A consistently strong performance across all three phases at the Keyflow Feeds Barbury International Horse Trials in Wiltshire saw Roxi Foster and her own, Dalsaans Hasty Prince take the prestigious Novice Master title.
A year on from the first pilot of this popular competition format, which debuted at Barbury International Horse Trials last year, the class returned with another strong field keen to do battle for the fantastic array of prizes on offer.
A solid performance for a score of 28.5 left Roxi and Dalsaans Hasty Prince well positioned after the dressage phase. They were lying fifth, which improved to fourth after a show jumping clear. It was all to play for over Alec Lochore’s challenging Novice track and with fault-free rounds in short supply, Roxi’s quick round for just 2.4 time penalties was enough to give them the win.
“I’ve had Prince since a four-year-old and he’s just turned 17, so it’s been a long time together,” said Roxi. “Over that time, we’ve done everything up from unaffiliated 80cm classes right through to 2*s. We’ve been lucky to have done lots of Novice and 2* classes, which have been amazing but does mean that Prince now has too many points to qualify for other finals.
“The Novice Masters has been brilliant as I am a true amateur (I work in Bristol and go home to Newquay, Cornwall each weekend to keep riding and competing) and his points do not put us out of this class so it gives us something special to aim for.
“The atmosphere at the Masters feels like a true ‘big’ event and it’s also nice to be against other amateurs without the pressure of being against the pros! We were lucky to go to Weston Park last year, where we finished fifth, and I hoped to do similar this year. We didn’t expect the win at all, but it all came together on the day and I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. Special thanks to my trainer Fred Scala for his endless shouting at me, which has improved our dressage score a lot.”
In addition to the honour of becoming the Barbury Novice Master, Roxi also received a whole array of fabulous prizes, including a HorseQuest winner’s rug, EHOA sponsored crystal decanter and championship rosette, British Eventing winner’s sash and rosette and prize bundles from both Bates Saddles and HorseQuest.
Everyone had plenty to take home, with the top placed riders receiving further rosettes and prizes and each competitor that took part being given a stable plaque bearing all sponsors names and a passport cover from HorseQuest.
The top six riders also earned themselves a ticket for the ‘Masters’ Big Prize Draw! The draw will take place at the end of all Novice and Intermediate Masters legs, with the overall winner receiving a year’s British Eventing membership for horse and rider, a year’s feed for one horse from Baileys and a £500 voucher from Jump for Joy. A runner up will also receive a £500 Jump for Joy voucher.
Our Top Six at Barbury, each receiving a ticket are:
- Roxi Foster and Dalsaans Hasty Prince (30.9)
- Megan Brown Don Stefano (32.7)
- Kate Welch and Dicali OHZ (33)
- Isabelle Downes and Granita (34.2)
- Pru Dawes and Monbeg Hendricks (34.4)
- Katy Sawyer and Greatest Time (35.2)
There were also a number of special awards presented by BETTALIFE, where the winner will be sent 1kg of PharmaPRO Total Equine Support:
Best dressage – Corinne Roberts & Recession (25.8)
Highest climber – Shannon Lewis & Great Jones
Highest placed veteran – Kate Welch and Dicali OHZ
Combination closest to the optimum time on the cross country – Samantha Simmons & Lusiana Sprite
The next Masters competition in the calendar will be the Novice Masters at Little Downham in Cambridgeshire, which takes place on 6-7 August.
The Masters are supported by the British Eventing partnership with funding from sponsors and partners including Baileys Horse Feeds, Bates Saddles, Bettalife, the EHOAand HorseQuest providing the prize money and prizes for the Novice Masters and Intermediate Masters Series, with further generous support from Jump 4 Joy in respect of the prize draw.
