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DECEMBER 2016
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DECEMBER 2016 NEW IMPORTED PRE MARE
SIMPATICA XXVIII - a lovely 6yo 16.2hh approved PRE mare imported from Spain and boy can she move! Undecided of whether to make her a dressage horse this year or put her in foal! ... decision decisions. But here's a little bit about her sire which is the brown stunner in the photos. The sire ARMAS TARUGO is Calificado Qualified and has also been designated a Recommended Sire for Dressage by the Ministry of Agriculture of Spain. Some of his prestigious awards to his name - ARMAS TARUGO is, possibly, one of the best and most complete PRE known today; In terms of Morphology, Movement, and Character. In 2007, he was Champion of Functionality at every competition he entered, and he was awarded Functionality Champion of Spain in that same year. 2009, he won the Champion Stallion (CAMPEÓN de LA RAZA) and Champion of Functionality in Jerez. His offspring in Spain have excelled in the breed ring as well as dressage, including his son "Montes II", who was two year old Champion and Reserve Champion Young Horse of Spain. Armas Tarugo was purchased by Yeguada San Francisco in 2010 and he moved to Mexico, where later that year he was declared Champion Stallion and Absolute Champion of Functionality at Anccemex 2010. ************** The sire - AMRAS TARUGO
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DECEMBER 2016
Both SHAKIRA's sire & dam were bred and imported from one of the oldest and most highly regarded PRE studs; 'The Candau family' have been breeders of the classic Pura Raza Española horse in Spain for 6 generations and were recently named 'Best Dressage Breeder at SICAB 2016. HANNA PODEROSO holds very impressive dressage genetics; sharing some of his genetics with PRE stallion Olympic sensation FUEGO DE CARDENAS via his sire line. He also shares genetics with UBIO, the first ever PRE stallion licensed for a German Warmblood Studbook, and ILLES, who is one the dressage mounts of Victor Alvarez.
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2nd DECEMBER 2016 HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY SAMMY (Hanna Poderoso)!! I hope you liked your present this morning and I hope you're a dad next year!
x Thanks for the laughs my friend. |
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OCTOBER 2016 Amazing competition at Australian Dressage Championships! Eddy (Andaluka Elegido) Australian Dressage FEI Para Equestrian Grade Ib Champion Sam (Hanna Poderoso) Australian Dressage FEI Para Equestrian Grade Ib Reserve Champion GO THE PREs!!!!!!!!!
Back in 2011 I purchased a 6 month old colt and imported him to Australia from NZ to be my future 'para horse', and I'm proud to say I've kept to my word. Sam (Hanna Poderoso) had his first start at FEI para at age 'nearly' 6... big ask for a young stallion as my grade requires a lot of walking but we did 2 clean, accurate tests, received great scores and a great individual score of 68.2 from a 4* judge with positive comments of Sam being a great prospect for the future and beautifully educated. Sam came second to Eddy in all his tests and Mr. flamboyant Eddy won the blues with good scores. We also represented NSW in the teams and took home another blue. Extremely happy and proud of my 2 PRE Spanish stallions who have been truly impeccably behaved. BIG THANK YOU to TECHNYFLEX for sponsoring products for the FEI Para Equestrian Champions ************** **************
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SEPTEMBER 2016 NSW State Dressage Championships couldn't have gone any better! Andaluka Elegido (Eddy) and I walked away with overall 'NSW State Champion Para Equestrian Grade Ib' with some super scores... 2013, 2014 and 2015 Eddy and I won the Grade II Championship so very pleased to continue my State title in a different grade which I was regraded into January 2016 due to my declined health. It has only been 4 months since my withdrawal from Rio Paralympic European qualifiers and since i found out about my neck (agh the dreaded neck!)...so this was a hard competition, overcoming many new physical challenges and also a few 'what if' moments ... but it's where i belong... in the saddle!! I wouldn't be in the position I'm at - health wise without my amazing physio Cat Croghan of Phyxit Physio who I see each week for treatment and of course... the neurosurgeons supporting my riding! Michael - by my side the whole time, kicking my butt and being the amazing groom ever for our Eddy. He was literally speechless when he saw marks in the 80s for my freestyle :) I have a super little team! Eddy - What a horse! my best mate. You leave me without words every time. I'm truly blessed to have you in my life, looking after me. A huge thank you to my sponsors Hygain, Technyflex, Mobicosa and IPAC for your continued support over 4 years. Lastly a big thank you must be made to the sponsors of the para awards Saddleworld Dural, Mitavite, Horse & Hound Specialist and Dural Saddleworld. Now we start preparing for Nationals which is in 5 weeks time :) **************
ANDALUKA ELEGIDO
El Caballero Dejado x Andaluka Maya
Approved PRE Spanish Breeding Stallion
