Riding only his fifth test at this level, Nick Lawson netted the Saracen Horse Feeds Intermediate I Silver Championship riding the magnificent black gelding IceBlue Valentino (Apollo) on day three of the Lemieux National Dressage Championships.
19-year-old Harlem gelding Apollo, who is out of Rimea, is a new ride for Nick this season.
“This is only my fifth inter I and I’ve only had the ride on Apollo since the start of the summer,” confirmed Nick. “He was originally bought by Jenny Price and Gloria Long for my partner, Mark Walters, to ride and he’s trained him all the way up. This year they decided to give me some outings on him to get some experience at this level. I’m so grateful and it’s paid off. We’ve had great fun today.”
Apollo’s test score of 67.763% was enough to just pip Emma Jablonski and Higgens Van De Uilenhoek into second on 67.579%.
“He was really with me today,” Nick added. “He took me around the test which is something he doesn’t always offer. I came out with a smile on my face as he did most of the work in there.
“He’s a really straightforward horse and is very easy to work with. He’s a bit of an introvert actually; he goes into himself at times.”
Nick and Mark are based in Shropshire and run the training and livery yard Corvedale Equestrian.
“We’ve recently started breeding, too, so it’s an exciting time,” said Nick. “It’s been a few years since I won one so I was ready for this day; it’s been amazing.”
Emma Jablonski was advancing on her third place achieved in yesterday’s prix st george at the National Dressage Championships.
Third was Georgina Howard riding Lovely Illusion (67.079%).
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