Footballer John Terry and his wife Toni were celebrating this weekend when their horse Beltoni won a prestigious National Championship title at the Dressage Deluxe National Dressage Championships.

Toni spent Saturday and Sunday at the competition with her parents Sue and Alan Poole and they were all in the stands to cheer on the stallion who was ridden by Olympic dressage rider Vicky Thompson-Winfield.

The eye-catching chestnut horse clinched top spot in the Haygain medium open dressage championships with 70.70% in a close contest which saw the top five riders scoring over 70%. “It was really nerve wracking to watch” said a delighted Terry “but we’re so pleased he got the win – he’s such a fabulous horse.”

Vicky praised the horses extravagant paces saying; ““He can really score high marks. He’s stunning and has a wonderful focused temperament when he’s in the arena, he’s so good, we couldn’t ask for more!”

Beltoni is stabled with Vicky and her husband Ian at Oldencraig Equestrian Centre, Surrey where Toni also trains. The celebrated horse is no stranger to success and won the Shearwater Potential International Dressage Horse Championship title here in 2009. He demonstrates his competitive prowess by consistently winning at medium and advanced medium level. His competition record for one so young points to an exciting top level horse in the making.

“It’s fantastic for dressage that we have such dedicated owners as John and Toni in our sport” commentedcChief executive of British Dressage, Amanda Bond. “Quality horsepower is so important to the success of our top riders; those special horses that could go all the way to the top don’t come along that often and are pivotal to medal hopes and our Olympic dreams.”