Gareth Hughes pilots remarkable family horse to grand prix freestyle victory at National Dressage Championships

“Some people have a family car. We have a family horse,” said Rebecca Hughes after her husband Gareth Hughes piloted the remarkable Classic Goldstrike to Kudos grand prix freestyle victory at the 2024 National Dressage Championships.

Gareth and Goldstrike came out on top of a close three-way battle, scoring 74.95% to just keep their noses in front of yesterday’s LeMieux grand prix winner Lewis Carrier, second today with 74.85%, and Laura Tomlinson on Soegaards Bon Royal, who finished on 74.6%.

And it was a heartwarming victory indeed – the 11-year-old Tango x Krack C gelding is ridden and competed by all three members of the Hughes family, who own him with Julia Hornig. This season he was reserve ride for Gareth’s 17-year-old daughter Ruby at the junior Europeans, while also competing at grand prix with both Gareth and Rebecca throughout the year.

“He’s a real trier. He has to step up to different levels for all of us, but he loves coming out to shows,” said Gareth, who was second in yesterday’s National Dressage Championships grand prix behind Lewis Carrier and Diego V.

“He tried so hard yesterday and today, and he couldn’t have done any better in these two tests. He’s not a horse with any real highlights, but he also doesn’t have any weaknesses. It’s my job to ride a mistake-free test, and especially in a situation like today when the pressure is on, if they look to me to help them round and we finish mistake-free than I’ve done my job. Then it’s up to the judges.”

And the judges were certainly fans of the pair’s Greatest Showman freestyle routine, showering them with eights for the pirouettes, changes, choreography and harmony. It’s an old programme Gareth dug out of the archives after the freestyle that earned him fifth at the World Dressage Championships with now-retired team horse Classic Briolinca proved a touch too tough for Goldstrike at Windsor earlier this year.

“This one’s technically a bit easier and gave him a bit more time to get his head around things. Through it all I thought he tried really hard – things like going from extended canter into pirouettes and then straight into tempis isn’t what he’s used to,” said Gareth. “I was happy with the whole test.”

Goldstrike may have earned himself a national title at top level, but Gareth is being realistic when it comes to considering him as a potential team horse.

“He’s a good horse, but probably not one we’ll target for teams,” Gareth confirmed. “You never know – it depends on what the team is – but I’m staying realistic and just seeing what happens.”

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