Natalie Widdowson stars in dressage contest (From Gazette & Herald)

Natalie Widdowson stars in dressage contest

9:00am Wednesday 10th October 2012 in Equestrian

NATALIE Widdowson enjoyed sparkling success representing England and the Northern region at the British Dressage Senior Home International which took place at Addington Manor in Buckinghamshire.

Across a weekend of intense competition and highly-polished performances, Natalie and her talented chestnut gelding, Gorgeous George, finished high in the rankings when placed fourth on two occasions in the warm-up classes with a personal best score of more than 70 per cent at Medium level.

“We had an amazing weekend and George was the best that he has ever been,” said Natalie, who is based at Flixton, near Scarborough.

After an impressive performance in the first team test, Natalie was delighted to secure third place among a very strong class of almost 40 competitors, but little did she realise that the best was yet to come.

“I was over the moon when we won the second team test,” said Natalie, speaking of the victory which elevated her towards the top of the individual rankings to finish Reserve Champion. Natalie’s team finished eighth out of 35 teams taking part.

Cara Shardlow, from Sneatonthorpe, near Whitby, also put in some very smooth and consistent performances on board her six-yearold gelding, Detonator II. Cara, riding at Elementary level, finished 15th after her first team test but rose up the rankings to finish in sixth place after her second test.

This put the combination in individual ninth overall, while the team finished in fourth place.