Flurry of engagements for event riders over Christmas

Maybe it was down to the magic of the festive season… Or perhaps because roughed-off horses afford time to think about other things, but several event riders are now looking to squeeze weddings into their busy 2012 schedules.

Among those who said “yes” over the holiday were Georgie Davies, Sacha Pemble, Selina Elliott and Kate Lukas, while Nick Gauntlett and Sam Watson (pictured) both popped the question.

Nick and Sam both chose Christmas Day to do the deed – and hid the rings at the bottom of their girlfriends’ stockings.

Sam told H&H he buried it beneath “a load of crap presents”, so Hannah “Sparkles” Bailey (Pippa Funnell’s former head girl) was looking “really fed up” until she found it.

Georgie Davies was out hacking with her fianc © Will Dalton when he hopped off his horse “saying he needed a wee”.

He managed to slip the ring on to her finger before Georgie’s top ride, Orlando, decided to whip round and head for home.

And top marks for ingenuity must go to Kate Lukas’ fianc © Matt Tarrant. He ensured that the sparkler she is now sporting was the correct size by wrapping some baler twine around her finger.

H&H predicts there’ll be some horse-trading over wedding dates – many are plumping for November, once the season is over.

Tedworth huntsman Oliver Harding also got down on one knee on Christmas Day – to hunt stud groom Rachael Ridley – with a ring he had tied to the Christmas tree.

And H&H point-to-point columnist Richard Woollacott chose midnight on New Year’s Eve to propose to Kayley Jones, over a quiet dinner at home.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H

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