The 17hh Dante Weltino eight-year-old scored 72.1% for Gloucestershire-based Bryony.
“That was exhilarating,” Bryony said as she left the arena after her lap of honour. “I was so pleased with my test. It was such a hot class. I was looking through the entries and I’d have been thrilled with a top 10 finish.
“Warming up he was a little unsettled by the clapping of the crowd, but during the test he really gave it his all. He stayed with me the whole time.”
Bryony has ridden the gelding, whom she co-owns with Sam Bolton, for two years.
“We have such a lovely partnership now,” she said. “He’s a big horse so he’s taken time, but he’s recently started working at medium.
“I’ve won a couple of young horse titles at the nationals, but it’s nice to win a ‘proper dressage’ class finally.”
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National Dressage Championships: super stallion continues his reign
In the TopSpec medium silver championship at the National Dressage Championships, top marks were scored by Virginie de Senneville riding Claire Wyatt’s powerful Fidertanz six-year-old Fire Kracka. The stallion finished on 72.2%.
“He is a pleaser and he always wants to work hard for me; he’s very willing and every time we try something new he wants to try and do it well,” said Virginie, prelim winner here 12 months ago with Fire Kracka. “He was absolutely mega today. We had a great warm up, and he went all the way through his test.”
“He keeps giving a little bit more each time out,” Virginie added. “He’s so consistent and every time I can push for a bit more.”
The stallion has covered in the past but this year he has been solely aimed at training and competition.
“We have a very good routine that just works; it’s been the same from the very beginning of his career,” Virginie said. “He has holidays often, too. I know him so well, and he knows me. We have several plans in the pipeline for him, but we’re not able to reveal them just yet!”
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Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
