The highly-anticipated HOYS junior M&M ridden championship, sponsored by UK Ponies and Horses Ltd, saw a Fell and a Welsh section B take top championship honours, giving their riders their first Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) wins.
Leading the field was the large breed victors, Chantelle Chapman and her mother Victoria Oliver’s home-produced Fell gelding Greenholme Falcon. The Greenholme Look At Me 10-year-old went superbly throughout, to reign over the winning small, Samantha Walker’s Welsh section B Melau Aramis ridden by Lilly Walker, who was reserve for the HOYS junior M&M ridden title last year riding Amilas Clicquot.
Chantelle, 17, produces Falcon from home in Essex and the pair have progressed up the showing ranks together. They first hit the headlines in 2018 when they won the inaugural SEIB Search For A Star mountain and moorland supreme title held at Your Horse Live. The have also appeared at HOYS before.
Today, they returned to the country’s most prestigious show to reign.
The family have owned Falcon for six years.
“He’s come such a long way,” said Chantelle, who also competes Falcon in working hunter classes and took the section championship with him at Royal Windsor last year.
The family have battled their fair share of hardship to even get to HOYS this season. Earlier this year, Victoria was diagnosed with cancer and she is still undergoing intense treatment.
“HOYS preparation has been different this year as obviously we haven’t had Mum,” said Chantelle. “I’ve been doing Falcon myself with help from my brother, Bobby. We’ve worked hard together and it’s obviously paid off.”
Victoria was super proud of her daughter:
“Things have been tricky and we’ve had some bad times this year, but Falcon has been our rock. When things are down he picks us up,” she said. “Chantelle is a grafter; she works for a show jumper and she comes home to do the ponies before helping me at home.
“I’ve tried to go to as many shows as I can this year, but typically, the only one I missed she qualified for HOYS.”
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