**************
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AUGUST 2016 The end of a journey and the beginning of a new one! Big thank you to IRT England and IRT Australia for such a professional service of getting Celere to me safety in amazing condition from England to Australia. I cannot recommend their services enough and a special mention must be made to Amelia and Natalie for answering all my questions and emails 'hows my boy doing?'... pretty much every week lol! ... and lastly - AN ENORMOUS THANK YOU to my friends, family and my internet friends/followers for all your support. It's been a challenging few months with my neck diagnosis and withdrawal from my Rio qualifier campaign... but you know what... I have gold... he's standing in my paddock :) xx P.S in true Celere style he did have a roll in mud ************** |
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JULY 2016 Fantastic outing today with young Sam (Hanna Poderoso) up at Sydney Dressage Club. Impeccably behaved in every sense of the word... I mean he was SUPER chilled! He placed 3rd in the Official Novice 2.2 with an awesome score of 69.78% - one judge scoring them 71.42! great effort out of a field of 15 horses. Lots of 8s for the canter movements, lengthen trots and paces :) |
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JULY 2016 Go Eddy! ************** ************** |
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JULY 2016 What an awesome day with the Spanish boys! A great lesson on Eddy (Andaluka Elegido) with Dr. Gill Rickard; some great exercises and tips to take home and work on towards our upcoming comps I also took 5yo Sam (Hanna Poderoso) on his first outing in 14 months which was also our first ride off the property! Lost for words, he was focused and a super good boy
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JULY 2016 This morning I received a lovely Get Well Soon card handwritten by Ann Sudmalis MP. Over the past few years Ann has followed my journey, always sending cards of congratulations filled with words of encouragement. I admit I don't 'do' politics haha it all goes over my head but when I receive a card from Ann I see her as a compassionate person and I have nothing but respect for that.
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JUNE 2016 After weeks of uncertainty of whether i would ride again, I went out and competed in my first official Medium test. Lets be real... I made a complete mess of my first test and I threw my 1st place away with an error of course in the 2nd test....but I still had fun and did it! In movements to the right I received some great scores of 8s and 7.5s which I'm really proud of, shows our potential... movements to the left i scored not so good, which is expected as this is the side my neuro symptoms are the worse BUT I'm not going to use that as an excuse... back in the arena Tuesday and practice practice practice. But what a special boy my Eddy is, he never lets me down and truly tries his heart out x ************** **************
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JUNE 2016 Yesterday I attended the Miguel Tavora clinic with Eddy (Andaluka Elegido). I think this quote goes perfectly "Two feet move your body, 4 feet move your soul". Miguel helped me overcome a few confidence issues I was having with the half pass to the left (nothing wrong with it lol was all in my head!) and we worked on getting Eddy more active in the flying changes. I certainly had a smile on my face and a boost to my confidence, which was nice as it's been a tough few months as you all know. I'm now looking forward to this weekend where Eddy and I will be competing in the Official Medium 4.2 and 4.3 ************** **************
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MAY 2016 Martin and Libby Greet - Celere's super trainers in England have been keeping me up to date sending beautiful photos & videos of my Lusitano stallion - Celere, which always puts a smile on my face. I've been told Celere saw for the first time, deer's running through the bush whilst out on a hack ... I can only imagine how high he grew and which direction he wanted to run! lol glad it was Martin riding him and not me!! Celere is FINALLY a horse...out in a field each day sporting his new pink rainbow rug (it was on sale and the only fill left!) apparently he loves his field and spends all day grazing. I know in Europe it's not that common to have fields that the horses go into but I'm so happy he has this opportunity with the Greet's. This week Celere and Martin had an amazing day of competition... Celere's first time competing at medium level... walking away with 2nd and 4th in their 2 tests with very respectful scores. Super good boy! I absolutely love this horse and I can't thank Martin & Libby for all their support and fantastic care and training of Celere. ************** |
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APRIL 2016 BIGGEST smile on my face right now!! I've waited up till late to hear this news and share it with you all Celere took out two 1st placings at today's competition in England! Great comments from the judges "super horse with such expression and energy". Thank you so much Martin & Libby Greet for your outstanding professional training & care of Celere. WOOHOO Go the Lusitano! ************** |
