Festival Focus - Vale View Equestrian
It was a visit to the Midlands for the second Petplan Equine Winter Area Festival of the year at Vale View Equestrian (22 - 22 January), where riders competed for their chance to line up at the Petplan Equine Area Festival Winter Championships.
Petplan’s picks!
Despite January giving us cold weather, the competition was hot, hot, hot at Vale View where the next of the Petplan Equine Winter Area Festivals took place on 22 - 24 January. Three days of competition in two amazing arenas saw riders put on their best jackets and turned-out horses to try and get their ticket to the finals in April.
It was a great day for BD Youth rider Sophia Marston who presented two horses in the Medium Bronze and Silver, Solitaire ll and E-mail, who won both classes. She has one very proud grandmother, Catherine, who talked about their journey so far, “I purchased Solitaire as a yearling when Sophia was 7 years old. My Mum had just passed away and left me £4,000 and I spent it all on Solly. Everyone said I was mad buying a San Amour Hotline baby as she would be tricky, but she is a dream horse.” Sophia then started competing Solitaire ll in 2017 when she was twelve years old and the pair won the Petplan Equine U21 Prelim Championships in 2019.
Training with Michael Eilberg, the pair have found the last year hard, “This year has been a little different due to covid, not having a horsebox for 3 months last year and Advanced Medium is a difficult level to compete at due to introducing flying changes. They have just about got to that level now and have done two Advanced Medium classes now.”
E-mail joined the team at the end of 2020 after being loaned to Sophia by a good friend and the team have quickly worked up the levels together, “He is by Jazz so quite a sharp little chap but has a heart of gold. Sadly, Solly loves him so much that they are a problem at a show together and neigh continuously.”
For both horses to compete on the same day a plan was formed, to make sure the pair were happy away from home on their 160-mile round trip, “I stayed at home and Sophia and Claire would take Solly, compete, leave Sophia at show for prize giving, bring Solly home.” Catherine meanwhile, was busy taking car of E-mail ready for the horse box to arrive to take him to the show and do a swap of horses.
“I watched the scores closely. Both horses scored around 72% which was amazing and only possible as we took them separately and everything went to plan.” With Sophia now doing her GCSE’s, school comes first but we are looking forward to seeing all three at Hartpury College in April.
In the Petplan Equine Winter Prelim Bronze class, Evie Bramham took the title with Liscarrow Sam on 70.90%. Evie has owned 'Sam', as he is known at home, since a three year old after buying him from Ireland unseen: “We brought him from Facebook, off Kevin Reilly Connemaras in Ireland purely because we liked the look of him and he had a kind face. He was bought as a project to produce and sell on but he keeps getting better and better and I don’t think he will be going anywhere!”
After only joining British Dressage in October, this is their first big win, “I was in the later part of the class I was looking at the scores, saying to my mum, it’s going to take a 70% to win the class. After coming out of my test I was on a high, apart from being a little lookey at the judges Sam pulled out of the bag and it was one of his best tests. I was so pleased and on Cloud Nine!”
The pair also competed in the Novice coming home with a creditable 9th placing, “I was so happy to see the final results! Prize giving was a lovely experience and I got to receive my first ever sash that will be going up framed on the wall. It was a fabulous couple of days with two top ten placings and we couldn’t be happier and looking forward to the Championships!”
Sam was bred for showing but is taking dressage all in his stride, “I have two great coaches, who both feel we haven’t found his limits yet. Our long-term aim is to get PSG and ride in tails.”
Charlotte Wood and Alfred De Niro won the Petplan Equine Winter Novice Silver with 73.12% after only being together for a year. The six year old Oldenburg gelding has competed regularly with Charlotte since the summer with plenty of red ribbons in their pockets. The pair will be joining us at the Championships to see if their can keep up with their winning streak!
Vale View’s very own Julie Hyslop took the Hartpury ticket in the Prix St Georges Silver with her eleven year old mare on 67.94%. The pair had a great end to 2021 winning the Veteran Rider Associated Championships and attending the Petplan Equine Summer Area Festival Championships. We look forward to seeing them in April.
Vale View Equestrian Winners
Petplan Equine Winter Preliminary Bronze
Evie Bramham and Liscarrow Sam, 70.90%
Petplan Equine Winter Preliminary Silver
Georgia Brooke and Champions Duet, 69.72%
Petplan Equine Winter Novice Bronze
Justina Cook and Ideal El Divino, 72.36%
Petplan Equine Winter Novice Silver
Charlotte Wood and Alfred De Niro, 73.12%
Petplan Equine Winter Elementary Bronze
Eliza Yeardley and Dysart Dun, 69.36%
Petplan Equine Winter Elementary Silver
Laura Hill and Kensington I, 70.04%
Petplan Equine Winter Medium Bronze
Sophia Marston and E-mail, 72.59%
Petplan Equine Winter Medium Silver
Sophia Marston and Solitaire ll, 71.91%
Petplan Equine Winter Advanced Medium Bronze
Charlotte Neal and Walter's Fable, 68.63%
Petplan Equine Winter Advanced Medium Silver
Jessica Sanders and Gershwin FH, 68.88%
Petplan Equine Winter Prix St Georges Bronze
Jennifer Harkness and White Sparrow, 66.91%
Petplan Equine Winter Prix St Georges Silver
Julie Hyslop and Rubin Star Lioness, 67.94%
Petplan Equine Winter Intermediate I Bronze
Jessica Coltman and Profile, 63.97%
Petplan Equine Winter Intermediate I Silver
Sarah Brener and Coole Contender, 66.65%