Scott Brash bags podium spot

Brash, from Peebles, finished second aboard Bon Ami in the Christmas Speed Stakes. Their time of 52.41 seconds was just 0.38secs behind Swedish winner Peder Fredricsson and Holliday KLG, and hinted at a promising start to a busy five-day programme.

Brash helped Great Britain to Olympic team gold at London 2012. All three of his colleagues at Greenwich Park – Nick Skelton, Ben Maher and Peter Charles – are also in action during an event highlighted by Saturday’s Rolex FEI World Cup class that was won last year by Maher.

Meanwhile, Britain’s double Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin has won the British Equestrian Writers’  Association’s (BEWA) top award.

Dujardin, who landed team and individual dressage gold at London 2012 with her brilliant ten-year-old bay gelding Valegro, collected the BEWA Trophy at yesterday’s annual awards lunch in London. And it continued a remarkable year for the Gloucestershire-based rider.

In addition to double Olympic gold, 27-year-old Dujardin also set new world records in the grand prix and grand prix special disciplines, while she also broke three Olympic records at Greenwich Park.

Although the mantle has since been regained by the Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen, Dujardin, also rose to world No 1 and she won the Reem  Acra FEI World Cup at Olympia on Tuesday for a second successive year.