The 2022 British Carriagedriving National Championships are taking place this week, 23rd-25th September, at the David Broome Event Centre in South Wales. #TeamSUCCEED member Rosanna Walters-Symons will be competing there.
Rosanna is one of Britain’s top carriage drivers, having competed for Great Britain at five FEI World Championships, where she’s won two individual medals and one team medal—all before the age of 30. She is also the reigning Single Pony National Champion. This year, she has dropped down from top ‘advanced’ level to open, to compete the young but highly promising Polmesk Caesar (or Brock, as he is known).
Rosanna began the year without a drive for this season, having retired her 18-year-old Hurricain after last year’s World Championships at Le Pin au Haras, France. However, the opportunity to drive Brock, an 8-year-old Welsh Section-C gelding, came earlier this summer when his owner, Ruth Martin, contacted Rosanna looking for a new driver for him.
Rosanna began driving Brock at the beginning of June, and the pair had just two weeks to get to know each other before competing at the prestigious Sandringham Horse Driving Trials on the King’s estate in Norfolk. Brock’s potential was clear to see, however, as Rosanna comfortably won the open class there against an experienced field. After another promising outing at Windsor Park, the next and final challenge for the season is the National Championships.
The National Championships follows the traditional three-day format, with dressage on Friday, marathon on Saturday, and the all-important cones on Sunday. Of the competition, Rosanna said “The David Broome Event Centre is a fantastic venue for the National Championships as it’s the only one on the British driving circuit where dressage and cones are driven on a surface, rather than grass, which I always feel brings out the best in the ponies. It’s also a tough marathon course, especially if it rains, with quite a few slopes that can catch you out if you’re not on your game.”
Rosanna has been feeding SUCCEED to Brock since he arrived with her in June.
Rosanna will travel with Brock and her backstepper (and husband!), Ben, to South Wales on Wednesday (21st) and will be sharing exclusive content and updates with SUCCEED e-newsletter subscribers and on her social media throughout the week.
