Brits sweep the board at Horse Agility World Championships

Brits have led the way in the first ever Horse Agility World Championships, winning both classes in the competition.

Horse agility – founded by Vanessa Bee in early 2010 – is based on dog agility with horses working loose over a fixed obstacle course.

Dawn Westcott with her Exmoor stallion Hawkwell Versuvius took the ‘Worldwide OLHA! League’ title, where competitors from thirteen different countries competed against each other through filmed entries.

And Susannah Muir won the ‘International Competitions League Championship’ – where competitors accumulated points through real time competitions – with her Exmoor mare Threeshires Zanatan.

Ms Muir only got involved in the sport at the beginning of 2011.

She said: “It has made [Threeshires Zanatan] very easy to handle [and] has taught me how to approach new things with a pony to ensure they are confident.”

Higher levels of horse agility are being introduced this year, where competitors will not only work their horses loose over obstacles in open countryside but also ride bareback and bridleless.

Ms Bee told H&H: “Horse agility has gone global this year. We now have between 500 and 600 people competing worldwide.”

The Horse Agility Handbook is due for release later this month.

For more information visit www.thehorseagilityclub.com

Watch Dawn Westcott and Hawkwell Versuvius in action

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