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Tales from Hartpury: the event horse making waves in her new career

Playlist 19 Videos Super Sophie bags gala double 01:27 Tales from Hartpury: Five horses and 13 tests — but did this rider remember where to go? 01:04 Winter Dressage Championships day four: one-two for Dujardin 03:43 Tales from Hartpury: the nine-year-old rising star with an Olympic dream 02:35 Sophie Wells' rising star impresses on prix st georges gala night 01:22 Tales from Hartpury: the horse with a rare skin condition that travelled in first gear for six miles 02:02 Winter Dressage Championships day three: former runaway horse shows what she's made of for championship first-timer 03:30 Tales from Hartpury: the event horse making waves in her new career 01:56 Winter Dressage Championships day two: Dujardin wants her rising star's foal for Easter 03:35 Tales from Hartpury: meet the family pony rubbing shoulders with dressage's big guns 01:08 Winter Dressage Championships day one: a shock victory and a horse defies the odds to do a double 04:43 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: Disbelieving the results of my small and fairly average horse 05:03 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: Playing with the 'proper' horses 04:42 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: Interrupted by the Olympic champion 03:36 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: A weighbridge, ice cream and escaping 03:55 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary: Dead sheep and lazy swans 02:35 H&H dressage editor's video diary 2015: the bloopers and the out-takes 01:48 H&H dressage editor’s Area Festival video diary 2015: time for Tubby bye-bye 02:21 H&H dressage editor's Area Festival video diary 2015: 'the championship chop' 03:03

  • Horse & Hound brings you stories with a difference from the British Dressage NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships at Hartpury (12-16 April)

    Four-star event rider Sara Squires made a statement at the NAF Five Star British Dressage Winter Championships at Hartpury (13 April) with her beautiful black mare Carla Bruni when taking fifth place in the elementary gold championship.

    But the six-year-old Contendros Bube x Sunlight mare began her competitive career on the eventing circuit.

    “I bought ‘Carla’ as a just backed four-year-old from an auction at Verden,” explains Sara. “I was looking for event horses and she loose jumped very well. She is also nearly 50% thoroughbred so she fitted the bill nicely.”

    Carla took to eventing well last season, clocking double clears in five-year-old and BE100 classes. On her debut she scored an impressive 18.8 (80.2%) in the dressage phase, and only once went below the 70% barrier in her six events.

    “She was a fabulous cross-country horse and had great showjumping technique, but the showjumping warm-up scared the life out of her, which is why we’ve now switched her to dressage,” explains Sara. “She would just freeze if she didn’t have enough space in the warm-up, with horses jumping all around her.”

    Continued below…

    Sara recently moved into a house on Matt Frost and Adam Kemp’s yard with her partner, where she also has her own stable of horses. She says that Carla, who is for sale, “isn’t established yet” but has “a very trainable brain.”

    “Unfortunately I can’t afford to keep them all, but it would be nice to retain the ride on her,” says Sara. “We’re going to do some medium tests on her and see what happens — she’s a lovely horse.”

    For a full report from the British Dressage winter championships and the Area Festival final — as well as news, views and expert comment — pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine next Thursday (20 April).

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