‘It could’ve gone either way’: comeback ride edges it in winter dressage championships thriller

Bryony Goodwin and Krack DE triumphed in a tightly fought Black Country Saddles advanced medium gold at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships, scoring 72.55%.

Third to go, Ruby Hughes and Claire Wyatt’s exciting stallion Fire Kracka – most recently seen representing Great Britain in the junior classes at Aachen’s Festival 4 Dressage – set the early pace with 72.04%.

It looked, for a while, like their score wouldn’t be matched – until Bryony and Krack DE entered the arena. Despite a mistake in one of the changes, consistent eights and a nine for paces in the collectives lifted them into the lead.

But – and it was a big but – Dannie Morgan and Fever Tree were still to come. The pair had already won Spillers medium freestyle gold as well as 45 of their last 51 tests. Fever Tree’s trot work was exceptional, but a mistake after the left half pass and a couple of blips in the changes kept the door open.

Everyone was glued to the live scoring as eights and 8.5s rolled in for the final movements and collectives. The score climbed – but in the end, fell just short: 72.5%.

“It was a huge, huge confidence boost,” said Bryony after the prizegiving. “The scores were so tight. We were watching the livescore come in – it was so tense waiting for those final marks. We knew it could have gone either way!”

Krack DE has a strong record at this level, having won the prix st georges (PSG) silver and taken second in the advanced medium at last summer’s National Championships. This win marked Bryony’s 10th national title.

But their week hadn’t started smoothly – they finished 16th in the Magic PSG gold earlier in the show, scoring 64.07%.

“I’m so proud of him,” said Bryony. “He got completely overwhelmed in the PSG – the atmosphere just got to him, and he had a bit of a meltdown.

“We took him home, put him in the field, then brought him back this morning, hoping for a confidence-building ride. And he was great – he just came out today and said, ‘Yeah, I can do this now.’”

“I was able to ride him forward in the changes, and his trot work is beautiful – the whole test felt like a highlight. He’s the most genuine horse. He tries so hard for me. Even the other day, when it was all too much, he wasn’t naughty – he just couldn’t cope. But then he comes back from it, trusts me to hold his hand, and lets me nurse him through it.”

Winter Dressage Championships: From wildcard to winter dressage champion

Kate Whitehead and Florisemo claimed the HorseHage prelim silver title, scoring 72.87%.

Lauren Burrows and Beaux Lyon – winners of the Baileys Horse Feeds novice freestyle silver the day before – were close behind in second on 72.53%, with Bradley Moore-Taylor and Urkalinde third on 71.47%.

Kate and Florisemo had finished third in their regional at Arena UK, securing one of the final wildcards handed out ahead of the championships.

“I’m still in a bit of a daze, to be honest,” said Kate. “I never thought we’d come here and win – it’s our first championships, and he’s exceeded my expectations by miles.”

She added: “I was more prepared for him than I was at regionals. He’s a cool character, so I thought he’d be fine there, but he spooked at the flowers.

“So at home, we set up a championship-style arena – complete with flowers – and schooled around that.”

Kate shares the ride on Florisemo with her trainer Katie Owens, who took reserve champion in the four-year-old class at last year’s National Championships.
“Katie tends to do the young horse classes, and I do the straight classes,” Kate explained.

Reflecting on her test, Kate said: “I always breathe a sigh of relief when we get into the canter – he just takes me forward in it. The trot, I have to work a bit harder for.

“We lost marks in the transitions at regionals, so I really focused on getting them right today. His walk is his party piece – he got a nine for his free walk.”

Despite her success, Kate still sees herself as very much on the learning curve: “I think I’m still quite amateur, and it’s a journey for both of us. We’re just taking each day as it comes and seeing where it takes us.

“But the most important thing to me is keeping him sound and letting him live like a horse – training isn’t the be-all and end-all for us.”

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