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‘Everyone loves her’: first national title for angelic mare at the Winter Dressage Championships

Bethany Stone Bethany Stone

    • A slight sat-nav malfunction did not prevent Dannie Morgan from claiming a second freestyle crown at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships as day two came to a close.

    Dannie, riding Karen and Christina Rousin’s seven-year-old Freya VII, scored 77.61% to top the podium in the Spillers medium freestyle gold, the mare’s first national title.

    Dannie’s music, shared with head girl Lauren Burrows, made its third appearance in the competition, this time with an adapted floorplan.

    “We’ve had three wins with that music here,” Dannie told H&H. “It was made by Tony Hobden and Kelly Jewell at Equidance, who always do an amazing job for us.

    “I must confess that I did actually go wrong in my test. I turned the wrong way in the canter and realised I was about to do the same half-pass again.

    “So, bless her, she did really well because she was flying about like a go-kart doing simple changes left, right and centre.”

    Unperturbed, Freya didn’t score less than seven throughout her test, netting nines for her trot work and canter half-pass.

    “I’m just obsessed with this mare,” said Dannie, who has trained Freya “from the start.”

    “She’s an angel, and everyone loves her. She tries her hardest, and she’s developed the strength for good self-carriage. I was able to show her off today.”

    Dannie added that he believes Freya’s future is full of promise.

    “She’s got the ability to go all the way. She’s got good paces and the temperament to allow us to develop them into great ones, and now she looks a really special horse.”

    Sophie Wells with her own seven-year-old Ontario LC slotted in behind Dannie with 75.95%, and Gracie Catling – also winners of the Magic prix st georges freestyle gold – came third riding Gaynor Morris’ 11-year-old mare Fraithwens Wytske Fan Ter Lune with 73.5%.

    Woman rides a black horse in a black winners rug.

    Lynn Wickes and Furstino win the Black Country Saddles advanced medium silver. Credit: Kevin Sparrow

    Black Country Saddles advanced medium silver: “Yesterday, he was wild”

    The Black Country Saddles advanced medium silver championship went down to the wire. Lynn Wickes and her own nine-year-old Furstino just pipped Penny Smith with her own Rembrandt GSH by Revanche Du Rubin to the post, scoring 71.48%, to Penny’s 71.39%

    Lynn bought the Farrell son from Germany as a rising five-year-old and has been producing him with Dannie Morgan’s help.

    “Dannie has helped me with him for the last three years now; I go to him on a weekly basis,” she said.

    “Freddie has lots of ability, and I think the potential to be a grand prix horse. I’ve just got to match him.

    “I’ve ridden other horses at prix st georges and inter I, but I’ve never ridden at grand prix. So it’d be lovely to actually have a grand prix horse.”

    Lynn said Freddie has a flair for the dramatic.

    “Yesterday, in my warm-up, he was wild,” she said. “Dannie came to my rescue and helped me get him to concentrate rather than passage around the place. He was a tremendous influence yesterday, and his words stayed with me.”

    Third place in this championship went to Olivia Commins and 10-year-old Diamond Hit son Dark Diamond OC with 70.6%.

    Woman canters a dark bay horse who wears a navy winners rug at the winter dressage championships

    Irma Sutton and Sara Gallop’s Sazzaro Ballante win the Petplan elementary silver. Credit: Kevin Sparrow.

    Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships: elementary silver

    Irma Sutton of the Netherlands earned a comfortable win in the elementary silver with Sara Gallop’s Secret son Sazzaro Ballante, scoring 72.45%.

    “He was excited in the medium yesterday and today a bit more tired, so it actually made him think a bit,” said Irma, who is based at Prestige Equestrian.

    “He’s a very big horse, so it takes him a while to get his brain around his work, and today it all came together.”

    Irma said Sazzaro’s highlight was his collection, which hasn’t always been plain sailing.

    “He used to find it really hard to take weight on his hind leg. And now he’s starting to really perform the collected canter to walk transition,” she said.

    “He’s really learning to sit, which is a nice feeling, because before, he found that really hard.”

    The result was all the more impressive given that it was Irma and Sezzaro’s first championship together.

    “I’ve done about every role there is at Prestige since I moved here 23 years ago,” explained Irma. “And Sara lets me ride her lovely horses. What could be better? It’s a dream job.”

    Close behind Irma was Amber Flynn riding Jennifer Whittaker’s mare Fortuna BG with 70.68%. Sarah Roberts, on her own 14-year-old Levistano gelding Lionheart, completed the podium with 69.74%.

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