Ben James and Clapton Banks Primadonna, winners of the Petplan Equine Area Festival Elementary Bronze class, from Radstock, delivered a great performance to head this extremely competitive class at Hartpury College, on 20th April.

Competitors at the Petplan Equine Area Festival Winter Championships qualified for the much sought after chance to take the top prize via 18 Area Festivals held around the country during January and February 2023. Out of 2,877 horse and rider combinations taking part, 500 qualified for the Championships at all levels from Preliminary to Inter I.

The partnerships competing for the Petplan Equine Elementary Bronze title had to give their all to show off their horses ‘star quality’ on the day. It was a serious accomplishment to finish on top of the leader board.

On Clapton Banks Primadonna’s performance on Thursday, Ben told The Journal: “It was back two and a half years ago I sat on a dressage horse and I was converted to Dressage. Previously I show jumped including international classes. Now I compete British Dressage. In order to get the horses to the PetPlan Championships, I first had to compete at more local shows to build points to then compete at the qualifying shows.

“It was at the qualifier that I won my class and came third in another class, these results gave me the opportunity to enter and compete at Hartpury Arena where we won the elementary Bronze championship class.

“It was such a magical feeling to be there at that big show, let alone be a winner, we won a lovely sash, large rosette, PetPlan rug and prize money.

“I have only had Diva for fifteen months now so this is a huge achievement. At the same show, the day after, I was lucky enough to pick up a third place on the novice silver class, each of these classes had close to 50 entries. I look forward to achieving more of my goals throughout the year.”

The leading lights from the Winter Area Festivals have certainly risen to the challenge of this Championship where they could be sharing the warm-up arena with international dressage stars and Olympic medal winners. Clapton Banks Primadonna, an 11-year-old, black mare, and Ben were rewarded for all their hard work and training by the judges to achieve a winning score of 71.08%.

One of the UK’s leading horse insurance providers Petplan Equine is now in the 24th year of sponsoring the Area Festivals. The series aims to give grassroots riders the opportunity to experience the thrill of participating in top competition style conditions in classes from Preliminary to Intermediate I level. In that time, they have become known affectionately as the ‘Petplans’ by the many thousands of riders who have taken part.

“It has been a great pleasure for Petplan Equine to watch the Area Festivals develop over the years into the highly respected series it is today. Every year we hear stories of outstanding dedication, perseverance and commitment shown by the competitors, most of whom work full time and have families but still manage to train, qualify and compete at the Area Festivals and for the really lucky one the Championships here at Hartpury.

“We know how much this competition means to everyone involved and we are extremely proud of our relationship with British Dressage and the commitment of the team there, the venues and the judges who contribute so much to the success of the events which lead to the Championship. I am so happy to congratulate Ben and Clapton Banks Primadonna on their victory. We wish them the very best of luck for the future,” commented Rosie Bee, Brand Marketing Executive at Petplan Equine.