Eventing potential heads young horse series
Potential eventers are leading the way in this year’s BEF/SEIB Young Horse Evaluation series. Halfway through the series, four of Preci-Spark’s home-breds are heading for the final at the Royal Show after Vin and Liz Jones’s horses dominated at Richmond and Sheepgate.
Trequite, by Primitive Rising, and Trescothick, by the French stallion Hand In Glove, are at the top of the list. Out of a mare by the Irish Sport Horse Puissance, Trequite is a half-brother to Trebetherick (pictured), last year’s Burghley young event horse four-year-old and evaluation champion.
Trelights and Tregawn, also from the Preci-Spark stable, qualified at Sheepgate. Trelights, a mare by national hunt sire Double Trigger, is the second foal for the Welton Crackerjack mare Welton Lady, who was the 1996 Burghley young event horse champion. Tregawn, by Primitive Rising, is out of the Ben Faerie mare who produced the colt Trefry, who passed an initial assessment at the recent SHB(GB) grading.
At Richmond, the mare Millie On Air qualified for her owner/breeders Sue and Nicola Browne. Millie is by Nicola’s advanced event stallion Mill Law and out of the Primitive Rising mare Triple Echo.
At Rowallan in Scotland, the scoreboard was headed by Cathpair High Hopes, another from the eventing section. High Hopes, ridden by Caroline Powell, is by the recently deceased Accondy out of a Royal Fountain mare with Ozymandias bloodlines. His owner, Jane Bell, started her breeding programme five years ago after moving to the Borders.
“I have another by Accondy destined for the racetrack, but this one was bred for eventing. We’re looking forward to competing him next year,” said Jane.
The show jumpers at Rowallan were headed by Uptown Girl, bred by Mary Turnbull. Ridden by Jennie Herries, Uptown Girl is by Concorde out of an Ahorn Mare.
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Only one mare has so far gone home with elite status, which is awarded to mares gaining an overall mark of eight or more. Tiffany II, ridden by Georgie Strutton, gained the highest mark of the day at Crockstead in Sussex in the section for show jumpers. Bred by Old Lodge, she is by the Grand Veneur son Veneur Du Montois out of Lefanie, by Damiro. Lefanie is also the dam of Little Lefanie, a former winner of the best British-bred five-year-old. Last year, Tiffany produced a foal by the French Olympic show jumper Barbarian, but she is now destined for competition.
Witness, by the grand prix dressage stallion Sheepcote Wurlitzer, was the first dressage horse to qualify for the final. Witness was bred by his owner/rider Nicola Austin out of a Russian-bred Trakehner mare by Hockey.
Dressage breeder Katy Holder-Vale’s stallion Elroon qualified for the show jumping final at Sheepgate. By Escudo, Elroon was bought as a licensed two-year-old from Germany and has since passed his performance test.
“He now has his first foals and has qualified for the Panacur national young dressage horse final,” said Katy, of Witcham House Stud in Cambridgeshire.
Brendon Hill stud open day
Diana and Michael Scott are opening the doors of their famous Brendon Hill stud in Somerset on Sunday (26 June) to raise funds for the Air Ambulance and Devon & Somerset Stag Hounds.
The afternoon will begin with lunch (£20 per ticket) followed by a parade of the stud’s stallions and young stock, starting at around 3pm, plus a walk round the mares and foals. All four of the stud’s sires, Hot Rumour, Its Without Doubt, Ben’s Affaere and Future Role, will be taking part. Three of the stud’s stallions carry the bloodlines of the stud’s foundation sire Ben Faerie, who has sired many successful event horses including Ginny Elliot’s Priceless and Pippa Funnell’s Walk on Star.
For more information contact: (tel: 01398 371222 or 371254) or visit: www.brendonhill-stallions.co.uk
This Young Horse Evaluation Series report was first published in Horse & Hound. For all the latest news on the series, see this Thursday’s Horse & Hound (23 June, ’05).
