Wallace The Great Wins First British Dressage Competition
Wallace The Great has taken part and won his first ever British Dressage competition, that took place on July, 22nd.
Wallace The Great is the first ever mule to be registered with British Dressage, after the nation’s media coverage spotlighted controversy over the governing bodies rules.
British Dressage initially denied the registration of the mule, stating that their rules abided by the FEI’s definition of what animals were allowed in competition. Later, British Dressage stated their rules referred to ‘horse and ponies without a full definition, and FEI General Regulation 2018 are more specific’. [
The ‘FEI General Regulations 2018’ state that a horse “refers also to a pony or other member of the genus equus unless the context requires otherwise. A horse shall be born from a mare”. The FEI’s definition allowed mules to compete in British Dressage competition, the change to the rules being implemented with “immediate effect”.
Since the change in British Dressage rules, Wallace has been preparing for his first affiliated outing. Wallace, and his rider Christie McLean, competed in the Intro section in the Team Quest competition, at Summerhouse Equestrian Centre.
Despite the heavy media presence and onlooking fan club, the pair achieved 67.4% in their section, aiding their team to place second overall.
Wallace and his team now have two more competitions before the end of August, the rider’s hoping to qualify for the Team Quest Regional Finals which taking place in the autumn. The National Team Quest Final will take place in November.
