Belton is always a great event, it’s the first big event of the calendar and always has a very competitive list of entries. We had four horses running over the weekend.
Oakbank Ultimate Illusion started in the Novice on Friday to post a 32, one pole and a brilliant clear over what has to be one of the most challenging Novice tracks in the country. I was very pleased with his performance and am looking forward to building on his experience on the next few runs! At this stage of the season Apollo is building up for some big goals later on this spring!
Renaissance Man was competing in the CCI3*s. His dressage showed tension which unfortunately put us down the order. He gave me a brilliant spin around the XC and showed he was more than ready for the next level. We just need to get him out to a couple of shows before his next event to get some early season tension out of his system!
I had two horses competing in the Grantham Cup CCI4*s – Dick O Malley (Flint) and Priorspark Opposition Free (Razor).
Flint finished 6th/134 starters to finish on his dressage of 36 with a double clear, which was a huge achievement as the course caused carnage all day with pre Badminton combinations having errors on the cross country. There were only four horses to finish on their dressage score.
Razor also finished very well inside the top 25%, to finish 28th with an amazing dressage of 32 and a great cross country round more than making up for a few poles in the SJ. Both horses are feeling fit and ready for their next few events!
So excited for the next competitions with these amazing horses.
Eliza Stoddart and DICK O MALLEY. © 2019 Steph Reynolds. All Rights Reserved