Winter dressage championship success for Team Edge Dressage

The NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships produced another great result for Team Edge Dressage when first time finalist Sadie Smith and Ambience IV won the Baileys Horse Feeds Novice Restricted Music Freestyle with a score of 77.31%.

Ambience is owned by Roland Tong and Sandra Kirkpatrick and was bred by Sarah Tyler-Evans. According to Roland, he is the best horse he has ever had and Sadie, who works for him and partner Ben St John James, will compete him at novice level.

“I haven’t done a lot of competing — just getting him qualified really,” said Sadie who learned to ride at Quob Stables in Hampshire. “Since I started to work for Roland and Ben, I’ve had amazing opportunities.”

The gelding is only five years old and is by Krack C. Sadie rode to a Queen compilation put together by Roland Tong, who also did the ground pattern.

First and third places in the Albion Medium Restricted Winter Championship went to Melissa Chapman with Marie Brown’s DHI Work Of Art and Anthony Haigh’s Amaze Me Grace.

DHI Work Of Art was bought for Melissa to ride when he was five and she has been training him for two years with the help of Ian Woodhead. The 18hh gelding impressed with his powerful paces and has gone up the grades in just 18 months.

The Equissage Open Music Freestyle Championships also produced a high scoring winner in Jo Barry and Vivaldi, who won with 77.75% from James Burtwell and Smash Hit.

“He’s nicely hot but very level-headed,” said Jo, who was one of the few winners who managed a controlled exit after the prize giving. The combination are also contesting the medium open freestyle and medium open classes and then Jo plans to concentrate on training for the rest of the year.

Day two results

Albion Medium Restricted (T Gardner, L Whetstone & S McMahon): 1, DHI Work of Art (M Chapman) 67.93; 2, Don Dimitri (J Coope) 67.21; 3, Amaze Me Grace (M Chapman) 66.94. Baileys Horse Feeds Novice Restricted Music Freestyle (M Brown, A Darken & A Smith): 1, Ambience IV (S Smith) 7.731; 2, Sheepcote Sandmartin (L Pincus) 73.8; 3eq Catherston Springnut (A Littlechild) & Ruara (K Brown) 68.61. Equissage Elementary Open Music Freestyle (D Mason, P Lang & D Lush): 1, Vivaldi V (J Barry) 77.57; 2, Smash Hit (J Burtwell) 72.57; 3, WS Legolas (L Warren) 71.11.

Stay in touch with all the action from the winter dressage championships on Horseandhound.co.uk and don’t miss our special eight-page report in next week’s magazine (on sale Thursday 15 April)

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