Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 89

Equestrian
Sampson. What started off as a pleasant
trot ride ended up being a flat-out gallop
along Bleakdown main road! Despite
going along at breakneck speed, legs
going all over the place, we managed to
thank every bewildered car driver who
slowed down as we sped past!”
He might be something of an eccentric,
but Scooby’s energy and striking good
looks come into their own in competition
events.
Heidi competes him in unaffiliated and
affiliated dressage events - scrubbing
him to within an inch of his life ready
for competitions! Horse and rider have
qualified for the British Dressage Pet Plan
Area Festival and Heidi hopes to compete
with him at Crofton in October .
Meanwhile, Scooby is kept busy by
another local rider Jessie Vanassche,
Mitsubishi Motors Cup Runner up, who
competes him in showing, jumping and
cross-country events, whilst Sarah Holmes
hunts him through the winter with the
IW Foxhounds, competes him in jumping
events and rides him cross-country.
Says Heidi: “I had no expectations at all
when I entered him and Jessie into the
2014 County Show but we came away
with two class wins and two championship
titles, which was fantastic! Jessie rode
him brilliantly and we got loads of great
compliments.”
On the back of their 2014 successes,
they entered the same classes in 2015,
and again came away with two class
wins, a championship title and a reserve
championship title.
“I was absolutely over the moon to come
away from the 2016 County Show with two
class wi