LARA GRIFFITH’S temporary move to Florida with her boss London Olympic gold medallist Laura Tomlinson could hardly be working out better.

The five horses they have taken from the Tomlinson yard at Ampney St Peter near Cirencester are all thriving and both riders have already registered wins at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival.

In Lara’s case, her victory aboard Rubin Al Asad (Rufus), was a first international success in a Grand Prix competition.

"The facilities here are amazing and provide us with the perfect conditions in which to train our horses," Griffith told the Standard.

"The weather is a bonus although we have been caught in a few downpours and they are very heavy out here!

"Our first international was a good starting point for us. Laura did her first show since giving birth to Annalisa and to win was a real positive.

"The first show set me up brilliantly for the latest competition. We had the confidence to go into the ring and 'show off' and the marks reflected this as I had an increase of five percent on my final score compared to the first show.

"Rufus has exceeded my expectations in the improvements he has made since we got here, so it must be the Florida weather!"

Tomlinson and Griffith are hoping the work done in the Florida sun will help them to land running on their return to the European scene next month.

Despite all the hard work at their Stillpoint Farm base, they have found some time for rest and relaxation.

"Mainly it's all work but I'm not sure working in the sunshine counts,” said Lara, who is a member of the GB World Class Development Programme for up-and-coming riders with international potential.

"We have had a few days off here and there. I managed to visit the Everglades to see the alligators, which was amazing.

"All our horses have settled brilliantly and are thriving in this environment. They have all come on in their training. I'm very confident going into the next few shows with Rufus. But with horses anything can happen.

"Our goals remain the same which is to keep increasing our confidence in the ring and keep the horses happy and motivated to perform.

"I have two remaining internationals out here. Laura will contest three more internationals with her horse Unique.

"It's nice to have this period to fully concentrate on them without any other distractions."