Caitlin 'reigns' supreme at Belsey Novice Masters

... BIG interview update with Aberdeenshire eventer

ABERDEENSHIRE based eventer Caitlin Padfield took the top amateur award at Belsey Horse Trials winning the Novice Masters in May with the Irish Sports Horse Diamondgraaf Reign Dance.

Finishing on a dressage score of 35.1 and with the only double clear, Caitlin, from Daviot, Aberdeenshire, and 'Reign', a 16-year-old bay mare by Kroongraaf, owned by BHSII(T) instructor Frances Johnstone, led from start to finish as every combination bar them had faults in a tough showjumping course.

A clean pair of heels from Diamondgraaf Reign Dance on the cross country.

Purchased by Frances in 2020 from a HorseQuest advert, she asked Ashley Davidson to ride and jump Reign initially. But once Ashley had finished her university course and no longer had the time, the mare was moved to Caitlin and at just their third outing they won the BE90 Open Regional Championship at Hopetoun, and the combination have since been working their way up the levels.

After her Belsey win, Reign went to Osberton to contest the Intermediate - she had one jump down in a Foxhunter-sized showjumping and was clear cross country with a few time faults.

Frances said: "Caitlin was never going for the time at Osberton, just hoping for a good round which we got in spades. It was really class. Her next event is South of Scotland Horse Trials."

Frances keeps Reign at home but the mare has 'boot camps' with Caitlin where she stays with her rider for a week or so. With Frances she is lunged, loose schooled and does groundwork while Els Ralph hacks her.

"The Novice Masters was very exciting, it was the first step up from Novice, with a more difficult dressage and a bigger showjumping and she was amazing - I was a wreck!

"What makes her special is she has a huge heart and tries very hard, she uses her brain and when things go a bit wrong she's like a pony, chips in a stride and jumps," added Frances.

"Caitlin puts in a lot of work getting Reign fully fit and tuned up for events, throughout her training, time has been taken to make sure she understands what she's being asked to do and Caitlin has always taken her time to get things right.

"Polly Quail does a lot of her fittening work and when Caitlin was injured, she did a couple of competitions with her very successfully. Most importantly, I trust Reign with Caitlin - she is always calm and patient."

Reign has had a later start to eventing and Caitlin commented that no-one expected to have had the success the mare has had or for her to move up the levels so confidently over the past couple of years as Reign was really "very green" in eventing to start with.

"With her being 12/13 years old when I started riding her, we were not anticipating to have the successful Intermediate horse that we have now, added Caitlin.

"At her first Intermediate at Osberton the weather was really hot and because it was her first one we weren't running round for the time, but we were just trying to get a really solid run in with her and she absolutely did that!"

Although the Novice Masters at Belsay is described as an 'amateur championship', Caitlin, who now professionally backs and schools under the Team Padfield name with a group of staff to support her, is eligible as she has not completed a 4 or 5 star event.

"I've been a fully professional rider now for coming up to three years at least, it's such a grey area defining professional and amateur but I haven't done 5* and I haven't done 4* in the proceeding three seasons. Until I go 4* I am eligible to do the class again.

"I absolutely love travelling down to Belsey - it's a fantastic event, it's on old fashioned estate ground and the course design is pretty spectactular and they definitely make the use of their undulating ground and all the options that they have there in terms of fences and combinations. I've been going over several years and I've always loved going."

Caitlin's own horses are also doing well this season, with two exciting young horses, JJ'S Georgetta Du Rouet and Evita both campaigning at 100 and have already got double clears and top 10 finishes.

Cross country - tackling Intermediate for the first time at Osberton.

"We are off to South of Scotland next and I'm looking forward to running in Intermediate there with my older horses, it's the first time they have run in Intermediate and it's so exciting to have an event back again in Scotland," said Caitlin.

Team Padfield's Lucy, Polly, Laura and Katy are all eventing from the yard as well and they have all now stepped up to new levels this year with good results.

"I am aiming for Scone and Osberton at the end of the year, with Osberton for the bigger horses and Scone with the young ones as I can't take them all to every event, so I'm hoping to do the 1* with the young ones at Scone," added Caitlin.

"It's really a case of seeing what Reign qualifies for and managing her season so I don't overrun her and finding out what's best but I really enjoyed the long format at Osberton last year so I can see myself heading back down there and it just gives me a whole extra month to get her fit too.

"I'm hoping to move Reign up to 3* this year and I'm definitely focusing more on her flatwork and her fitness because that would be her two weak points.

"Her flatwork is correct but now we are moving up to new levels we are just trying to refine it and get her contact and submission even better, we tried the double bridle at Osberton which didn't go down very well, she was a bit offended at that! So we are going straight back into our snaffle for South of Scotland and hopefully that will put our marks a little bit more up there again.

"But she goes really confidently in the showjumping and in the cross country she felt really confident too, so it's just a case of getting her as fit as I can get her so she finds the time a little bit easier.

"She's not the most blood horse and I'm not sure we will find it the easiest to make the Intermediate times, she will take a lot of fitness prep and strengthening to stand a chance of coming near that clock at Intermediate but there is no reason why she can't still be competitive if we refine all our other disciplines.

"As Mr Brown is shared between Katy and I, then I think Katy is going to do the 1* at Scone on him and I will be doing the long format 2* at Osberton.

Jumping is Reign's forte - she has competed up to Foxhunter level showjumping with Caitlin.

To contact Team Padfield for schooling and backing services or horses for sale, Caitlin has a Facebook page or email cpadfield17@gmail.com