Berwickshire Group RDA is very lucky to be able to use amazing horses & we’re going to share with you a little bit about them that you might not know.

Rebecca has written a bit about them and we will be sharing a different horse each week.
The first of these is Bart

Horse Profile
Name Bart Simpson
Stable name Bart
Date of Birth 1st May 1999
Age now 21
Colour Grey
Height 17.1 Hands High
Breeder Susanna Simpson
Owner Andy Millar

What he was like as a young horse
He was very big and very naughty. He used to buck and nap at every opportunity but was always a very loveable horse. He always enjoyed jumping and in his younger days that was when he was most sensible.

Events he took part in and results;

Dressage
He competed dressage only twice as a 5 year old and was very naughty in both tests. The judge wrote plenty of potential when he wants to oblige 🙂

Showjumping
He has jumped round lots of courses of show jumps with lots of different people but actually has never competed in a show jumping competition.

Cross Country
He has jumped round Mini Charterhall every year since 2007 with 3 different people Rebecca, Stacey and Henry.
He has done Duns Castle Team Chase with loads of different riders the very first year he wouldn’t cross the water crossing!!!!

Showing
He has been Champion horse at Duns Show and in 2008 he also won Champion of Champions for the whole show. He has won working hunter classes at Duns,Kelso,Yarrow and Haddington show. He has won ridden hunter classes at all of the above. He has competed at the Highland show twice 4th in the Novice class in 2010 and 7th in the open class in 2011.

When he became a vaulting horse and where he competed
He started his vaulting career in 2007. His first international was Aachen 2008 and he then went to the World Championships with 2 indviduals in Brno the Czech Republic. He started carrying the team in 2009 and in 2010 won the Nations Cup class in Saumur France. His vaulting career at the top level finished with an individual competition in Belgium 2011. But he continues to train with both the Reivers and SSS vaulters and his been Scottish and British Champions on many occasions.

When he came to Sunnyside and began helping RDA
He arrived in February 2011 and was the first of my horses that we introduced to RDA. He took to it straight away and has never looked back

Regional and National RDA Competitions
He has been to every regional RDA competition Berwickshire have attended since 2011. He has been to the nationals on 4 occasions carrying RDA riders and vaulters. He was borrowed by and Irish rider once to do a canter test as his horse wasn’t allowed in.

Hunting and Galloping
Bart has been hunting since 2008. The first day I took him I was field master and he was brillant till late in the day when he would not jump a tiny jump out the wood as the ground was boggy!!!! He has jumped it many times since and never bothered.
Anyone could take him hunting he is the ultimate pro behaves perfectly has a big galloping stride and follows over any jump he is not the bravest in front so I don’t take him very often but did enjoy my last day of this season on him in the snow.

He started galloping with White abbey in 2013 when I decided he was going to be a race horse. He is a complete pro and stands and waits for the racehorses to get to him and he does the final little bit of work up the hills with them. He enjoys watching the racehorse do laps of the field and has favorite fields that he will gallop up others he just stands at the gate and waits for them.

What he is doing while we are not doing RDABart is enjoying a well-deserved rest. He works all year round a doesn't very often get a few weeks off so he is making the most of it and just chilling.