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Tales from Hartpury: Five horses and 13 tests — but did this rider remember where to go?

Playlist 20 Videos H&H dressage editor's Area Festival video diary: Meet Faconnable (aka Fab) 01:35 Tales from Hartpury: Five horses and 13 tests — but did this rider remember where to go? 01:04 Super Sophie bags gala double 01:27 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)

    James Burtwell was what you might describe as busy at the NAF Five Star British Dressage Winter Championships at Hartpury (12-16 April).

    The rider, trainer and dressage judge qualified no less than five horses for the championships, which meant he had to ride 13 tests in total.

    “It wasn’t the plan to have so many horses here but when they all qualified I thought it would be a shame for any of them to miss out,” explains James who is based in Hampshire. “Yesterday (13 April) I had six tests to ride.”

    James bought all five of his championship rides at the Westphalian Sport Horse Auction.

    “None of them were expensive,” he says of his string who are aged six and seven, bar one nine-year-old.

    Yesterday James found himself with 30 minutes maximum to warm up.

    “On the whole it was a lot less than that though,” he admits. “It’s not ideal preparation but they all coped well.”

    James had a total of eight freestyle (dressage to music) floor plans to remember too, which sounds like an almost impossible task.

    “Each one had different music and floor plans,” he says. “I must admit that I got lost a couple of times and made bits up as I went along, but I don’t think anyone noticed!”

    James Burtwell and Verano

    Of course, behind every busy rider is a busy groom, but the freelancer James had booked for the show got stuck out in Spain while grooming for someone else on the showjumping sunshine tour.

    “I’m very fortunate to have kind and capable owners — we all mucked in to help get horses ready and it’s been great fun,” says James. “I must be an organiser’s nightmare too, with all of the start times to sort, but Hartpury makes is easy.”

    Continued below…

    James says he is exhausted but he has a trip to the States booked for next week.

    “I’m lucky that I get to go away and have a little break, doing some teaching and going to Kentucky,” he explains.

    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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