15 riders travelled from the UK to Turin, Italy, last week to compete in the Masters du Cheval (MCI) European final, a dressage league specially held for Spanish and Portuguese horses (27 – 31 October 2016).

The Brits secured a team fourth place behind Italy, France and Belgium in the 2016 European final.

Nika Vorster, who rides for Premier PRE Dressage in Oxford, led the way as she secured two individual podium places for the British team. Aboard Karen Bourdon’s impressive six-year-old Spanish stallion Chulo Msuay, Nika produced a pleasing performance in the first of two young horse classes for a score of 69.6%. With plenty left in the tank, the duo pulled out all the stops for a sensational winning score of 78.6% in their second test which subsequently earned them the silver medal in the young horse championship. “Chulo was imported from Spain at the beginning of 2015 and I began riding him in March when I started working for Karen”, said Nika. “He was very inexperienced and had only just been backed before he came to the UK. Since then we have progressed together from prelim to elementary, qualifying for area festivals at each level along the way. We aim to carry on training through the levels and hopefully make our medium debut next year”.

The Yorkshire-born rider’s form was not to be underestimated as Nika returned on Luisa Collins’ grey Lusitano gelding, Curioso, to solidify her place at elementary. With a 65.2% and 68.9%, the pair climbed into bronze medal position after a polished second test to be within touching distance of the top spots. Nika said of the affectionately named ‘Q’, “he is a very talented horse and he’d been trained to quite a high level before he was imported from Spain two years ago. I have spent a long time improving his basic way of going and gaining his confidence since he arrived. Now we have formed a bond together, it’s fantastic for me to be able to progress through the more advanced levels as I had only ever competed up to novice before”.

Pete Saunders, who runs Illixa PRE stud in Kent, rode the youngest horse in the competition namely his own Spanish stallion Danes CA (pictured). The four-year-old grey, who was taking part in his first international competition, achieved a score of 68.4%.The duo went on to post a 66.8% in the second young horse test which landed them seventh place overall in the young horse rankings. Pete said, “taking a four-year-old PRE stallion to his first international competition against much older and more advanced horses, we naturally went with conservative expectations and planned to gain more experience than awards and podium places. However we were blown away with our achievement and we were equally thrilled by our team performance”.

The weekend continued to see success for the British team with the top two places in the advanced medium test being secured by UK riders.

Alice Hurley, riding Karen Bourdon’s “fun, sensitive and intelligent” nine-year-old PRE stallion Resuelto XX, produced a solid test to win the class on a score of 67.9%. The Irish rider went on to break the 70% barrier with 71.7% in the advanced medium freestyle test, making the pair worthy winners of the advanced medium section overall.

Alice, who rode as an individual for Ireland as well as part of the GB team, said: “I’ve trained him since he was three and a half years old. He has a huge personality; a very confident little horse who has always been a little opinionated. He wasn’t easy as a young horse and he was often fiery at competitions”, Alice recounted of the versatile showing and dressage stallion. “In the last couple of years he has gone from strength to strength. We will make the transition to advanced level within the next few months, with PSG in mind for next year”.
Hot on Alice’s heels was fellow Brit Charlotte Crocker-Westlake on the first of her two striking black stallions. Charlotte rode nine-year-old Gaspar de Valle, who was imported from Spain earlier this year, to achieve a score of 66.7% for second place in the first of the advanced medium tests. She followed this up with a respectable score of 64.6% aboard her own home-bred Lago Fulgor for 12th place. Charlotte later returned on her first ride to contest the Prix St Georges with two classy tests scoring 64.1% and 65.3%. The pair are aiming for the dressage finals at SICAB; the Spanish horse world championship held in Seville, Spain (15 – 20 November). “I was so pleased with both Gaspar and Fulgor, after a long journey they were on top form and gave me their all”, said an enthusiastic Charlotte. “The MCI finals has given us invaluable experience towards competing internationally and an excellent warm up for SICAB”.

Justine Armitage, a classical riding instructor based in Wales, was the only rider to fly the flag for Team GB at the highest level in the Italian competition. Partnered with Lusitano stallion Xique Tramagueira in the Grand Prix tests, the pair scored 61.8% in their first opportunity in the arena. The combination went on to improve with a 66.9% amongst hot company in their second round in order to bring home overall sixth place. Justine, who has been riding at Grand Prix for three years, said: “Xique is the second horse that I have trained up to this level and this is the second time we have represented Team GB internationally. I bought him five years ago from Portugal and we love competing with the MCI. My next venture is to train my own purebred Lusitanos to be the best they can be”.

