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British Dressage
News
Vote for the British Dressage Personality
of the Year 2008
May 23, 2008
 The British Dressage
office staff have finished sifting through all your
nominations for the 2008 BD Personality
of the Year and the three finalists are Anna Ross-Davies,
Jane Gregory and Gillian Green.
Here are some reasons why you could feel they are worthy
recipients of our inaugural award:
Jane Gregory
Jane Gregory (née Bredin) started out as a groom,
working her way up to become headgirl for former BD
chairman David Hunt. She represented Britain with Cupido
at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Jane has made a comeback
this year with Lucky Star. Due to their unexpectedly
good international results, they are now possible candidates
for the Olympics. She teaches and trains from her Wiltshire
base.
“
She has embraced her new training regime with Ulla
Salzgeber, which has improved Lucky Star beyond recognition.
I have never met anyone so hard-working or who pays
such attention to detail. She has completely inspired
me with her recent results and shows just what is possible
if you are dedicated.” Andrea Sexton
Gillian Green
Gillian, a full-time research assistant at the Macaulay
Institute in Aberdeen, has ridden since childhood.
She was about to “give dressage a go” and
become a British Dressage member when she had a nasty
fall while hacking a horse belonging to her sister,
who was ill at the time. Gillian was thrown into a
dyke, breaking her collarbone in three places, fracturing
eight ribs and breaking her shoulder.
Since affiliating in 2007, Gillian has competed at
nine competitions in addition to the Petplan Equine
Area Festivals. She won all except one, in which she
finished second. Her sister has trained her apart from
one lesson from Hannah Moody.
“
Gillian had a horrendous fall from my horse in November
2006 and still has not fully recovered. She decided
to join BD nevertheless and, together with her 15-year-old
part-Clydesdale Glenmarcus, begged lifts to competitions
and even rode along dual carriageways just to compete.
She became Scottish Prelim Area Festival Champion in
her first season. She went to the Petplan Equine Festival
Final in Gloucestershire having bought a lorry from
her savings. Gillian finished third in the novice and
seventh in the prelim and now has to sell the lorry,
as she cannot afford to keep it. I think she deserves
this award for pure determination and true joy of just
riding her horse.” Emily Green
Anna Ross-Davies
 The
Talland School of Equitation in Gloucestershire first
nurtured Anna’s talent for dressage. Anna
then went back to work at her first riding school,
where she trained an 18-year-old Cleveland Bay riding
school horse up to grand prix level. She is now a freelance
trainer and manager of Patchetts Equestrian Centre
in Hertfordshire, whose owner Donald McTaggart owns
her top ride, Liebling II. Last year, she was picked
as a reserve for the European Championships and ended
up being the only Brit to go through to the freestyle,
finishing 10th with nearly 72%.
“
Anna has worked so hard to get to the top – even
making sandwiches to help pay to keep her horses. She
was an inspiration at last year’s European Championships,
starting out as a reserve and then going on to be top-placed
Brit, helping Team GB to gain Olympic qualification.
“
She is an inspirational trainer who makes lessons great
fun. Even while she is busy with her own competitions
abroad, she always has time to find out how her pupils
have been doing back home and to support and encourage
them.” Claire Gallimore
Now it is up to you to choose the 2008 BD Personality
of the Year. Click
here to vote.
The winner will receive
their award at our 10th Birthday Ball on 7 June,
2008, at the National Motorcycle Museum near Birmingham.
Related Links
Jane Bredin's Cupido Passed Away
Hester Withdraws from British E.C. Team, Ross-Davies
Replaces
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