British Dressage North West Regionals Open Medium Championships

Testimonials

After being told I could no longer ride my horse I made a decision to take the plunge and buy another one. My instructor Paul Hughes suggested I go to Germany, as he has some very good friends that are based there. He liaised with them on my behalf and informed them of the type of horse that would be suitable for me within a certain budget. We agreed to look at young horses as I wanted the opportunity to learn, train and develop a youngster. The trip to Germany was then arranged for the following week and Paul came with me to offer his assistance. We were met at the airport and any apprehensions/ nerves I had instantly disappeared as they were such lovely, warm and friendly people and it was clear they had fully understood Paul's requirements of finding me a nice "sensible" 4 year old! They had arranged for me to try about 12 suitable horses over the course of the 2 days. The owners of all the yards were lovely and it was immediately clear there was no pressure on me at all. I saw the horses in the stable, being groomed, tacked up and then loose/lunged, after which the owners/riders rode them. I was then asked if I would like to ride them myself! As riding youngsters was totally new to me I was helped considerably with instructions and advice throughout all the rides. I was so impressed with the quality of the horses, and had I not fallen for the first one I saw I could've come home with at least 3 of them! After I had made my decision a vetting was arranged. The vet spoke excellent English and I spoke personally to him about the vetting. I was also advised and helped with the transportation and 2 weeks later my new horse Dresden arrived at our yard. He instantly settled in and I can honestly say they found my perfect horse! I can't thank them enough for all their hard work (especially considering they were so poorly during out trip)! Not only have they found a horse with an impeccable temperament but they've also found a horse that has so much potential that I now have the opportunity to compete at levels I never even dreamt would be possible for me. I would like to say a very big thank you to Paul and his friends from Germany. Karen Anson Cheshire	Dresden
Having looked for a suitable horse in the UK it quickly became apparent that we were going to spend many weekends travelling to either end of the country to try and find the ideal horse. A friend suggested we contact Paul Hughes who regularly travels to Germany as he had contacts who help him find horses. We contacted Paul and told him exactly what we were looking for. They did all the leg work for us in Germany, including booking our hotel, all we did was book our flights. We travelled to Bremen with Paul, and were met at the airport. Within a couple of hours of landing we were looking at our first horse. We looked at many different horses at several different yards; the quality of horses we were shown was amazing and Sarah rode 8 of them. Sarah was given help whilst riding each horse, as having only previously ridden ponies moving onto a horse was quite a change. On our second evening, having a short list of 3, we looked through the videos and made our final decision. Paul was really helpful as he gave his expert opinion on which horse would be most suitable and we arranged to purchase a horse subject to vetting. The vetting was arranged for us and after the vetting, the vet telephoned us, in his impeccable English, to talk us through the vetting and prepared the report in English. We were recommended a transport company and they liased with them to arrange the transportation. Throughout the whole process they could not have been more helpful and honest. We knew that what we were looking for was a tall order, within our budget, however they not only met but exceeded our expectations. We are now the proud owners of Rubin. Having only previously completed at Pony Club and unaffiliated Prelim dressage Sarah has now competed in affiliated Novice and recently won her 2nd Elementary 10% ahead of the 2nd placed competitor. Rubin is one in a million, we love him to bits and he is an absolute pleasure to be around. Thank you so much for finding us the perfect horse! Before Rubin arrived in the UK Paul offered to have him on his yard for a two or three weeks and give Sarah some lessons to get them started on the right foot. Almost twelve months later and Paul still can’t get rid of us! Paul is now Sarah’s trainer and is absolutely fantastic. His training methods get the best out of each horse and rider; whilst being sensitive to each horse’s different ability, stage of training and personality. Sarah’s riding has come on unbelievably since Paul has been training her and we can’t thank him enough. Furthermore the care he offers Rubin and all his horses is second to none. Thank you Paul soooooooooooooo much. Anne & Sarah, Cheshire	Weltrubin
The best way to buy a horse! When my dressage trainer, Paul Hughes, first suggested we went to Germany with him to buy a horse we were very apprehensive. However, he reassured us and told us about Jo and Steve. Paul discussed with and advised us the type of horse that would be best for me. He then discussed this with Jo and Steve who spent a lot of time talking to their contacts and driving around “vetting” horses for their suitability. We arrived at Bremen Airport, on a Thursday afternoon with Paul. We were warmly met by Jo and Steve. We spent all afternoon Thursday and all day Friday driving between yards to view and try 18 horses. All were of excellent quality – no disappointments like in this country when you drive for hours, arrive, get out of the car, reach the stable with the horse you have come to see and know that your time has been wasted. That was the beauty of Jo and Steve´s hard work before we arrived. Some of the horses were on smaller yards, others on breeders yards, every place very professional. Selling horses is a true industry in Germany, they are true professionals and are known for their honesty which encourages repeat custom. There was no pressure at all to purchase any horse whilst we were there, though the quality was so high we could have easily brought home several (if finances had allowed!) Each yard showed off the horses as we requested – loose, lunging, ridden and then I rode the ones that we were keen on. Steve was fantastic whilst I was trying the horses. I was a little apprehensive at first – riding these beautiful youngsters in a strange country with an audience, but he was very reassuring and gave me helpful pointers to get the best out of each horse. This allowed Paul to concentrate on watching the horse and assessing its suitability. The Friday night was decision time so that nobody snapped up the horse we wanted! We watched our videos through and decided on a 4 year old, 16.1hh German Warmblood by Wolkentanz. We later named him “Watson” (Wolkenzauber is his competition name). Steve and Jo then kindly and efficiently arranged for Watson to be vetted by a respected vet they have used many times before. The vet then phoned me to discuss his findings, there were no problems so Steve and Jo advised me re the best shipping companies to use and he arrived a week later! The whole experience was professional but also very friendly and personal. We are thrilled with Watson! Following excellent training with Paul, we have done far more than we dreamed of already (we have been competing for 10 months now) and have frequented a different level of dressage shows. To date Watson has won at Prelim (with scores over 72%) and qualified for the regionals and won at Novice (with scores of over 69%) and part qualified for the regionals. He has been placed in the top four in Prelim and novice at two area festivals and has qualified for the national finals at novice level. He also qualified for the Badminton Young Dressage horse of the Future 2009 with 76%. Watson was placed 4th with 69.5% at the Winter Prelim Regional Championships in 2010 and is already qualified for the Summer regional championships. Watson is also, importantly a lovely “person” to be around, easy to handle, good to hack and enjoys doing some jumping too. I hope that we will have many years of fun and success together so a huge thank you to Jo and Steve and for Paul’s continuing help and support. Isabel Stanton BVsc MRCVS	Watson
Upon deciding I wanted to buy a German bred foal with top blood lines I was unsure as to where to start looking or who I could trust. Several people I know had been to Germany with Paul to buy a horse and had highly recommended him so I asked him to look into my options and let me know how best to go about things. Paul quickly made arrangements for us to travel to Germany with a packed schedule of foals and yearlings to view over the course of two days. I was very impressed with Paul's enthusiasm, the wide variety of horses I was able to view as well as his eye for detail and expert opinion on the youngsters movement, the quality of the mare and stallion and his knowledge of the breeding process and bloodlines. I had a fantastic, hassle free trip to Germany which I thoroughly enjoyed and with a lot of help and support from Paul I have been able to buy a fabulous filly within my budget. I would strongly recommend anyone who is looking to buy a horse to contact Paul and I would never consider buying a horse any other way going forward. Lisa Richardson Cheshire	The foal´s sire Sarkozy