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Finally I have answers for my symptoms and why I haven't felt like 'me'. I wont lie what I am about to explain is ... sad, but is part of my journey and is a story I've decided to share as I want to raise awareness of how crippling 'Rheumatoid' can be – it’s not ‘just’ arthritis!! I also want to express how important and vital it is to believe in your self and listen to your own body. Over the past month or 2 I've been having tingling in my hands, feet, 'crawling' sensations up my legs... tired and feeling just run down and at times a bit all over the place. My doctors believed I had 'anxiety' which I declared ‘they’ were a bit short of a quid and I refused anti-depressants. I wont lie I am a lion when it comes to my body, I 'know' my body and I’m not scared of telling doctors what I think... I’ve been around long enough fighting this disease to know when something’s wrong. One day I ended up breaking down in tears with my doctor as know one would accept something more was wrong, finally a doctor examined me and found a heart murmur which I'd never had before. I was sent for an ECG and MRI. Being persistent and knowing my body has saved my life. The MRI showed my spine has migrated into my skull towards my brain and spinal cord. This is a result from Rheumatoid. It has destroyed my neck/spine. The C1 and C2 vertebra's are bone on bone and the C1 has naturally fused to my skull, the Rheumatoid has destroyed the ligament, which holds the odontoid in place from migrating into the skull. I need high-risk surgery to stabilize my neck. I have no choice. If I don’t have the surgery – the outcome is self-explanatory. I wish I had a choice. The symptoms I've been having are neurological and part of 'this'. The longer I leave my neck like this the higher the risk I will have nerve damage, paralysis and the unthinkable. My spinal cord is OK but I need more scans at different angles as its extremely close and could be compressing. Sadly I had an MRI done in 2011... but... it was misdiagnosed, no one saw it?! (it was pretty obvious). The Odontoid had started to migrate back in 2011 and over the past 5 years it's progressed at a guess 1mm at a time. Which I look back and it's bloody crazy! I’ve been riding horses, traveling the world, doing hard-core gym sessions, training for the Paralympics, working on my farm lol I admit I don't do things by halves. So I've been 'lucky'. Am I angry it wasn’t picked up 5 years ago. Yes. I’m furious. But at the same time… I’ve lived and I’ve had an amazing 5 years. Since my news I haven't stopped at just one neurosurgeons opinion... I've spent days reading and I haven't stopped when I call up for an appointment and they say they cant see me for a 'few months' – I tell myself screw that and I send them an email or fax with a letter/scans and I feel blessed that these surgeons have taken the time to read them and squeeze me in within days knowing my situation is serious. You always have to push above and beyond. Lets be honest - there's not going to be a dumb neurosurgeon, but I need to find someone I believe in, is confident and understands me... my life. Will I ride again? In my mind and my heart - yes I will. My recovery is going to be very long, it could take a year or more but neurosurgeon #2 assured me 'we'll get you back on a gg' ... it may not be international competition but just to have that freedom of being in the saddle is comforting to me. Am I scared that after the surgery I could fall off? Well, it's a risk. - You can live your life in fear and not 'live’... or you can live and make the most out of life. My hips were replaced in 2004 and 2005... if I fall off with them the outcome would be horrendous... I could be driving my car and someone hits me, or I could be crossing the road and get hit... life is a risk and fear cant stop you from living. Speaking of 'fear', when I first found out this news I was crippled by fear, I was convinced I would die or become a quadriplegic - this was from information from neurosurgeon #1 and googling. My family, Michael, friends have saved me. When I haven't been strong they've been strong for me. All my health professionals - my chiro, physio... have all given me their personal numbers to call them at anytime when I’m having a bad day and need someone to talk to. I'm overwhelmed by the support I’ve had - I’m not just a patient to them. The para equestrian officials have been amazing and showed so much support and I’ve been able to call at all hours for a chat. I would be lost without the army of support around me. As I do feel alone, I don’t know why but when you’re at home with only yourself – the brain wanders. When that happens I’m learning to pick the phone up or talk to my dogs ? My horses... they don't understand, my beautiful young stallion Hanna Poderoso 'Sam' - looks at me as if he's saying 'why the f aren't you riding me... I'm bored' ... Eddy... my horsey soul mate - he knows... he leaves his dinner and rests his head in my chest while I cry, it's heartbreaking. He's proven he's one in a million time after time after time. Knowing this news I've been teaching Michael to ride... never been on a horse in his life but he's currently cantering on Eddy who has been so careful and understanding. It makes me very proud. Celere will be staying in England to further his education with Martin who today has another competition. Everything will all stay the same and be there waiting for me when I'm ready, I’m not selling any horses or jumping into decisions. I don't want pity, please don’t feel sorry for me! What is done is done. I want my story to really hit home – **believe in yourself and know your body**. Don’t be scared to be a lion and fight for your health and be smart… get a 2nd opinion… get 20 if it will make you feel better. Most of all live life and tell you’re loved ones you love them… don’t get so caught up in routines or self-absorbed goals – live life. xx