Karen Bourdon, the director for the UK branch of the Masters du Cheval Iberique – namely the Iberian Dressage Masters (IDM) – said, “following in the success of Britain’s first representation at the MCI finals last year in Belgium, this year we travelled to Turin, Italy and Team GB came away with a very creditable fourth place for the second time. Set up in June 2015, the IDM and MCI GB are gaining in popularity with over 130 members and 14 qualifying venues across the UK. In 2016 the British contingent has almost doubled, with a team of 16 riders and 20 horses competing in classes ranging from young horse to Grand Prix. The GB series of qualifying venues and the success of the British team has helped to raise the profile of Iberian horses in British dressage. We are enormously grateful to the MCI for organising such an incredible event in Italy this year and providing the opportunity to compete with other horses and riders from across Europe. I am delighted that we are able to offer owners and riders with purebred Iberian horses the opportunity to compete internationally and represent GB at these prestigious events”.

The Masters du Cheval Iberique holds a European final every Autumn for those who have qualified via their respective organisations. The UK branch for the MCI is the Iberian Dressage Masters. For more information visit www.iberiandressagemasters.co.uk

Report by Yasmin Jaouane

Back for the second year running the GBPRE and Lusitano Championships took place this weekend at Keysoe, Bedfordshire (Sunday 6 November 2016).

Twenty-four-year-old Jade Clark dominated the Lusitano Championships taking home three of the six titles available. Jade, who only took up competitive riding in 2010, is a director at Brennan Equestrian where she produces and competes horses and ponies under the direction of trainer Sue Brennan. With Helen Dolisznyj’s seven-year-old grey stallion, Evangelico, Jade won the Elementary Championship class with 71.09% to finish nearly 10% ahead of the field. The eye-catching combination went on to take first in the Medium Championship class with another great score 70.27% to put Caroline Saynor and the grey stallion Douro into second (67.03%).

Jade’s third win came in the Advanced Medium with the second of Helen Dolisznyj’s Lusitanos, the bay gelding Espirito (pictured). With the top three all scoring above 70% the competition was hot but Espirito performed to his best to finish on top with a fantastic 72.5%. Taking to Facebook, Jade said that she ‘had the most amazing time at Keysoe for the GBPRE and Lusitano Championships!’ before continuing, ‘thank you to British Dressage and the Lusitano Breed Society of Great Britain for the Bequestrian goody bags and their fabulous contents. Thank you Helen for letting me ride your amazing boys, hope they did you proud today & thank you Sue for all the training, particularly this week, & for all the driving and all the other bits in between!’

Standing out in the GBPRE classes was another dual winner, Eastern rider Sam Sargeant-Smith (pictured at top of page) with her own 10-year-old black stallion Abocado. The 15.2hh by Prevenido V shone in the Medium and Advanced Medium Championships to win with 73.11% and 68.29% respectively.

The highest score of the day went to Prelim GBPRE winner Emma Thomas with perhaps the youngest competitor at the Championships, Emma Jane Packer’s four-year-old Splendido Torres. Emma, from Ewhurst in Surrey, scored 73.35% to top the class by nearly 4% aboard the stunning grey gelding by Exacto.
Whilst the Medium and Advanced Medium classes were won by clear margins, the Elementary and Novice Championships featured very close competition. Rob Waine and Mrs Maria Dent’s five-year-old grey stallion Nazareno Vicon took a narrow victory in the GBPRE Elementary 59 scoring 70.78% to finish one and a half marks ahead of second placed rider Olivia Kelly with Mrs Rachel Edmondson’s Delphina NVW who scored 70.31%.

Meanwhile, the GBPRE Novice Championships were battled out by two Central riders and won by an even smaller margin of only half a mark! The eventual winner was Caroline Crowhurst with Jandalo CA III, a nine-year-old grey gelding by Manfredo and originating from Spain; the combination has been competing at British Dressage shows since 2014. Second place in the Novice went to Alessandra Doyle with Mrs Karen Eyre’s black gelding Bolero Guaranito; Alessandra from Thame in Oxfordshire has recently signed up to BD judge training.
With over 50 entries to the Championships and the breeds continuing to grow in popularity, there’s no doubt next year’s GBPRE and Lusitano Finals will be greatly anticipated.

British Dressage would like to thank Eastelms International Horse Transport for their support of the GBPRE Championships.
The 2016 Winners
Lusitano Prelim 19
1st – Jessica Ashwell with Sueste II, 67.92%
GBPRE Prelim 19
1st – Emma Thomas with Splendido Torres, 73.75%
Lusitano Novice 39
1st – Jo Green with Cadencia, 62.5%
GBPRE Novice 39
1st – Caroline Crowhurst with Jandalo CA III, 65.58%
Lusitano Elementary 59
1st – Jade Clark with Evangelico, 71.09%
GBPRE Elementary 59
1st – Rob Waine with Nazareno Vicon, 70.78%
Lusitano Medium 75
1st – Jade Clark with Evangelico, 70.27%
GBPRE Medium 75
1st – Sam Sargeant Smith with Abocado, 73.11%
Lusitano Advanced Medium 98
1st – Jade Clark with Espirito, 72.5%
GBPRE Advanced Medium 98
1st – Sam Sargeant Smith with Abocado, 68.29%
GBPRE PSG
1st – Harry Payne with Duque L, 69.21%

