Dunedin rider Anya Durling relaxes at her Tunnel Beach property with Rosari Guest Star yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Dunedin rider Anya Durling relaxes at her Tunnel Beach property with Rosari Guest Star yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Anya Durling's patience was rewarded when she won her third New Zealand dressage title in Feilding recently.

Durling (38), a producer at Dunedin's Natural History Unit, won the level three test on 6-year-old young horse champion Rosari Guest Star.

She has had the Hanoverian for five years and for the past two years has held the South Island Young Dressage Horse title.

"I was pleased," Durling said. "We beat the best 6-year-olds from the North Island."

The horses are judged on their international potential and Rosari Guest Star passed the test with flying colours.

The horse and rider were rewarded by being named in the New Zealand B squad that will train three times a year with a German trainer at Massey University.

Durling has been competing in equestrian events since the age of 13, and this was her third New Zealand title.

She won the elementary crown on Masquerade in 1993 and the advanced title on the same horse in 2000.

Later that year, she competed for New Zealand at the St Georges Derby at the Trivett Classic in Sydney against competitors from Germany, Netherlands, United States, Japan and Canada.

Masquerade was past his best and was retired in 2003, which meant Durling then needed the patience to train another horse to the top standard.

"I purchased a 5-year-old called Final Word, which I've trained to advanced level.

"I competed him at these nationals too, but he didn't really fire all weekend," Durling said.

"It takes a long time to train a horse to the top level. It is time-consuming. Muscle mass and mental stamina are needed to combine together to make an athlete out of a horse."

Durling works glide-time at her job which enables her to spend the first three hours of the day training her horses on her lifestyle property above Tunnel Beach.

Former Otago rugby player and now professional opera singer, Jud Arthur, sang at the national championships at the conclusion of the competition.

Arthur is also a former New Zealand dressage representative and said he was tempted to return to equestrian next season.