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APRIL 2016 Well I did it! Over the weekend I competed in my first medium test with Andaluka Elegido 'Eddy'
************** **************
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MARCH 2016 Hanna Poderoso "Sam" had his Spanish revision this morning and passed! He is now approved for breeding with the Spanish Studbook ANCCE. He was a super 'good boy' and a beautiful example of the breed. If you have a mare and thinking about the upcoming breeding season in a few months please don't forget I will be offering my 2 PRE APTO stallions - Hanna Poderoso and High Performance dressage stallion Andaluka Elegido AND... the beautiful Lusitano stallion Celere at stud. |
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FEBRUARY 2016 A huge welcome to my team professional rider & trainer MARTIN GREET! Words can't express the gratitude I have for Martin & his wife Libby who are helping to train & campaign CELERE whilst he is based in England. I truly can't wait to see what the future holds as Martin & Celere simply 'click' and have a great connection with one another, so much so Martin will tour with me for the European qualifiers! ONWARD & UPWARDS! |
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JANUARY 2016 So many announcements! LONG LISTED FOR RIO PARALYMPICS 2016! Next stage is after all the qualifiers have been completed the final Australian team will be selected. It doesn't stop there... I am proud to announce for another year I have been named on the Australian High Performance Para Equestrian Squad for 2016 and Andaluka Elegido named on the National Recognition Squad. GO TEAM! ************** **************
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JANUARY 2016 A huge thank you to my sponsors HYGAIN, TECHNYFLEX, MOBICOSA & IPAC for another year of support & sponsorship, I am overwhelmed by your generosity and on going support, this means the world to me. Not to go without mention, a huge thank you to NSWIS for renewing my scholarship as an Elite Athlete, this on going support helps greatly. Vic x |
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JANUARY 2016 Boneo CPEDI 3* 'Andaluka Elegido & Victoria' Achieved Rio Paralympics qualifier score. 2nd FEI Grade II Team Test 67.206% Four combinations received scores greater than 70% during today’s Freestyle and the results across the competition have been strong each day with several combinations scoring consistently in the low to mid seventies. In the team’s event the Australian team of Sharon Jarvis (Ceasy), Victoria Davies (Andaluka Elegido) Katie Umback (Gondskovlunds Marquis) and Joann Formosa (GB Winchster) achieved a combined 429.362 – the highest ever score of an Australian Para-Equestrian team.
************** ************** |
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DECEMBER 2015 From myself, Michael and all our fur kids... MERRY CHRISTMAS! 'May your Christmas and every day ahead sparkle with happiness and new surprises! xx www.victoriadavies.com.au |
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OCTOBER 2015 'Andaluka Elegido ‘Eddy’ and I had a very successful Australian Dressage Championships taking home FEI Para Grade II Champion 2015 and winning all our tests with improvements in our scores. 1st FEI Grade II Team Test, The conditions were very testing, especially Thursday with the torrential rain, 21mm to be exact during the time I was warming up and performing my test. I've been home for 2 days from High Performance Squad camp and the Australian Dressage Championships; I’m now getting ready to jump on a plane tomorrow headed for England where I will be training my European based Lusitano stallion Celere. I will have 3 weeks when I come back to Australia to prepare Eddy for the 1st Australian selection event for the Paralympics Rio. I’m feeling great! ************** **************
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SEPTEMBER 2015 #WeBelieve #GoAus #EquestrianAus #OneYeartoGo #ParaEquestrian Thank you to everyone that has shown their support along the way and I hope I can continue to inspire you all to always fight for what you believe in, never give up despite the challenges you may face and that anything is possible if you believe xx Website: www.victoriadavies.com.au
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AUGUST 2015 Andaluka Elegido 'Eddy' and I had an amazing time at NSW Dressage State Championships 2015! All that kept going through my head was 'if I sit down you'll never get me up again' lol I just kept going...I was extremely exhausted from the floods last week, but I went out there and did my best, which saw us improving our scores & gaining personal bests! We kept our title for the 3rd consecutive year winning Champion Grade II Para Equestrian and won all 3 para tests. Over 2 days I completed 5 tests and the highlight was placing 13th out of 30 in a very strong field of talented riders in the Novice 2.3! A big thank you to Adam from OZdressage for writing a fantastic article from States promoting the sport of Para Equestrian. Adam is a big supporter of us para riders & will be covering a lot of updates over the next few months so be sure to like Ozdressage on facebook. You can find the article here ************** **************
