Young dressage rider, Hannah Bown, felt on top of the world after she and her horse, Sandro’s Storm, won the Novice Restricted title at the British Winter Dressage Championships at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire last April.
Hannah (24) and the seven-year-old gelding by Sandro’s Dancer won the Blue Chip Novice Restricted Championship with a fantastic score of 71.09%.
After their success at Hartpury, Hannah promised her Mum, Sally, that she would compete at medium level by the end of the year. Being a perfectionist means that moving up the levels requires stepping out of her comfort zone, which Hannah isn’t keen on.
Sadly, just two weeks’ later, Sally died unexpectedly after a sudden cardiac arrest during a family outing – she was just 53.
Hannah said: “On 1 May 2016, our family were enjoying our annual bluebell picnic. The sun was shining and we were all having a lovely day. Mum was seemingly happy, healthy and normal but when walking home she announced that she had no feeling in her arm and then collapsed from a sudden cardiac arrest.
“It was only a couple of weeks after we won at the winter championships, so it really was a case of the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows. Mum was my biggest support and came to all of my competitions – so I felt I owed it to her to stick to our goal and compete at medium level before the end of the year.”
Hannah and Stanley, as he’s known at home, certainly fulfilled their promise in December when they were the top combination overall at their medium debut qualifier at Merrist Wood, Surrey. They also topped the bronze non-qualifier competition.
Winning the class with a great score of 69.03% – when neither Hannah or Stanley had previously competed at this level – is an achievement her Mum would be proud of.
Said Hannah: “Stanley has been my rock and my reason to get up each day. He’s kept me going when I’ve felt at my lowest. He’s amazing and knows exactly how I’m feeling. He tried his very best for me at Merrist Hill and was smiling all the way round!”
Stanley is fed on Fibre-Beet, which Hannah says helps keep him in tip-top condition for the dressage arena.
“When we first got Stanley, he was a weedy, black pony. Fuelled by Fibre-Beet, every week he’s getting stronger, more confident and improving his way of going. We’re looking forward to achieving great things in the future. I’m sure my Mum is looking down on us and smiling.”
A Super Fibre conditioning feed, Fibre-Beet is a formulated blend containing all the benefits of the original Speedi-Beet product, with added high quality alfalfa for optimum condition and to provide quality protein for muscle tone and function.
This high fibre feed has a high digestibility value providing slow release energy without the ‘fizz’. In turn this also helps generate heat, helping the horse to maintain core body temperature and keep condition.
Fibre-Beet also provides a good range of minerals, trace elements and amino acids, and has added biotin for hoof quality.
Ideal for horses and ponies susceptible to digestive upsets and very palatable for fussy eaters, Fibre-Beet also has a low sugar and starch content making it suitable for horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
Fibre-Beet can also be used as a forage replacer providing up to 60% of the daily forage allowance and is ideal for veterans even if teeth are poor or missing.
Soaked and ready to feed in only 15 minutes in warm water – ideal when it is cold in winter – or 45 minutes in cold water.
The RRP ranges from £12.35 – £13.30.