Hartpury College, 22-24 July, 2016

This was the inaugural GBPRE event and the Directors only had a few short months to organise and plan the entire show. We received such amazing feedback (almost without exception) on the content of the Show itself, the friendliness of the ‘staff’ and Directors and the overall organisation. Huge gratitude has to go to Show Director Stephanie Hurstfield who, together with her sister Sally Chatting and an amazing team of stewards and helpers (Kim Hayden, Gemma Bowles, Oriol Matas, Idoia Puilliers, pulled together an amazing, well run, friendly show in a very short period of time. We were so lucky with the weather too and the sun shone on us most of the weekend – it makes such a difference doesn’t it!
Karen Manzi, Dressage Director of GBPRE, worked tirelessly to try and accommodate everyones commitments in other classes so their dressage times didn’t clash – we have another solution for 2017. More on that later! The ANCCE Representative, Philip Belhoussine, was ever helpful and worked hard with us to try and establish the COPA classes as SICAB qualifiers. Eventually, we succeeded in obtaining official qualification for 3 UK riders to compete at the World PRE Championships (SICAB), Charlotte Crocker-Westlake, Alice Hurley and Anna Wilson. Both Alice and Charlotte travelled to SICAB and competed in the Prix St George and Intermediare I Championships with great overall results. See separate report from Yasmin Joanne-Walker.
Our inaugural show also managed to obtain qualification to the Veteran Society Championships for the first time in several years. We now have an affiliation to the VHS and will be offering Qualification to the Championships in the future, from 2017 onwards, at our own Championship Show. We are really pleased with this achievement and hope that more members will enter the Veteran classes in future as there are some wonderful classes throughout the UK and it is a super Championship show, held at different locations throughout the UK, each year.
For the first time, we introduced the Iberian Sports Horse classes which were very popular. We were really lucky to have Irene Susca as our judge for these classes who is a former President of Sports Horse GB. We are also hoping for 2017 that our classes can become a qualifier for the GB Sports Horse Championships. Another clinic idea for those interested in competing in sports horse classes too!
The ANCCE Judge this year, Rafael Juan Garrido Herencia is a relatively newly approved judge for conformation classes. It was really nice to see many different winners in the classes so the top prizes were shared out amongst breeders and also one horse owners equally.
The young stock classes were well supported overall and it is wonderful to see so many British Bred horses in these classes, and doing so well against their Spanish counterparts!
For the first time we held the Working Equitation classes indoors and these were a National qualifier for WE Championships UK. The spectacle of the Speed event and the evening dressage was really exciting to watch and is now a confirmed feature for our 2017 Show.
It is great to work so closely with the main GB bodies and associations for their relevant disciplines and to have as many qualifiers in our own Championship show as we can manage.
Next year, for 2017, we have managed to secure an extra day to hold British Dressage affiliated classes. These will be qualifiers for the ANCCE COPA/SICAB, BD/GBPRE Championships and also BD Regional Championships and is another first for our show. Unaffiliated dressage will still be a feature at our Hartpury show in 2017, but in the guise of the MCI with free of charge day tickets offered to non IDM Members in order to be able to compete in this very exciting series, with a chance to compete in the MCI Championships (2017 in Paris).
Our first show was a huge success which was down to our Members and competitors as much as our Show Team. Next year promises to be even better with other new classes to encompass other disciplines including Clear Round jumping and Agility, affiliated to Agility UK.
Some of our sponsors have already been confirmed for 2017 so the momentum is already underway!

Royal Windsor Horse Show is always a special event attracting top riders and competition, made more so this year as it marked the Queen’s 90th birthday.

There are two ridden PRE classes held at Windsor; one in English and one in Spanish dress, open to both part and pure-bred.

Duque SF ridden by Janine Pendlebury Lee receiving first prize in the English ridden.

Marea ridden by Ben Swann, having won the Spanish ridden before giving a Garrocha display

It was great to see a huge turnout in each class, demonstrating just how popular our breed is becoming, therefore there was some stiff competition for the prized top six places.

Results for English:

1. Duque SF ridden by Janine Pendlebury – Lee
2. Resuelto ridden by Nikki Vorster
3. Hechicero LIX ridden by Gabrielle Deed
4. Paco V ridden by Victoria Perry
5. Al Setari ridden by Jodie Phillips (Champion Mare)
6. Jascal ridden by Emma Thomas

Results for Spanish (Parade):

1. Marea VII ridden by Benn Swann
2. Duque SF ridden by Janine Pendlebury – Lee
3. Enzo ridden by Sophia Jordanoubailey
4. Romero XXV ridden by Geoffrey Shawcross
5. AlEjandro ridden by Mazin Albayati
6. Emperador ridden by Nataliya Drobysevsskij