Dressage rider from Exeter is Petplan Equine Area Festivals champion

Winners of the Petplan Equine Medium Under 21, Danielle Balsdon and Lord Lennox from Poltimore in Exeter were delighted with a top place position in a very competitive class at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire on Sunday 7 April 2019. 

Danielle was thrilled with Lord Lennox’s performance in an electrifying atmosphere with some exceptional partnerships competing for the Petplan Equine Medium Under 21 title.

“I’m totally overwhelmed and wasn’t expecting this. He did some of his best ever trot work today but as usual made me ride every step of canter. Today’s the first time he held it all together through the whole test; he’s hard to get a consistent test from,” summed up Danielle,

The combination qualified through two rounds of competition and won their place at the Championship at the Petplan Equine Area Festival Final at Bicton Arena in 2018.Lord Lennox is a 16.1hh nine year-old black gelding, sired by L’Espoir. The partnership clearly impressed the judges with an elegant performance achieving a winning score of 68.73%.  

The Petplan Equine Area Festivals provide riders from Preliminary to Intermediate II level with the chance to experience the thrill of competing in top competition style conditions.  24 Area Festivals took place all around the country in 2018 and eight Area Festival Finals where those contending the Championships qualified.

Kate Hopkins, Marketing Consultant at Petplan Equine, commented; “Every year the Petplan Equine Area Festivals deliver more participants and even more truly inspiring stories from grass roots riders whose aim is to make it to these Championships.  The standard of competition is always beyond expectations and Petplan Equine is extremely proud to be a sponsor of a much loved competition. Celebrating the talent of our amateur dressage riders and their equine partners is what the Petplan Equine Area Festivals are all about. We would especially like to congratulate Danielle and Lord Lennox on their fantastic win and wish her the very best of luck for the future.”

British Dressage’s Chief Executive Jason Brautigam said: “As another year goes by and we are back at the Petplan Equine Area Festival Championships, I am once again captivated by the dedication and commitment shown by the competitors.  This is the real grassroots of our sport in action and the standard reached is to be applauded. In 2018 even more people experienced the feeling of top class competition which the Area Festivals deliver year on year – with the Championships at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire being the icing on the cake.  We will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Petplan Equine’s support of the Area Festivals when the new series starts in May and we look forward to marking this landmark occasion. Petplan Equine is a loyal, committed and trusted supporter of our sport and of our members who participate in the Area Festival Series.” 

Further information about the Petplan Equine Area Festivals and how to qualify for next year’s finals is available from the Petplan Equine website at: www.petplanequine.co.uk/area-festivals/