TARA Hayes is no stranger to success having won national titles at every level up to Inter I before her 25th birthday, but her recent trip to the UK might have surpassed even her own expectations.

With Sandora BS (Spielberg x Zagreb) and Imperioso WW (Charmeur x Gribaldi), she earned a top 10 placing at Wellington CDI before finishing on the podium in every one of her classes the following week at the Aintree High Profile Show.

“We had a great two weeks in England,” Tara told The Irish Field. “Wellington was Sandora BS, or ‘Scarlet’s’, first international show, and I wasn’t sure how she would handle the bigger atmosphere. I was very happy with how she coped; she only got a little bit hot on the second day but I was happy with her the first day. We still had mistakes, but she was good considering that she is quite a fiery mare.”

Hayes and Scarlet finished ninth in the Prix St Georges that first day in Wellington, on a score of 65.784%, while the following day her stablemate Imperioso WW, or ‘Hero’, placed eighth in the Inter I on 66.814%.

“It was my first international with Hero,” Hayes continued. “He had done a few with his previous riders in the past, but it was a new experience for me to ride him in that sort of atmosphere. In the Prix St Georges on the first day, he got a little bit of stage fright and his score wasn’t great, but the next day he was a lot more confident. He really listened to me and his score was much better, so I was very happy with him.

“We had a few days break in Dane Rawlins’ yard - he very kindly put us up - and then we went on to the Aintree High Profile Show. Aintree was an amazing show. It’s an amazing venue on the racecourse, and both horses improved from the week before at Wellington. They were much more confident in the Prix St Georges, more with me and listening to me. I had fewer mistakes with both of them. I was very surprised by how much Scarlet had come on; she had two nearly mistake-free tests.”

Hayes and Scarlet finished second in the Prix St Georges gold section on 69.17%, narrowly beaten by World and European medallist Michael Eilberg riding EDH Frankilin Rose on 69.56%. She also took third in that class with Hero, before her rides swapped positions in the following day’s silver Inter I. Hero was also her ride in the Inter I Freestyle, and the combination topped the leaderboard in the silver section on 69.96%.

“I was super-delighted with both of them at Aintree, because neither of them finished outside the top three in their classes. I just did the Freestyle with Hero. There was a huge atmosphere and he got a little stage fright again, but he did manage to keep it together and produce a lovely test. We won it, which was amazing, and the prizegiving afterwards was pretty cool too. They had a guard of honour for it; I’ve never experienced anything like it, and I was delighted with those two shows.”

Home-bred

Hayes’s results with Sandora BS were all the more satisfying given that she is a home-bred, and the result of her parents’ first attempt at breeding a dressage horse. “Scarlet is out of a thoroughbred mare that mum and dad had,” she explained. “She had bred some nice thoroughbreds, but for her last cover we decided to put her in foal to a dressage stallion. Scarlet was the result, and she has the fiery side of a thoroughbred and a lot of stamina as well.

“She also has a really good brain, and I’m not sure if that comes from the thoroughbred side or the dressage side. Scarlet loves her work, never gets tired and rises to every challenge.

“It’s been pretty special producing her to her first international. She’ll go on a break now until January, and then she’ll come back in and we’ll start working towards Inter II and Grand Prix. She’s nearly established in her piaffe and passage work; she’s got a great talent for that.

“Myself, mum and Anna [Merveldt, Hayes’ trainer] think she has great potential for it, and I think the Grand Prix test will suit her because she loves to be challenged and really tries for the harder movements.”

Tara Hayes with Proxima Centauri after her win in the SIS Fillies Maiden \ HEALY RACING

Racing connections

It’s been a hectic time for Hayes as she has also competed Ferrero K (Apache x Silvano N) internationally this season alongside her full-time role riding out for Jessica Harrington Racing. “It’s super important for me to get the experience and exposure at this stage in my career,” she acknowledged. “The atmosphere can be daunting at international competitions, so it’s really important to get out to them when you’re ready and able.

“It’s also a good chance to test the partnership. For example, with ‘Ferro’ (Ferrero K), Hickstead was his second CDI at small tour level but, unfortunately, he just couldn’t cope with the atmosphere and we had to make the difficult decision to retire him from international competition. He’s turning 17 next year, so we’re not going to push him to do that again.”

Hayes acquired Ferrero K at the conclusion of her pony career, which saw her ride as pathfinder at two Pony European Championships, and the combination progressed from prelim all the way to Inter II during their time together.

Competitive outings haven’t only happened inside white boards for Hayes this year, as August saw her ride on the track in the Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland Charity Race at The Curragh. “It was a day I will never forget,” she says. “This thrill was unbelievable, and I certainly won’t be getting that thrill again in a dressage test! I was very lucky that I got the chance to do it. I’ve been riding out in Harrington’s for the past three years now and I love it.”

Hayes began working there part-time while she completed her degree in biomedical science, and she has been there full-time since her graduation 18 months ago. “I work there in the mornings and then I come home and ride the dressage horses in the evenings. I ride five or six lots, which could range from yearlings the whole way up to National Hunt horses, so it’s a wide variety but I love it. I think my background helps, being quite versatile and riding everything from hunters to show jumpers to naughty ponies. I’ve never had a fear of a fresh or flighty horse, so I was quite confident when I started with the racehorses.

“I really enjoy my lots now and they go quite well on the flat. I love improving a horse. Sometimes they might be a bit unbalanced or they might hang to one side on the gallop, and I get a great thrill out of being able to improve that as the day go by. It’s amazing for my fitness as well.”

Learning curve

“Obviously, it’s very different to when I come home and ride my dressage horses and I was afraid a few bad habits might creep in, but mum and Anna have made sure that doesn’t happen.

"It’s great fun. I’ve learned loads from doing it; the different sorts of pace, how to balance a horse, the rhythm of it. I find it all very interesting.

“It was fun to be in Aintree with Scarlet because her dam is related to the dam of Silver Birch, who won the Grand National for Gordon Elliott there in 2007. It was pretty cool that she was at the same racecourse as her relations, with my own racing connections.”

Now on the lookout for a riding position abroad, where she can focus exclusively on dressage, Hayes is not entirely sure what lies ahead. “I’m hoping to find a riding position in a dressage yard either on the continent or the UK. I hope to progress my training and gain more competition experience, and I plan to bring Scarlet with me with the aim of bringing her to Grand Prix. It would be great for me; I want to learn as much as I can and it would be easier to get to international shows too. Hopefully it’ll be the making of me!”