‘I’m very proud of him’: 12-year-old rider shows the adults how it’s done in Hickstead’s International Arena
Alfie Bailey is still riding 128cm ponies but he qualified horses for all three of the championships he contested at the September tour
Alfie Bailey still has the rest of this year riding 128cms – but he came second, third and third again against adults in the International Arena at Hickstead on the second weekend of the All England September tour (12-13 September).
The 12-year-old came second and third in the 1m championship, with Barbara’s Dancer and Midnight Time respectively, and finished third in the 1.20m amateur final, won by Alana Collett on Rathbride Millie, with Gemmarco 16. He and Sandra Pavitt’s stallion clocked the fastest time in the 1.20m by some four seconds, but just clipped the very last fence.
Alfie said he enjoys riding the horses as much as the ponies – he has two 128cms qualified for Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and one 138cm – adding that his plan is: “Just do what you’ve got to do!”
“I’m very proud of him,” dad Charlie said. “It’s a lot of work but worth it in the end, and it's a nice thing for your children to be into.”
Alfie’s mother Annie has owned Midnight, who is now 19, since he was four; he came ninth in the British speed Derby in 2022, and was placed second, fourth and ninth in the Douglas Bunn challenge at the September show in different years, with Darren Wise, and came third in the bronze league final at HOYS with Leah Lynch in 2023. Annie joked that she has had Midnight longer than she has her son.
Alfie Bailey wants to showjump professionally – and aims to get on a children-on-horses team next year.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.