Spanish hat-trick for Hester
Carl Hester (pictured) finished the Spanish Sunshine Tour on a huge high at the weekend, when he and Escapado enjoyed a hat-trick of wins in the big tour classes. The partnership proved unbeatable in the grand prix, grand prix special and grand prix kür, with scores of 69.29%, 70.80% and 74.50% respectively.
Laura Richardson and Millenium have made a great return to international competition during the tour. Their improving results included a second place behind Carl in the final weekend’s grand prix, with a score of 67.70%. Laura was also eighth in the grand prix special with 63.84%.
Nicki Patrick and Rescue Me H have demonstrated the strength of talent coming up through Britain’s young rider squads, taking two wins in the final young rider classes with scores of 66.85% and 68.51%.
Jo Bagnall of British Dressage told HHO: “All the British riders who travelled to Spain have had a successful three weeks. Both the young riders and the riders with young horses have done well, along with the more established partnerships, which really bodes well for the future.”
Meanwhile, Fiona Bigwood and Habana 3 were competing at Warszawa CDI in Poland. Fiona scored 67.37% in the grand prix and 71.42% in the grand prix kür, to finish in fourth place in both classes. Top Russian rider Elena Sidneva won both classes riding Artax-Condor RBB.
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.