The 18-year-old gelding Wolfgang Golden Symphony provided his owner with a memorable royal debut, as he was crowned Royal Windsor senior ridden horse champion on his first trip to the venue.
Kent-based firefighter Gabriella Cox, 23, has owned the palomino Dutch Warmblood for 12 years. She admitted that when she went to view him all those years ago, she wasn’t convinced he’d be the horse for her.
“I was looking for a new horse, but I thought he was too green when I went to view him,” said Gabriella. “We ended up buying him and had a year of such hard work, but he came good in the end. He’s really come into his own in the seniors, too. He’s a very versatile horse; we’ve done a lot of showing as well as BYRDS dressage.
“He’s the nicest horse ever. He loves the camera and likes to be the best at everything he does.”
Gabriella fits showing in between work commitments with “lots of early mornings and late nights”.
“And hard work,” she confirmed. “We arrived at Windsor this morning, but it was all a bit rushed so we didn’t have time to warm up. We went straight into our class with no practice, and so I didn’t think we’d do that well.
“It’s so exciting to be here. This horse has been my best friend since day one. He’s never done anything to make me change my mind; he’s always been ‘the’ horse for me.”
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