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AUGUST 2015 There have been very bad floods in our area and sadly we had to evacuate all our horses . SES couldn't get to our property to help us with sand bags so we made them ourselves from the sand of the dressage arena. By 5pm the water had risen 5-7 meters from our house. We managed to fill over 50 odd sand bags dragging them through rising water. Then we just had to wait. All our paddocks went under, the arena & sadly the stables/feed shed. By midnight the water had stopped rising & by 2am the water started to recede slowly. Thankfully the house didn't get damaged! We were able to bring home the 2 stallions Andaluka Elegido (Eddy) and Hanna Poderoso (Sam). Eddy got off the float and just STARED at all the water surrounding the property.. We are out of danger. No one was hurt. Just exhausted!! A big thank you to mum & dad for looking after & keeping our 5 horses safe during this horrible situation and thank you to everyone that has rung & messaged to see how Michael & I are xx
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AUGUST 2015 * I have 2 major updates to announce ** Celere is on his way to ENGLAND!! He left yesterday! I have been offered the opportunity to train in England :-). I'm very excited for Celere to begin his training and I can't wait to work together towards the qualifiers for the Paralympics Rio De Janeiro 2016 representing Australia and the Lusitano x ************** |
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JULY/AUGUST 2015 Today Michael & I had an early start & traveled to the AIS (Australian Institute Of Sport) in Canberra for the last Paralympic team processing!
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JULY 2015 We had an amazing day of competition at the Clarendon Winter Dressage Festival. Eddy received many compliments on how well he's looking and how 'chilled out' he is for a stallion, if anything he needed more energy which was needed for the novice 2.2 but we scored mid field out of a huge field so I'm pretty happy.
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JUNE 2015 I'm back from a 3 day clinic with Miguel Tavora. I felt like I was back in Portugal with the accent and wonderful teaching techniques. All I can say is WOW. In 3 days I feel Eddy and I have improved. I don't think Eddy has used his hind so much in his life lol. We worked on canter half pass, improving the trot for lengthening, shoulder in and traver. I can't wait to get out there and start competing medium! It's been a sad week knowing I should be in Hartpury but working with Miguel put the smile back on my face and I feel I have accomplished quite a lot this week with both Eddy and training Sam! I'm looking forward to my next lessons. ************** **************
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JUNE 2015 Great competition at Dressage NSW Clarendon with my main man Andaluka Elegido 'Eddy' we didn't compete in the open dressage as I wanted to run through my FEI para tests and with great work from both of us we were awarded two 1st placings. ************** **************
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JUNE 2015 Great weekend with the Spanish boys. Dressage in the morning with Eddy placing 2nd in Official 2.2 with 67.43% and 3rd for 65.69% in the 2.3... Silly me did an error which cost us 1st place and a higher score ************** **************
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MAY 2015 I LOVE THIS HORSE!! ************** **************
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MARCH 2015 EXCITING NEWS! I have been awarded with a scholarship with the NSW Institute of Sport! a program to assist elite and potential medal winning athletes at World Games, Olympic and Paralympic Games level. !HARD WORK PAYS OFF!
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MARCH 2015 Very proud of my 2 Spanish stallions today - Andaluka Elegido "Eddy" and Hanna Poderoso "Sam".
4yo Sam did 2 lovely Official Preliminary tests for his 4th outing
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FEBRUARY 2015 Media from HYGAIN Our sponsored rider Victoria Davies loves promoting her Spanish & Portuguese horses not only in dressage but she also takes the time to support the Andalusian Horse Association of Australasia (AHAA) as well. The photos of Victoria and her gorgeous Spanish stallion Andaluka Elegido "Eddy" speak for themselves. Huge congratulations on winning the AHAA NSW State Championships 2014 ‘Most Successful Exhibition’ and ‘Highpoint Score Competition Open Section’
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FEBRUARY 2015 Dressed in Pink for a good cause!
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JANUARY 2015 Eddy (Andaluka Elegido) and I had a great day at the Shoalhaven Dressage Club protocol day. A great opportunity to have a smaller outing before the big ones start. Each weekend in February I will be attending a competition right up till the weekend before I leave for Portugal. ************** **************
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JANUARY 2015 *** Introducing ***
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