‘Showing participation is flourishing, but it’s becoming harder to find good young horses,’ says Vicky Smith
Producer Vicky Smith on finding young show horses and Horse of the Year Show
As the season draws to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on the year.
Showing participation is flourishing. Despite the rising costs of producing horses, entries have been promising. Both the British Show Pony Society and the Coloured Horse and Pony Society had record-high entries at their championship shows, while the British Show Horse Association saw a considerable increase on last season’s entries.
Good show horses are harder to source so I have begun buying and keeping young horses as I find them, mainly from breeders. While showing entries are promising, finding owners to invest for the long term is becoming harder; buying a three-year-old means waiting three years to see their charge on the open circuit.
With this in mind I created a syndicate with 10 owners who have invested in a four-year-old together. Syndication seems to work in racing so hopefully it could be the start of something new and exciting in showing.
The excitement of HOYS
One of the highlights of the calendar is the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). I competed at my first HOYS at Wembley in the 1990s and I still get the same butterflies in my stomach now as I drive into the car park.
As always I felt privileged just to compete at HOYS, but I did leave wondering about the judging process and how judges are selected.
I’ve been on numerous panels for over 20 years. Each one requires a stringent application, assessment and probationary process with regular conferences and email correspondence to keep judges up to date with rules and welfare concerns.
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It does make me wonder if the overseas “celebrity” judge selection works at championship shows.
Despite being highly qualified in their own fields, it’s hard for judges to assess animals in a field they have had little experience of. For example, how can an individual assess hunters if they haven’t jumped or ever followed hounds?
Others had not only little judging experience of the type of animal in front of them, but were also unfamiliar with the marking system. So it’s a big risk and a big ask of judges and isn’t a popular choice with a lot of competitors.
We all work hard and spend a lot of time preparing horses for the size, shape and way of riding of the ride judge before handing over the reins to a stranger.
HOYS is the final spectacle of the season and publishing of judges well in advance is crucial to allow owners to make decisions on season planning. This allows professionals and amateurs alike the opportunity to do their homework properly.
Nurturing talent
One of my personal highlights was watching the 128cm showjumping final. The friendship and talent in the collecting ring was unreal. As a former teacher, I understand only too well the importance of safeguarding, but in my opinion, it’s criminal to think British Showjumping is threatening to stop this class in 2029.
Without a spectacle like the HOYS Price Family in-hand supreme – won this year by Seywoods Royal Dancer – some breeders may not wish to continue, says Vicky
Surely we need to provide these young riders with every opportunity to compete on the main stage in their early careers? I’m relieved that as yet, no such plan is in place for young riders in showing and I hope that it won’t ever be considered.
Seeing all of the Price Family supreme in-hand finalists together in the main arena in the evening performance was another wonderful spectacle.
It’s vital we give breeders who enjoy showing, and find this particular final an incentive to keep breeding, a platform such as this to showcase their breeding and their youngstock. Without it, I fear finding youngsters with promise will only become more difficult.
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Vicky Smith is a leading producer of horses for the show ring. She boasts multiple Windsor, Royal International and Horse of the Year Show championships.