Dantina dances to glory

Sadie Smith continues riding the crest ofa wave, while Becky Moody proves. queen of the music and a breakthrough star claims his first national title

- LUCY ELDER and POLLY BRYAN

SADIE SMITH well and truly left the opposition in her wake as she headed the Magic prix st georges (PSG) gold. Sadie rode a blinder of a test on her stunning eight-year-old Dante Weltino mare Swanmore Dantina, posting 77.06% to finish almost 5% ahead of second-placed Becky Moody on James Bond II.

Since winning the six-year-old national title in 2021, “Dia” has gone from strength to strength under Sadie, recently scoring a small tour hat-trick at the Addington CDI, and once again she rose to the occasion in super style here. The pair were last into the ring, and their PSG test was fluent, expressive and mistake-free.

“She’s amazing because she always goes in the ring and is the same, and just gets on with the job,” said Sadie. “She’s so quick to learn and always tries. She’s bold and brave no matter what situation you put her in. She’s level-headed too, and never gets tense in her body.

“When I bought her she had three lovely paces but not ‘wow’ paces. But now, because of her temperament and trainability she has really learnt the suspension in trot, and she tries to use every part of her body the best way she can. That’s quite rare.”

Becky kept herself ahead of Sadie and Dia in the Magic PSG freestyle, the first of two freestyle titles the Sheffield-based rider claimed over the week. Her PSG music champion, the nine-year-old Desperado x Fidertanz stallion James Bond II, has found an extra dose of power over the past few months.