A TALENTED dressage rider from Writtle put her skills to the test in two demonstrations at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships in Hartpury last week.
Bobby Hayler, 20, who is on the BEF's UK Sport funded World Class Development Programme, took part in a Pas de Deux (duet) with her father Paul on the Friday and Saturday evenings.
Performing to Toploader's Dancing in the Moonlight, Bobby rode Bob Garrett and Paul Hayler's Aldborough Rubenall.
"It was the most amazing experience," said Bobby. "The horses were great and seemed to lap up the atmosphere, and we had loads of positive feedback afterwards so it obviously went down well."
Bobby also took part in a master class with international dressage rider Richard Davison on both evenings, riding her Grand Prix horse, the 13-year-old gelding Luderitz.
The World Class Development Programme underpins World Class Performance and, together with the Equine Pathway, they comprise the Equestrian World Class Programme.
It incorporates the three Olympic sports of Dressage, Eventing, Showjumping and the Paralympic sport of Para-equestrian Dressage.
The aim of the programme is to have in place a sustainable system that can deliver more medals on the international stage now and in the future.
The programme has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, through Exchequer and National Lottery funds, via UK Sport since 1998.
