{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}

‘He’s a once in a lifetime horse’: history repeats itself at HOYS Cob of the Year championship

Playlist 19 Videos H&H Champs: Schoolgirl and pony dominate after cross-country 01:14 H&H Champs: Journey from Scotland pays off for victorious young rider and pony 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I've felt sick all day' — rider fights off nerves to secure 90cm victory 00:55 H&H Champs: 'I held my breath' — islander takes 80cm spoils 00:54 H&H Champs: 71-year-old Sally Pidsley takes the 70cm honours 02:36 H&H Champs: 90cm class goes down to the wire on cross-country day 01:35 H&H Champs: catch ride rewarded after 15 hour journey 01:05 H&H Champs: 'cheeky' Fergus springs into the lead 01:40 H&H Champs: Super Szuca posts personal best to take the lead 03:00 One-eyed racehorse excelling in falconry career 02:24 Watch what happens when a sprinter compares training regimes with a racehorse 03:02 'He's a once in a lifetime horse': history repeats itself at HOYS Cob of the Year championship 00:46 'It has been a long time coming': rider returns to win back Blenheim title after 16-year gap 00:36 Blenheim win for Christopher Burton by narrowest of margins 00:51 All eyes on Tokyo 2020: meet the team behind Britain’s renewed eventing success 01:26 Ever wondered what it takes to be a doctor at Burghley? Watch this video to find out… 01:43 'It's effort after effort': top riders share their thoughts on the 2017 Burghley cross-country course 03:45 What do Zara Tindall, Mark Todd and Harry Meade make of the 2017 Burghley course? 03:47 Amy Woodhead: how working for Carl Hester has set her up for success 06:14

  • Allister Hood won the Colosso Family Heavyweight Cob of the Year championship at HOYS (Horse of the Year Show) this evening (7 October). Riding Our Cashel Blue, this victory is the second year on the bounce for this pair in this class.

    “He was brilliant and I think today was the best he’s ever gone,” said Allilster of the eight-year-old. “He was so with me and I was so with him. He’s a once in a lifetime horse.”

    The blue and white gelding, owned by Caroline Tyrell was foot-perfect throughout the championship.

    “He just keeps on giving,” said Allister, who first won at HOYS was at the Empire Building in Wembley in 1973. “He takes no working in beforehand and we virtually walked straight into the main arena tonight — he’s a natural showman and just loves it.”

    Our Cashel Blue Allister Hood

    The pair have enjoyed what Allister describes as a “phenomenal” season, clocking wins at The Royal International Horse Show and the BHSA National Championships, and ‘Blue’ enjoys a varied life outside the show ring too.

    “I never take him in the school — we’ve been enjoying galloping around stubble fields and my son, Ben, who is a kennel huntsman for the Dunston Harriers, paraded hounds from him at Easton College recently. I have to keep Blue motivated at home and he very much thinks that unless he’s got a HOYS crowd around him, working is boring!”

    Ahead of the supreme championship and the coloured horse and pony of the year championship tomorrow, Allister is pragmatic.

    “We will go with the flow — if the horse performs as well as he can, then I’ll be happy with that,” explains Allister, who also has a forthcoming operation on his ankle due to arthritis. “We can’t do any more after that — after then, it’s up to the judges.”

    The reserve title went to the heavyweight cob Morrows Marskman, ridden by Simon Reynolds and owned by Clare Trebble.

    Read the full report from HOYS in the next issue of Horse & Hound (23 October).

    You may like...