British Dressage series to celebrate talented Arabs
British Dressage (BD) has launched a new competition series for Arabs.
The Arab Horse Dressage Championships are open to pure and part-bred Arabs and will run from intro to elementary.
“The Arabian, whose history can be traced back to 3000 years BC, has had a huge influence on the breeding of competition horses today,” said a BD spokesman.
“It has influenced every light horse and many pony and warmblood breeds throughout history.
“The refinement of these revered horses, combined with power, agility and grace also makes them elegant dressage horses, and many part-breds have made it to the top in the Olympic disciplines.”
There will be one section for pure-breds and one section for part-breds or anglo-Arabs.
To qualify for the championships, riders need to have a minimum of Quest membership, which costs £25 per year, on a horse registered as a BD associate, which is free of charge.
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This allows the combination to compete at intro and prelim levels as well as the finals. To ride a novice test, riders require class tickets unless they are full BD members.
BD will provide two free class tickets to anyone who is not a full member who would like to try to qualify.
A horse and rider combination needs to achieve three scores at 60% or above in regular BD or Quest club competitions at the level they wish to compete in at the finals.
To qualify, the horse must be registered with the Arab Horse Society in either the pure, part-bred or anglo Arab stud book or register.
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Riders need to be a minimum of a bronze member of the Arab Horse Society.
Once three qualifying scores have been achieved, riders need to log that they have qualified with BD by sending an email to Karen.Beaumont@britishdressage.co.uk or a letter to Karen Beaumont, British Dressage, Meriden Business Park, Copse Drive, Meriden, West Midlands, CV5 9RG, stating where and when you achieved your two scores to qualify.
The qualification period is between the 1 January, 2017 and 30 September, 2017 and details of the championship location and date will be released by BD in the near future.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.