Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

1 August 2019Horse& Hound 61

A VALUABLE

STEPPING

STONE

NATHALIEKAYALandthe

14-year-oldHomerunwere

winnersoftheinterB attheir

firstshowatthelevel.Having

beenconsistentlysuccessfulat

smalltour,Natalieis makingfull

useofthissteppingstoneto

givehertheconfidencetomove

uptobigtourwith“Jojo”,whom

shehasownedsincehewassix.

“I’msogratefultoDane

Rawlinsforputtingonthis

middletourasit’ssodifficultto

findopportunitiestocompeteataninternationalshowatthislevel.

Forus,it’stheblindleadingtheblindandit feelslikemirror,signal,

manoeuvreatthemoment—nothingfeelsnatural,”shesaid.

“I didmyfirstsmalltouronthishorse,myfirst

internationalandhehasgivenmetheconfidenceto

trainthetwootherhorsesI havetosmalltourlevel. I

oweeverythingto this horse; he’s my horse

of a lifetime.”

TALKING

POINT

thanlastyear.Maybethebaby
breakhashelped.It’scertainly
givenmea refreshoffocus.”
WhileLarawastheonlyrider
intheNationsCupcompetition
toremainunbeaten,it wasa crack
Portuguesequartet,allmounted
onLusitanostallions,that
prevailedintheteambattle.
Theirattackwasspearheaded
bytheexcitingyoungduoofJoão
Torrão,26,andthe10-year-old
Equador who, in their first year

atthelevel,finishedsecondinthe
grandprixbeforegoingontowin
thespecialwith75.79%.
Joãois spendingthesummer
withCarlHester,whohaslethim
rideValegroandUthopiatohelp
teachhimthefeelingoftop-
qualitygrandprixmovements.
Heis nowstartingtoachieve
thatcalibreofqualityonhisown
supremelytalentedhorse.
“IalwayssaidonedayI’dscore
a 75%ina grandprixtestand
todayI’vedoneit,”saidJoão.“I
getquiteemotionalaboutthis
horse—he’slikemyteacherand
hegivesmeeverything.Heis a
fighter,he’snotafraidofanything
andlikestoshowoff.
“Noonebelievedhecould
reachgrandprixbecausehe
foundthepiaffesohard,butnow
thepiaffeandpassagearehis
highlights.”
Thankstostrongperformances
fromJoão’steam-mates,in
particularRodrigoTorresandthe
strikinggreyFogoso,Portugal
ledfromtheoutset.Despite
HayleyWatson-Greavesshowing
masterfulridingtoachieve
freestylethirdwitha veryspooky
RubinsNite,Britainhadtosettle
forsecond.
SwedentookoverallNations
Cupglory,theirresultalreadyin
thebagbeforethisfinal leg.

SAMEVENUE,
DIFFERENTSTAGE

“I’MsoexcitedI couldcry!”
exclaimedLouiseBell,onlearning
sheandIntoTheBluehadnotonly
achievedtheirfirstinternational
victoryintheCDI3*grandprix,
butalsoclaimedthefreestylewith
apersonalbestscore.
Louiseis nostrangerto
winningatHickstead—she
and“Dynamo”weretwice
crownedworkinghunter
supremechampionattheRoyal
Internationalhere.Sincetaking
up dressage in 2012 thanks to an

H&Hdisciplineswitchchallenge,

theyhavesoaredthroughthe

ranks.It wasfittingherfirst

internationaldressagewinsshould

takeplaceonHicksteadsoil.

Louiseandthe12-year-old

hadjustreturnedfromtheirthird

NationsCupteamappearanceof

theseasonatCHIOAachen,but

theUblescogelding—whowas

bredbyJohnWhitaker—showed

nosignsoffatiguewhatsoever,

with Louise reporting he was

“wild”inthegrandprixwarm-up.

“Dynamowassquealingand

creatingsomenewdressage

movesoutthere,butI wasluckyto

haveCarlHesterwarmingmeup,”

shesaid.“Wehadmistakesinour

changesinAachenlastweek,so

Carlhadmeridingtwochanges,

thena circle,twochanges,thena

circle.Itworked.”

Theirsmartgrandprixearned

70.3%,beatingLauraTomlinson

andthepowerfulRhodium

stallionDuval’sCapriSonneJr

byjust0.15%.Whilethefirst

testhada few“crafty”moments

fromthecheekyroan,helooked

utterlyfocusedasheenteredthe

ringforthefreestyleonthefinal

afternoon.Thepairstruttedto

theircatchypop/countrymedley,

withbeautifullyrhythmicpiaffe

andpassage,andclean,confident

tempichanges.

“Afterourgrandprix,Carltold

metherewas5%moreinthere,

soI can’twaittotexthimandtell

himI’vealreadyfoundthe5%,”

laughedLouise,whoscored76%.

“Dynamo’sbeensosaucy

thepastfewdays,buttodayhe

actuallyfelttiredforonceandI

wasn’tsureif it wasenoughwhen

I cameout,”sheadded.“Itfelt

harmonious,though.He’sgotto

bethehappiesthorseindressage.”

‘WHATI’VEWORKED

FORALLYEAR’

BRITISH-BASEDPortuguese

riderLuisPrincipecontinued

hissuperrunofformthisyear,

winningtheprixstgeorgeswith

hispowerful12-year-oldgelding

RSRaphaelontheirhighestscore

sofaratthislevel,73.47%.

Butit wasBritain’sJessDunn

whoprevailedatinterI withthe

14-year-oldCaricelloson,Alicante

Valley.Thepairhavehardlybeen

outofthetopthreeinternationally

thisyearandtheywereconvincing

winnersofFriday’sstraighttest.

The gelding is powerful and Jess

admitsthatshehasstruggledto

dealwithhisstrengthattimes,

especiallyintrot.Buta strict

diet—“hegetsfatofffreshair”—

anda focusontransitionsintheir

schoolingathomehasmadeall

thedifference.

“Thisweekhehasdonewhat

I haveworkedforallyear,”said

Jess,whowentontotoptheinter

I freestylethefollowingdaywitha

chunky77.4%.

Itdidn’tallgotoplan,though.

Themusicthatbeganplayingat

thestartofhertestwasnothers.

But despite this and admitting

shedoesn’tthinkofherselfas

a goodfreestylerider—“Iget

nervousandI liketohavea plan”

—Jessstayedcalm.Oncethe

correctmusic,fromTheGreatest

Showman, finallysounded,she

produceda supertestwitha high

degreeofdifficulty.

“Ididn’tknowwhattodoat

thestartasI’veneverhadthat

happenbefore,”saidJess.“The

musiccameonandit wasn’tmine,

thenit cameonforsecondtime

andit stillwasn’ttherightmusic.

“Butit didn’taffectus.This

was the first time I was at the right

‘I actuallyfeelevenstrongerinthe

saddlethanlastyear.Maybethe

babybreakhashelped’

LARA BUTLER ON HER DOUBLE CDIO3* VICTORY

LouiseBellthanksherformershowhorseIntoTheBlueaftertheir

first international dressage wins — including a 76% personal best