Horses and riders from the South Cariboo saw some outstanding results at the BC Heritage Circuit Finals at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, July 15-17.
Competitors qualified for the event by placing in the top 4 of their events at a minimum of two prior qualifier events.
Western, English and dressage riding events were included and 72 participants came from all over British Columbia to compete.
Carolyn Dobbs, riding Presario, a five-year-old Hanoverian, in the 18 years and over division, took the championship in dressage T2 and the reserve championship in dressage T3. The pair was also champions in hunter under saddle and in show hack. They placed third in road hack and fourth in English pleasure.
Her daughter, Andrea Dobbs, riding Cariboo Goldrush, a 12-year-old quarter horse, in the 14-18 years division, won the championships for hunt seat equitation, hunter under saddle and hunter hack.
They were also reserve champions in English pleasure and in road hack, while the show hack event saw them finish in third place.
MacKenzie Nelson, with her eight-year-old warmblood, Beautown Schautzi, in the 13 years and under division, won double dressage championships, placed third in hunter hack, fourth in road hack and fifth in hunter under saddle.
Sisters Hailey and Veronica Blattler also earned outstanding results, with Veronica taking the championship in reining in the 14-18 years division and earning the right to represent B.C. in that event at the Canadian Equestrian Championships to be held this September in Bromont, Que. She also won third place in the trail event and fourth in western horsemanship, riding a 13-year-old quarter horse gelding named Zullies Solano.
In the 14 and under division, Hailey, on her 12-year-old appaloosa mare, Foolish Attraction, won championships in western equitation and road hack, reserve championships in showmanship, western horsemanship and show hack, third in western pleasure and English pleasure, and fourth in hunter under saddle.
"The Cariboo rocked again," Carolyn Dobbs says, adding they battled rain and very soggy ground for most of the weekend in the outdoor show ring.
"The western day was a downpour with thunder and lightning. The English was intermittent rainstorms and cold.
"For dressage, it was mostly dry, but it was so wet in the ring from prior rain that it was saturated. It was hard to present a clean horse."