Diana's Just Wild About Harry

A horse of a lifetime triumphs, while a lovable rogue nails it with some fancy footwork and a powerhouse has an unexpected win in the medium silver

- Helen Triggs

DIANA BARLEY’S “horse of a lifetime” gained his second ticket to the championships with an impressive win in the inter I silver. The judges rewarded Nirvana Celestial (Harry) with 71.56%, with one judge awarding him over 75%, to give him a lead of over 3% from second-placed Rebecca Tilton and Valliant. Diana rode an accurate and flowing test with good-quality, balanced extensions on the 12-year-old Blue Hors Don Romantic gelding she has owned since he was five.

“He’s a dream to train,” said amateur rider Diana, who has trained Harry herself. “He qualified three days ago at prixst georges (PSG) at Oldencraig but today was the best ride I’ve ever had on him. We lost marks as I fluffed the two-time changes but everything felt easy. In the extensions he was just gliding across the arena. It’s nice when the feeling matches the score.”

Diana had a fine-tuning session with her long-term trainer, South African grand prix rider Natalie Hobday, before the show. “She told me that every time

I asked for bend, I must make sure he stays up [in the frame].”

Diana and Harry, who will aim for inter II next year, also work with Florian Bacher of the Spanish Riding School who is training the piaffe and passage in-hand.

Alicia Laughton, winner of the inter II title, has also trained her 15-year-old Dimaggio gelding, Armada Dante, herself.