A Dutch warmblood who nearly didn’t make it to his first LeMieux National Dressage Championships after disruption to his preparation went above and beyond to win the HorseQuest elementary silver championship.
Both Katie Scott and her seven-year-old Liverpool KS, who is known as Junior at home, were making their debut at the nationals. Their polished performance was enough to secure them a winning final score of 72.06%.
“I’m so shocked at this result as exactly a week ago he lost a shoe and stood on the toe clip,” explained Katie, who bought the gelding as a two-year-old from his breeder in the Netherlands. “I thought we might have to withdraw him from the nationals. But here we are.”
Katie credits her team, including her vet, farrier and physio, for their unwavering dedication to getting Junior back on the road over the past seven days. “The vet rushed to come and have a look at him, and my farrier, Jamie Reed, has been over to see him several times; Junior would not be here without his hard work. My physio, Suzanne Cottriall, has also been at the yard everyday stretching and treating him to get him ready.”
Wirral-based Katie picked Junior out from a barn of youngsters and he’s the first young horse she has produced through the ranks herself.
“As soon as I saw his face I knew I wanted him; I just loved him,” she said. “At the time he was an entire and he wasn’t for sale, but a year later I got a phone call to say he hadn’t grown big enough — he was only 16hh — and that I could have him if I still wanted him.
“This is our first time competing at the nationals, and to just get here is an achievement after the week we’ve had. Winning has been the absolute dream.
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Katie was particularly impressed with Junior’s trotwork today: “I just focused on keeping him collected and with me in the arena. He’s only seven, and who gets to win at their first nationals? I’m hoping to do some PSGs with him next year and I have some young horses coming through, so it is an exciting time.
“Everyone loves Junior at home; he’s got his own fan club. He’s got a lot of character and he’s always got a lot to say for himself. We’re on this little journey together and we’re just chipping away, doing what’s right for him when he’s ready. I do have big plans for him, though, so fingers crossed.
“At home he lives out with his friends. The horses aren’t just with us to be produced for the dressage ring, they’re also allowed to be horses and we love them dearly.”
National Dressage Championships: young stallion takes novice gold
Alice Peternell scored top honours on 72.85% in the BETTALIFE novice gold at the National Dressage Championships, riding Kate Pfistermuller’s promising Vitalis six-year-old Vespasiano.
“I’ve had him since he was four,” said Alice. “Kate very kindly said she’d buy a horse for me to ride and we were very fortunate to stumble across him. We were quite lucky; we found him through an agent on day two of our search.”
As a five-year-old in his debut competitive season, the stallion won the regional prelim title and he was fourth at the same level at nationals.
“He’s been very consistent,” Alice added. “At home he’s working at medium but he’s started to get his changes, and he finds them very easy.
“His mediums are always good during his test, but I did have a bit of a panic today when a pesky fly landed on his neck during the walk and he started shaking his head.
“He’s a stallion, but he’s fairly straightforward to ride. He has moments, like they all do, but he’s a very normal horse at home; he hacks out and he canters round the fields regularly.”
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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.
