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The first rider to win London’s heritage championship four times reveals she’s ‘still winging it; still trying to prove myself‘

Bethan Simons Bethan Simons

    • Discover how Katy started out at the bottom – finishing last two years on the trot in London – before becoming one of the country’s most successful showing riders and producers, how she’s worked at her craft and built up her team, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers

    With 20 ponies to produce, showing producer Katy Marriott-Payne looks set to pick up last season’s winning thread. Katy entered the London International’s prestigious heritage championship in 2025 as one of just three riders to have won the title three times. She left the arena as the first to have won it four times.

    A few months later, she says the win remains “a bit surreal. It’s something that I’d really wanted to do for a long time.”

    Producer Katy Marriott-Payne and Salcombe Starehole Bay win the BSPS Ridden Mountain and Moorland Championship at London International 2025.

    Katy and Salcombe Starehole Bay win at London International 2025. Credit: Elli Birch/Boots And Hooves

    Still, she wasn’t convinced that it would happen despite knowing that her reigning champion, Felicity Thompson’s Dartmoor Salcombe Starehole Bay “had it in him”.

    “He was special from the day he arrived and he’d already come so close to winning it being reserve in 2022,” Katy says. “But things didn’t go to plan there on his last visit, and at that time, there was a lot of talk about adults riding the small breeds, which really affected me. I thought maybe there was a certain amount of prejudice against adult riders and judges were being forced to favour the children. I started to question whether I should be riding a small breed.

    “Luckily, I pulled myself together. I’m happy riding him and he’s happy with me. The people around me told me to stick at it and I’m glad I did.”

    “Cecil’s” win at London was especially sweet. Just a few weeks before his triumph at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in 2022, Felicity suffered a near-fatal kick to the head.

    “It was still so raw at HOYS,” recalls Katy. “We still didn’t know if she was going to survive. He’d already been champion at Royal International [RIHS], but knowing a HOYS win was something Felicity really wanted to achieve with a home-bred meant that as great as it was, it was also really sad for us. Having her at London made it all the more special.”

    Katy’s team fielded five in the championship, with three taking top 10 places. Kimberly Bates finished seventh on Garthfach Classic Addition (Daffodil) – already HOYS and Hickstead-bound again – and Maisie Kerry-Oates punctuated a stellar year finishing fourth and highest-placed junior with reigning RIHS junior champion, Cadlanvalley Royal Bronze (Ozzie).

    Maisie Kerry Oakes and Cadlanvalley Royal Bronze trot from the ring as M&M junior champion at the Royal International

    Maisie Kerry Oakes and Cadlanvalley Royal Bronze stand junior M&M champions at the Royal International in 2025. Credit: Elli Birch/Boots And Hooves

    “They’re both ponies who have had real highs and lows and that I’ve had from breaking in,” she says, adding, “That’s something I’m proud of actually – all four of my London winners all started their careers with me.”

    The win came almost 30 years after she first rode there in 1997.

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    Bethan Simons
    Bethan Simons

    H&H showing editor
    Bethan joined Horse & Hound as showing editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Showing World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she started showing as a teenager and has enjoyed wins at major shows up and down the country, including Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, as well as HOYS, RIHS and London. She is particularly passionate about Welsh breeds and is also a Welsh language commentator.
    Bethan Simons

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