H&H Champs: ‘cheeky’ Fergus springs into the lead
A stylish test secured the lead in the 90cm progressive section of the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships for Amanda Bettle and Ysgwn Fawr Fergus.
The combination scored 22.25 in the dressage phase, with Tayla Brooks and Springwind Catwalk close behind on 23.75.
Amanda, who runs a livery yard, bought the gelding as a three-year-old and broke him in herself.
“He can do a really good test, but sometimes he can get a little bit irritated,” Amanda told H&H.
“So I hoped he would do a nice test and he was very well behaved.”
A back injury as a youngster put Fergus’s training on hold and he did not start competing until he was rising seven.
“He is a bit of a late starter,” explained Amanda.
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“He is cheeky, he likes to carry his feed bucket and put it back in the feed room and he likes to eat you – but in a nice way – [he will nibble] your collar and your coat.”
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Amanda also has three of his elder half-brothers.
“He has a good jump and moves nicely, but he is a bit different to the others because he can be a bit more opinionated at times,” she added.
“We evented last year at British Eventing 90 level we had some quite good places towards the end of the year – it took him a bit of time to get going.
“I thought it [the championships] would be a really good thing to aim for and achieve.”
Don’t miss a full report from the Horse & Hound Grassroots Eventing Championships in next week’s issue (8 June)
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.