength, “we then did three novice tests which qualified us for the summer area festivals at Bury Farm. I went in just wanting to give Lottie a good experience, but she exceeded all expectations, which she has a habit of doing!” With an exciting future ahead of them, Mia tells us, “we’re now focussing on preparing for the Summer Championships at Arena UK in October. I need to have a think about our goals for this winter, but the long-term aim is to move up the levels as far as we can go!”
Sara Campbell and Woodthorpe Little Madam finished in fourth place in the Advanced Medium silver, with a score of 65.51%. Sara is no stranger to the Area Festival series, “I competed in my first area festival in 2005 and I don't think I've miss many years since!” Sara explains tells us she has chosen to compete in the series for almost ten years because, “as an amateur rider, the Area Festival series provides us with the opportunity to experience all the excitement of a big professional championship show.”
“Practice, Practice, Practice” is what went into Sara’s preparation on the lead up to the Area Festival at Bury Farm Equestrian Village. She explains, “the more I practice the better I get! It is the culmination of ten years of hard work and help from my trainer Liza McQuiston.”
Looking back on this years’ experience between the white boards, Sara tells us, “I was really pleased with the overall feel of the test, the ease of the movements and the overall consistency of our performance.”
Woodthorpe Little Madam, known as "Maddy" to her friends, Sara describes as “is very special.” Sara bred Maddy herself, so has been a part of her journey since the beginning, “I bred her 14 years ago out of my retired competition mare Keystone Havana and she has proven to be as fabulous as her mother and exceeded my expectations.” Sara and Maddy’s partnership continues to go from strength to strength, “as an amateur owner, who works too, her trainability and patience with me, has been crucial to our success, as I have trained her myself and we have both had to learn together.”
“17 years ago at the Petplan Area Festival Championships at Solihull, riding Maddy's mother in the Prelim, the commentator shared my long held secret ambition to one day compete in a top hat and tails.” Sara shares, “so you can imagine my excitement recently when, aged 60 and sadly no top hat, Maddy and I achieved my dream of competing in tails. We will continue to work at PSG and hope to compete at the Area Festivals next year at this level.”