Grand Prix circuit is Moody's motivation

One year after winning the 2015 Inter I Freestyle, Moody went one better on Carinsio at this year’s championships by claiming the Monarch Equestrian Inter II Gold Championship title.

The gelding, by Painted Black and owned by Anne and Patrick Moody and Julie Lockey, won convincingly with 73.66 per cent ahead of Gareth Hughes on new ride, Don Carissimo, who scored 72.11 per cent.

Buoyed by her latest success at the event held in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, Moody is now hoping the rise up the ranks continues further still next year.

“I would like to think that training the horse to Grand Prix has always been our goal with him,” said the Sheffield rider.

“I have brilliant support from my trainer David Hunt and he is a big believer that you should always be aiming for that, so he was ready for the step up to Inter II because of the training we’d been putting in along the way.

“He’s stepped up really easily.

“Next year he’s going to go proper Grand Prix and I’d like to do some internationals with him then.”

Moody has had Carinsio since he was three years old with the gelding having progressed up the levels with ease, dominating the small tour classes in 2015.

And now Moody and Carinsio have proved victorious on a national stage on just 
their fifth attempt at Inter II, having won at three Premier League events over the summer.

Their score at last weekend’s nationals secured for the duo a new personal best by two per cent.

Moody beamed: “I was really pleased with how the horse went and there were a lot of super combinations in the class so I’m feeling good.

“He’s a really funny horse, when I’m doing things – trotting, cantering and keeping busy – he’s absolutely brilliant, he’s not spooky and it doesn’t faze him.

“The hardest thing is when you’re walking and he’s got time to think about what’s around him.

“So I was pleased that we actually did walk!”

Moody added: “I was really pleased with the canter pirouettes.

“It was a nice, safe, clear round, but there’s still lots of room for improvement.

“He needs to get a little stronger and his passage needs to be a little sharper but overall it was a good solid test.”

There was further notable success for Yorkshire in the championship’s finale Where Olympic gold and silver medallist Charlotte Dujardin topped the Shearwater Young Horse Championships five-year-old class on Mount 
St John stud’s Mount St John VIP.

Three titles were there for the taking between 12 combinations aging from four to six-years-old.

For the climax of this finale, Eva Möller was the ride judge, a talented German young horse trainer at the world renowned Hof Kasselmann in Hagen.

In the five-year-old section, Charlotte claimed her sixth title of these championships this time on Mount St John VIP, sired by Vivaldi, who Eva described as “everything a rider wants”. The mare qualified at the Hartpury semi-final posting the highest young horse score on that day.

“She’s amazing, an incredible mare to ride and everything you would want from a five-year-old” said a delighted Charlotte who is evidently very excited about this young prospect.

“I knew Eva would love her as she’s so light in the hand and responsive to your leg.

“After she’d ridden her, Eva said she was ‘beautifully trained’ which was a really nice compliment.”