Horse & Hound Festival of Dressage: homebred mare shines on competition debut
Lauren Spradbury has taken a decisive lead in the Horse & Hound Festival of Dressage Intro Championship.
Lauren and the four-year-old mare Wild Rose scored 71.2% to win the first of their two championship tests.
Jade Churchman and Frenchfort Prince are in second on 67.72%, with Lilly Wright and Nipper in third on the same mark, but with lower collectives.
While Lauren has the clear lead, less than 4% separates second to 10th places.
The homebred mare (Sammy G Jo x Romantico Di Villagana) was backed in January and makes her competition debut at the H&H Festival of Dressage.
“She has taken everything in her stride,” said Lauren, from Black Cat Equestrian Centre at Sutton-on-Sea. “She’s really laid back.”
Lauren, who has three rides at the festival this weekend, added that the mare is “really easy” to train.
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“I was really pleased with her whole test, she felt really confident and didn’t look at any of the banners, which was good, as this is only her first show” she said, adding the mare will soon be for sale.
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The pair are also among the leaders in the prelim championship, finishing third on a score of 71.98%.
Pat Clayton and Budsson took the prelim championship class win, with the highest score of the day (72.16%).
In second is novice winners Sarah Clarke and Hiawatha La Perle on 72.07%.
The championship tests are run over two days at Sheepgate Equestrian Centre in Lincolnshire.
Competitors rode their first test on Saturday (21 July) and their second on Sunday (22 July). The winners are decided on a combination of percentages from both tests, with a host of prizes, including a Catago FIR-tech healing rug worth £200 for winners and rosettes to tenth place.
Don’t miss the latest news and updates on the H&H Festival of Dressage on the Horse & Hound website and social media channels, plus a full report in the 26 July issue of the magazine.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.