Tales from Hartpury: Six home-breds represent Headmore Stud at Winter Dressage Championships
Jo Barry claims fifth riding Headmore Bella Luce in the novice freestyle gold at the Winter Dressage Championships
(Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)
AN impressive six home-bred horses will represent the Headmore Stud at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships this week.
Alice Oppenheimer has brought three of her own home-breds including Wednesday’s winner of the Baileys Horse Feeds novice gold freestyle Headmore Valentina, as well as runner-up in the same class, her own and Marnie Lovejoy and Richard Lovejoy’s Headmore Flintstone, plus her own and Amanda Radford’s Headmore Dionysus who will compete in the Superflex inter I, Superflex inter I music and Magic PSG.
Andrea Kirby and Drama also qualified for the novice silver freestyle and Petplan Equine elementary silver but unfortunately Andrea’s work commitments meant she couldn’t come to Hartpury.
“We’re super proud,” smiled Alice. “I bring horses here year after year, and it’s so lovely that we’ve got so many other home-breds dotted around with other riders this year. It’s a great advert for the stud.
“Many of them grew up together as foals, so it’s great that they’re here competing against each other as young horses.”
Alice admits it’s hard letting go of the home-breds, but it’s equally rewarding seeing them out competing and doing so well.
“You wish you could keep them all, I suppose,” she said. “But we are a business and we can’t survive if we don’t sell. It’s not that we sell the ones we don’t like or we don’t want – you have to sell the good ones, too. We’re only a small stud, and only breed two or three a year so to have so many here is just a great feeling.”
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