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Alice Wotton from Twinstead, Sudbury in Suffolk has won the Petplan Equine Medium Restricted Championship at the Petplan Equine Area Festival Finals on Belcanto Des Anges. After qualification at Sheepgate Equestrian Petplan Equine Area Festival in October 2015 the pair have spent the winter preparing for this prestigious event held at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire from 6th – 10th April 2016.

Belcanto Des Anges is a Dutch bred 10 year-old gelding sired by Florencio owned and ridden by Alice. The partnership clearly impressed the judges achieving a personal best combination winning mark of 73.08% clearing the rest of the competition by almost five per cent.

Twinstead-based rider Alice was delighted with the performance, “I don’t know how I feel because it doesn’t seem real,” she commented. “I’m so happy. It all came together, which I can’t believe because I was so nervous! I knew he had the ability and potential to win but it’s just me and being able to do it myself. He had a lot of energy today, so I had to ride carefully and try not to make any mistakes. He was really good though his arena was right next to all the tents and he was fine, I’m really proud of him.”

Petplan Equine Area Festivals, now in their 17th year provide riders across the levels from Prelim to Intermediate I with the chance to experience the thrill of competing in true championship conditions. There are 19 Petplan Equine Area Festivals around the country with almost 4,000 horse and rider combinations taking part with the aim of qualifying and winning one of the coveted titles.

Kate Hopkins, Marketing Executive at Petplan Equine, commented; “Participation in the Petplan Equine Area Festivals increases year on year and the standard rises at every Championship. We are delighted to see how important the Area Festivals have become to amateur and aspiring dressage riders. We are really proud to sponsor a series which gives riders at the grassroots level a chance to showcase the depth of talent that is out there. We would especially like to congratulate Alice and Belcanto Des Anges on their fantastic win and wish her the very best of luck for the future.”

British Dressage’s Chief Executive Jason Brautigam said: “I am so impressed with the level of participation in the Petplan Equine Area Festivals series. This amounts to an astounding 47% of all British Dressage members qualifying to take part in the series, which is something to be applauded. Petplan Equine’s on-going support of these championships has helped us develop the series into something which is now part of the sport’s fabric; they’re intrinsic the calendar.”

Further information about the Petplan Equine Area Festivals and how to qualify for next year’s finals is available from the Petplan Equine website at: www.petplanequine.co.uk/area-festivals/area-festivals.asp

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• Petplan Equine offers comprehensive insurance cover for horses and ponies aged from 30 days. Established 27 years ago, Petplan Equine understands the evolving equestrian market and strives to enhance knowledge and understanding of the equine world through employing horse enthusiasts and working closely with the equine industry.
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