We had a lovely catch up with Shearwater Sponsorship Package winner, Sam Gomesz, to find out how her and Doughnut have been getting along…
“On Sunday 26th October Doughnut and I competed at the Chiltern & Thames Dressage Championships at Patchetts Equestrian Center. We did the Elementary 44, which was an open class and we got a very respectable score of 63.80%. The winning score was 67.80%. It was a very close field and we were up against some great horses and riders. I am delighted with Doughnut and so proud that we held our own in such a tight competition. The judge said Doughnut was “a handsome little horse with more to come once confidence develops”. As this was only our third time out at Elementary level I couldn’t be happier with our progress. He gave me a great ride, with no dramatics and no answering back. He was as cool as a cucumber coming off the trailer, and stood calmly eating his hay in the car park watching the world go by. He even stood reasonably still whilst I mounted and we didn’t even come close to running anyone over on the way to the warm up arena. If he isn’t careful people will start to think he has finally grown up and become sensible in his old age!”
“This summer has been full of minor equine injuries, and lots of human changes. The most significant being my very dear friend and coach, Laura Tester, moving away and me having to find a new instructor. It is never easy to replace someone you trust and respect but Laura helped me to find a new instructor before she left. So Doughnut and I are now training with Tom Pett who is great, and we are having lots of fun in our training sessions. It helps that he loves Doughnut…they have a bit of a ‘bromance’ going on!”
“At the end of November I am moving yards, which is very exciting, but also sad as I have been on my current yard for almost nine years and will be leaving behind some wonderful people…both human and equine. But change is good and I am very excited about mine and Doughnut’s future! We have a fabulous partnership and I’m looking forward to getting him out to some more shows and gaining more confidence and experience together.”
“We hope you all have had a successful summer season and we wish you lots of luck as the winter season kicks in!”
shearwaterinsurance 