Starters orders for young event horses

The first of the Winergy Burghley Young Event Horse Qualifiers will get underway at Chepstow Horse Trials later this month.

A total of 20 qualifiers will be held around the UK between May and August 2004 at a range of venues. The series culminates in the four- and five-year-old finals at Burghley Horse Trials in September.

The Young Event Horse Series, which is in its 14th year, has become a showcase for British event horse breeding. Identifying the three-day event equine stars of tomorrow, the series provides a useful guide for breeders, owners and riders.

Some of today’s most versatile three-day eventers were spotted as future talent through the series. Leslie Law’s Shear H2O caught the judge’s eye in the 1995 five-year-old’s final, while Primmore’s Pride, who took Pippa Funnell to victory at Burghley in 2003 and played a major role in her Grand Slam success, was also a former star of the series.

Judges, who this year will include the cream of equestrianism, will be looking for athletic loose-moving horses with a promising jumping technique, which with correct training would make a successful three-day eventer.

The judges will also be assessing horses presence and trying to identify those that possess that “star quality” of horses which make it at the highest level.

For further details on the WINERGY Burghley Young Event Horse qualifiers visit: www.burghley-horse.co.uk or (tel: 01780 752131).

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