Festival Focus: Podium Finishes

The 2026 Petplan Winter Area Festivals have recently concluded, with riders across the country competing for podium finishes and championship qualification. Recent competitions at Addington, Solihull and Aintree have seen combinations deliver strong performances, reflecting the hard work and preparation behind the scenes.  

Clairaline Blanche & Calimero VD Veldhoeve Z l Spidge Event Photography 

Addington Equestrian 

Clairaline Blanche and her beautiful skewbald gelding finished third place in the Elementary Bronze at the first Winter Area Festival of 2026 at Addington Equestrian (16 – 18 January).  

Clairaline and Calimero VD Veldhoeve Z, otherwise known as Calio, received a great score of 68.80% to earn their placing.  When reflecting on her test Clairaline shared, “considering I only had ridden Elementary five the day before the Area Festival I knew where I could improve but also knew I couldn’t expect too much.” Despite this, the duo finished on the podium with the mounted prize giving being their highlight of the day, “It was all worthwhile in the end.”  

This partnership has only been back together since October 2025 Clairaline told us, “I only got Calio back in October after he spent two years out on loan whilst I was trying to produce a youngster. Unfortunately, things didn't go to plan and I decided to take Calio back and start enjoying my riding again.” The Petplan Area Festivals provided the perfect opportunity for the duo to go out and get their scores, to have something to aim for during the winter season.  

Dressage was never originally in the plan for Calio when Clairaline brought him ten years ago, but with his talent and nice paces Clairaline enjoyed schooling him, so they began their dressage journey in 2022. Clairaline explained: “In 2023 Calio and I got to Petplan Championships at Elementary and Novice which was the first time we ever qualified for such a big event! I couldn't quite believe we did it.” 

Speaking about what Calio is like at home, Clairaline said, “he is super gentle and easy to do in every way. He has very good manners and everyone loves him. He likes being in the field a bit too much and sometimes can be a little sod to catch!” His biggest strengths in the arena are his paces and willingness to try, but there is still lots to come from this smart horse. 

Dressage can have its own challenges, every competition is different and each horse has a different experience, Clairaline explained to us what she focuses on doing the most: “Trying to keep him and myself as relaxed as possible so we don't create unnecessary tensions. Working on his suppleness is key and as he is getting older paramount to us stepping up the levels.”  This partnership are going to continue on their dressage journey, planning on qualifying for the Summer Area Festivals, and might even give dressage to music classes a go this year.  

Holly Powell & Otis V l Top Shots Photography  

Solihull Equestrian  

Holly Powell and her KWPN gelding Otis V walked away from Solihull Equestrian’s Winter Area Festival (4 – 8 February) with an incredible win in the Novice Bronze, receiving the highest score of 69.39% from the judges.  

The gorgeous seven-year-old Otis had big hoof prints to follow as his half-brother Millenium Star won the Novice Silver at the Area Festival Championships last year. Looking back on the day Holly shared how it felt to have won: “It felt brilliant, he’s young but very talented. The prize giving was great fun; Otis certainly loved the attention! This has given me so much hope for his future.”  

Holly headed to the Area Festival hopeful of a top ten finish, “he exceeded my expectations. Sitting on such a talented horse it’s hard not to dream of winning!” She went on to explain what the highlights of their winning test were, “his paces are just phenomenal, he’s so expressive and had a real ‘look at me’ presence to him. His trot work was great, he was so balanced and with me, despite it being the biggest atmosphere he’s competed in.”  

The Area Festivals are known for having a championship like atmosphere, making them an exciting event to qualify for, Holly reflected on  her experience: “It was a huge atmosphere with lots of lovely horses. I’m very proud of Otis keeping his cool with so much going on! It’s always special riding down the centre line at a big competition, but I just try to keep calm and pretend like I’m practicing at home!” 

Holly had lots to take away from the experience, as she explained, “I have learnt to have more confidence in our ability! So much hard work has been put in behind the scenes, Karen Nicholas my coach has been fantastic at getting us to where we are now, I can’t thank her enough! I need to remember to enjoy it when I’m there and trust that the work has been put in.”  

From eventing in the past, Holly admitted to not previously enjoying dressage: “I was younger and hated dressage, or ‘stressage’ as I used to call it. It hasn’t been until recent times that I’ve enjoyed it; I ended up with a very nice dressage horse and his natural talent for the discipline has been transformative for me and my riding.” 

The partnership came together from a HorseQuest advert, Holly told us more about her journey with Otis: “Seeing that he is half-brother to my other lovely boy Lenny we just had to go and see him! My grandparents totally fell in love with him, he is super affectionate and cuddly, so I was very fortunate that they bought him for me. I broke him in as a four-year-old and have done everything with him right from the beginning, so it is extremely rewarding to have achieved this result. Hard work really does pay off!” 

In preparation for the competition Holly doesn’t like to change much, sticking with her weekly routine, as Otis can be quite sensitive, she explained, “I try to get him out to a couple of arena hires to run through the test with Karen. We keep practicing the movements we find trickier at home.” The pair will now be focussing on getting ready for the Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships, hoping to get out to a few shows beforehand to put into practise what they are working on in training. 

Hayley McGarr & Balia Boy l Majestic Photography 

Aintree International   

Hayley McGarr and Balia Boy were our third-place finishers in the Preliminary Bronze at Aintree International Winter Area Festival (29 – 1 February), with a fabulous score of 69.21%. Hayley reflected on how she feels looking back on this amazing result, “I’m absolutely thrilled and still not over it. I honestly didn’t expect to do that well!” 

The 19-year-old gelding performed a lovely test in front of the judges, Hayley shared what her highlights of the test were, commenting: “That he behaved! He had actually warmed up terribly. He’s had his front teeth removed due to EOTRH and I think he was reminded of this being checked before going in. But as soon as he stepped into the main arena, he just showed off!” 

This was Hayley’s first ever Area Festival, sharing her experience she said, “I loved the atmosphere. The stewards were so helpful, and it felt really welcoming.” The Area Festivals are a great competition to aim during the winter season, as Hayley told us, “having a goal to work towards really keeps me going. I want to keep improving and do the best I can.”  

Hayley has owned Bailey for 13 years and the duo have been on quite a journey together: “Bailey developed kissing spine and more recently his pedal bone dropped in his front hoof, we nearly lost him. So, to even be competing again feels like a miracle.” Their dressage journey started after Hayley lost her confidence after a fall cross-country training, breaking her collarbone. Hayley shared, “I’d always liked dressage, but after returning to eventing I decided to focus purely on dressage. We’ve only properly been back competing since April last year, as it took nearly two years to get Bailey right again.”  

The 15.2hh grey enjoys his dressage due to no two sessions ever being the same, and he thrives on that. Hayley shared why she would recommend the Area Festival series to other riders, “It’s an amazing experience, really friendly and welcoming, I can’t wait for the next one!” The duo plans to continue working towards achieving their summer qualification scores.