Perthshire rider Angela MacKenzie almost missed out on the dressage success she has enjoyed with Belair LS as she considered selling the gelding earlier this year.
“I am so glad I didn’t,” she said, after amassing three winning affiliated British Dressage (BD) performances in one day recently at Perthshire venue Inchcoonans Equestrian, with the gelding she calls Aero.
“It has taken us a little time to click, but thanks to help from Sarah Houlden and Adrienne Taylor I’ve realised what a cracking little horse I have,” Angela said.
After making the transition from showjumping to dressage just this season, and revelling in their continued improvement, Angela said she has been focused on a pathway to the winter regional championships.
As a result the partnership, which only affiliated to BD in May, has raced to achieve dual qualification at prelim and novice levels, travelling from Perth to Ayrshire in pursuit of sufficient BD points in the process.
“We did three tests a prelim and two novices at Inchcoonans, as I had needed eight more BD points at restricted novice level and 10 points at prelim in order to qualify,” she said.
“Poor Aero must have been thinking ‘not again’ each time we warmed up for a test, but he’s so willing.”
Their cause was helped at Inchcoonans, where their two novice wins amassed 13 points, bagging qualification at that level and again not long after, when they took first and second places across two prelims at Muirmill, breaching the
70% barrier each time.
Angela, who previously worked at Gleneagles and who keeps the Selle Francais cross thoroughbred on her parents’ farm at Orchill, near Braco, saidAero hasn’t stopped rewarding her for her decision not to part with him.
She initially bought the eight-year-old, by Remkum Valentino, 18 months ago to showjump. But having competed in the dressage arena to a high level when she was younger in the BYRDS teams, and after suffering niggling injuries, she opted to return to BD earlier this year.
“Aero was quite spooky and silly when I first got him, but over the summer he’s really matured,” she said.
A turning point in their BD career together came at the PetPlans last month at Fountain, Aberdeen. “Although other horses found the atmosphere quite electric, Aero went in and was really relaxed. He completely listened to me, and that’s when Adrienne and I knew he was finally on my side.”
They finished sixth in both the prelim and restricted novice tests on that occasion, and their percentages have since continued to rise.
“When we started competing at BD we scored in the region of 60%, but his scores have increased in a really short period of time and to break 70% in all three tests at Inchcoonans was just brilliant.”
She now plans to mix dressage with a little showjumping.
“He loves jumping, so I want to reward him with some variety,” she said. Also taking a trio of red rosettes at Inchcoonans were Jane Smith and her 11-year-old grey gelding Cipolini BZ.
“He was such a good boy,” said Jane after she topped 70% in both the affiliated open novice 28 and novice 30 tests. She bought the son of Chellano Z from Alan Spalding when he was a five-year-old.
“I turned him away for six months when I got him, and have produced him myself slowly since then,” said Jane. “He is a very sensitive horse and can be tricky at times, but I adore him and wouldn’t have him any other way.”
Their success, bolstered with a 66.88% win in the restricted section of elementary 42, cemented a return to competitive dressage for the Arbroath rider, who has sidelined much of her riding over the last year due to a shoulder injury.
Jane, who works as a regional manager and competition nutritionist for Mars Horsecare (Spillers), and who is also a qualified BHSII, said the injury was caused as a result of her arm being pulled from the socket, tearing the ligaments and muscles that hold it in place.
“I’ve had steroid injections and ongoing phsyio and, whilst it is much better, I will be having an operation later this year with the hope of finally fixing it once and for all so it’s unlikely that I will get out to compete again for a wee while.”
The partnership, which previously evented to CCI* level, turned their attention to dressage after work commitments left Jane struggling to maintain Chip’s fitness to event at the higher levels.
“My plan had been to do more showjumping with him, but it’s dressage that has really taken precedence,” Jane said, having won at 1m15 on their last BS outing.
“You can’t rush him he used to panic about anything that was new or different, but he’s coping much better in the arena for his tests and he’s really starting to enjoy what is being asked of him.”
Jane credits a change of yard to Ethiebeaton and increased hacking as having helped Chip to have a more relaxed perspective about life. R
eflecting on their winning scores at Inchcoonans, she added: “It’s not often you get marks like that from different judges on the same day.”
Jane and Cipolini BZ, who train with Albert Van Schie, Paul Hayler and Shonagh Steven, have qualified for the Scottish Novice Championships for next year. Their recent high scores have also now taken them out of novice points for BD.
The final affiliated class of the day, running over the elementary 50 test, was won by Heather Carstairs and Just a Teddy Bear.
equestrian@thecourier.co.ukResults
Intro B (unaff): 1 Shonagh Lawson, Fire Fly II of Craigieloch, 66.3; 2 Andi Bruce, Phoenix, 62.61; 3 Jay Feeley, Red, 61.52.
Prelim 1 BD: 1 Krystel Cunningham, Top Notch, 76.58; 2 Sheena Melvin, Miss Schufro, 72.11; 3 Shona Brearley, SD Rockstar, 63.42. Prelim 1 (unaff): 1 Daisy Cross, Ebony, 77.63; 2 Laura Collins, Donnadoni, 73.42; 3 Andi Bruce, CC, 72.89.
Prelim 14 BD: 1 Angela MacKenzie, Belair LS, 74.38; 2 Krystel Cunningham, Top Notch, 70.83; 3 Sheena Melvin, Miss Schufro, 69.79. Prelim 14 (unaff): 1 Sarah Oakden, Don, 72.96; 2 Elisabeth Leslie, Crimescene, 71.67; 3 Daisy Cross, Ebony, 70.21.
Novice 28 BD (rest): 1 Angela MacKenzie, Belair LS, 70; 2 Elizabeth Foote, Solitudes Cheeko, 65.83; 3 Gillian Kettles, Ballymark, 65.42. Novice 28 BD (open): 1 Jane Smith, Cipolini BZ, 72.5; 2 Janine Mason, Gerbrecht, 70.63. Novice 28
(unaff): 1 Elisabeth Leslie, Crimescene, 71.46; 2 Daisy Cross, Ebony, 70.63; 3 Emma Lawrie, Bailey, 70.42.
Novice 30 BD (rest): 1 Angela MacKenzie, Belair LS, 72.12; 2 Elizabeth Foote, Solitudes Cheeko, 70.58; 3 Gillian Kettles, Ballymark, 68.27. Novice 30 BD (open): 1 Jane Smith, Cipolini BZ, 71.54; 2 Alice Clark, Trowan Monty, 69.81. Novice 30 (unaff): 1 Leona Blacklaws, Eclips Vant Schuurken, 66.54; 2 Pollyanna Smith, Cookie, 65; 3 Arlene Kennedy, Orion, 65.
Elementary 42 BD (rest): 1 Jane Smith, Cipolini BZ, 66.88; 2 Heather Carstairs, Just a Teddy Bear, 63.91; 3 Liz Campbell, Urabian, 63.28. Elementary 42 (unaff): 1 Hermione Bell, Vasco Gold Rush, 66.09.
Elementary 50 BD (rest): 1 Heather Carstairs, Just a Teddy Bear, 63.21. Elementary 50 (unaff): 1 Leona Blacklaws, Eclips Vant Schuurken, 69.29.