I have to say, going to Germany to buy a horse seemed a very daunting prospect. However with Paul's experience and knowledge I found the whole trip very easy. From the moment we arrived in Germany his professionalism shone through. Prior to the trip I had discussed the type of Dressage horse I was looking for, and it soon became clear he knew exactly what I wanted. He had short listed likely horses and then took us to each yard, all of which were as professional as the next and all very friendly. The quality of the horses I was shown were second to none but there were 2 horses I fell in love with. On his advice I chose a 16.3hh Oldenberg called Royal Dandy who I am now the very proud owner of. The vetting and transport were all organised for me and were of a very high standard. Daniel is now a beautiful 17hh 6 year old. He qualified 4th in the International Young Dressage Horse qualifiers and qualified for Badminton Young Dessage Horse of the Year. This year we have qualified in both Prelim and Novice for the summer regionals and have started Elementary. A very big THANK YOU to Paul Hughes. Wendy Jenkins Cheshire UK

Royal Dandy with Wendy Jenkins

After many years of training riders of all levels and training horses for many disciplines myself, I am very happy to have had the opportunity of training with Paul Hughes over the last two years. Paul has worked with me to bring my two dressage horses to a standard where we are competing successfully at Regional and National level. So when I was looking for a young horse to bring on, I had no hesitation in consulting Paul. With his contacts in Germany and his ability to assess the strengths of horse and rider he was able to match my requirements perfectly, putting together breeding for dressage, potential, an excellent temperament and outstanding paces to produce a competition horse for the future. Thanks to Paul's expertise and skills at putting horse and rider together, I am confident that Grazia Luna and I are a combination that will enjoy great success in the future. Tina Marriott BHS Stage 3 UK

Grazia Luna with Tina Marriott

This was a new venture for Louise and I. We thought we had set a difficult task for Paul giving a very detailed list of age, type, temperament and price. We weren't disappointed, over the two days we had plenty of choice all within our remit. The horse we finally purchased has more than fulfilled our expectations and we're preparing and looking forward to another exciting and successful season. Thank you to Paul. Debbie Jones Grand Prix Rider/Trainer and B.D. List 2 Dressage Judge UK

Debbie Jones