Becky Moody lifted another title at the Lemieux National Dressage Championships, this time in the TopSpec Medium Gold championship aboard Jo Cooper and Pat and David Webster’s lovely stallion Jack Diamond.
Their score of 73.027% reigned over the second placed combination of Sarah Wilkinson and Koko II who finished on 71.811%.
The Electron seven-year-old Jack Diamond is out of the Diamond Hit daughter Ujenent and has been based with Becky since he was a prospect three-year-old. While today he’s certainly capable of producing championship-winning tests, Jack Diamond has been a ‘slow burner’ in the arena.
Consequently, this is Jack Diamond’s first full season between the white boards after only contending a couple of four-year-old classes when he was eligible.
“He hasn’t done anything else until this year,” Becky said. “I was slightly disappointed with the ride he gave me in the seven-year-old final; I didn’t keep him quite sharp enough and he didn’t show himself off as well as he can do. He was good, if a little tired, in the medium as the previous test was only an hour before. He’s a phenomenal horse and there are a lot more marks in there.”
Becky said her winning test was ‘solid’ with pleasing trot work, but that the canter needs improving. Training wise, Becky has given Jack Diamond ample time to find his feet:
“His trot was beautiful but the canter still needs work. He does very good simple changes but the basic quality of the canter still needs to get better. It’s just time. Thankfully, I’ve got a very good team and my sister, Hannah, rode him for a while when I was struggling with him. Having someone else on him really helped.”
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Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 since when she has cemented its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK.
