It was a day of doubles at the recent Tayside Dressage winter league contest at Easter Rattray, outside Blairgowrie.
Three riders each achieved two class wins across the five levels of competition.
The first rider to take to the top of the podium twice was Georgina Chalmers Gray with five-year-old ex-racer Eduardo.
Ed, who raced on the flat 11 times from Catterick in Yorkshire before retiring from the racetrack, is shared by George and mother Rebecca, with whom he has qualified for the ROR showing final at the Royal Highland Show.
George, who is in her final year at Kilgraston, has competed Ed at unaffiliated eventing and also won at working hunter with him at Brechin Castle.
“We are working on his flatwork and hope to do more dressage and some eventing this year,” said George after winning both the restricted sections of the prelim 18 and novice 27 tests.
Topping both the open novice 27 and 28 tests was Brechin young rider Courtney Steel and her consistent Zivolda.
Zee a KWPN by Flemmingh, which was bred out of an Ahorn mare has returned to competition successfully after an injury.
This saw them miss out on much of the summer and autumn competition.
“She was back out competing in November and December, gaining three double wins in row two of which were affiliated,” said Courtney.
“I couldn’t have asked her to come back any better,” she added.
Courtney and Zivolda are now qualified for the regionals at novice level and hope to get qualified for the Morris/SF championship final, where they previously achieved the runner-up position at prelim level.
“I train consistently with Alex Hargie along with Shonagh Steven,” added Courtney, 17, who helps run the livery at West Drum for her father John Steel, of Horsebox Scotland.
“After the regionals we will move up to elementary and hopefully will have done a few medium tests by the end of the year,” she added.
Meanwhile, both the ultimate classes were won by Dundee-based rider Joanna Wilkie, who works part-time for Dundee Council and runs a livery yard at Longforgan with husband David.
She won the elementary 50 and medium 71 classes on her 10-year-old gelding Piper, a son of Secundus, which earlier last year finished third overall in the novice restricted class at the PetPlan winter area festival finals.
Jo who also events finished the 2013 season with Piper by progressing up to novice level at Richmond.
“Since then her has qualified for the BD winter regionals at elementary,” said Jo.
“So I have started doing some unaffiliated medium test work with him in the lead-up to that.
“I was really pleased with his tests at Easter Rattray he coped well with the added difficulty.”
The competition also provided an opportunity for Jo to get her other two rides Rocky Heights (Bono) and Superdelux (Woody) out before Christmas.
Woody, a relatively new addition for Jo, has been with her for the last year.
He achieved a second in the novice 28, while Bono matched this result in the novice 27.
“Woody has done some BS previously but his flatwork had taken a while to get sorted out.
“He is now much improved and I’m planning to do BD and BS with him this year,” she added.
Results
Intro B: 1 Joyce Simpson, Del Boy, 75.22; 2 Fiona Whitehead, Wildcard, 67.82; 3 Zoe Florence, Ralph, 66.95. Prelim 18 (rest): 1 Georgina Chalmers-Gray, Eduardo, 67.91; 2 Fiona Whitehead, Wildcard, 63.33; 3 Lynne Shephard, Ultra Special, 61.66. Prelim 18 (open): 1 Eve Beveridge, Winnie, 70.41; 2 Larisa Cathro, Mr Bean, 68.33; 3 Joyce Simpson, Del Boy, 65.83. Novice 27 (rest): 1 Georgina Chalmers Gray, Eduardo, 60.71; 2 Eve Beveridge, Winnie, 60.0; 3 Lynne Shephard, Ultra Special, 59.64. Novice 27 (open): 1 Courtney Steel, Zivolda, 68.93; 2 Joanna Wilkie, Bono, 65.0; 3 Gillian Clayton, Tallis, 58.57. Novice 28 (open): 1 Courtney Steel, Zivolda, 69.17; 2 Joanna Wilkie, Woody, 61.67; 3 Claire Shaw, Vladimir, 60.83. Elementary 50 (open): 1 Joanna Wilkie, Piper, 69.64; 2 Hannah Burns, Tugboat, 62.5; 3 Joanna Wilkie, Bono, 58.93. Medium 71 (open): 1 Joanna Wilkie, Piper, 58.06; 2 Hannah Walker, Tugboat, 57.42.