Wainwright aiming to make it a treble with his Dark Bacardi star

Wainwright, 18, qualified for three different events at February’s Winter Regionals at Bishop Burton College, giving him a treble chance at bettering last year’s Novice Restricted Freestyle sixth.

Riding 16th birthday present Dark Bacardi in all three events, York College pupil Wainwright is again back for another crack in Friday’s Blue Chip Novice Restricted, with the teenager also bidding for glory in tomorrow’s Baileys Horse Feeds Novice Open Music Freestyle and Friday’s PDS Saddles Elementary Restricted Music Freestyle.

Five days of competition begin today and Yorkshire is represented by a strong contingent in Gloucestershire with class acts such as Becky Moody bidding for glory.

Wainwright, though, says to have merely qualified for three finals has left him on cloud nine.

“To go with three chances, I’m overwhelmed,” Wainwright told The Yorkshire Post.

“I could never have imagined it and it’s a dream. More than a dream. It’s the impossible dream.

“I could never really have expected to do this well but, at Bishop Burton, Dark Bacardi went the best he’s ever gone.

“He performed to the top of his game, especially in the Elementary because that was a personal best for me in that music.

“Dark Bacardi has completed dreams for me and he’s just becoming a horse of a lifetime.”

Assessing his aims for Hartpury, Wainwright added: “My aim this year is to go and get a top-six placing again.

“For one of the Novices, to try and get in the top six again would be excellent and, for the Elementary, if I could get a top-10 place I’d be over the moon.”

Whitby’s Cara Shardlow has also qualified for two finals with Detonator II leading her charge in today’s Charles Owen Advanced Medium Restricted.

Rythmic Times also bids for glory in Sunday’s Petplan Equine Area Festival Advanced Medium Restricted.

On the eventing front, Breckenbrough’s Chloe Bell enjoyed a brilliant home victory as part of a one-three at the weekend’s Breckenbrough Horse Trials.

Chloe – 17-year-old daughter of Trials organiser Helen – won the Open Novice Under-18 event on Feagh Delamain in which her Cavalier In A Million was also third.

In other highlights, Briestfield’s Badminton Grassroots entry Alexandra Farrar-Fry won her BE90 class on Santiago S.

Her Badminton hopeful, Grey Finnsky, was 20th in his BE100 class.

This weekend sees classes at up to CIC three-star level at Belton Park International in Lincolnshire.

Huddersfield’s world no 4 Oliver Townend, who is also in action at Sapey today and tomorrow, has seven horses entered while Northallerton’s Nicola Wilson sends four.

The Yorkshire Area Point To Point season continues this Sunday with the fixture at Cleveland, Mordon.

In the show-jumping sphere, Sheffield’s Matthew Sampson and his own Amadeouse De Hurtebise saw off 69 other combinations to land the Blue Chip Pro Challenge at the 24th Blue Chip Winter Showjumping Championships in Hartpury Arena.

The nine-year-old bay gelding Amadeouse was bought in Belgium and progressed on the Vejer de la Frontera tour, Spain, from 1.30m to 1.45m.

“He’s inexperienced but he’s a character and a lovely horse,” said Sampson.

“He always has his ears forward.”

Running from October to March, eligible horse and rider combinations competed for the chance to qualify for the Blue Chip Showjumping Winter Championships at shows allocated all over the country.