Meet the 36-year-old veteran pony still winning sashes in the show ring
While many show ponies retire in their teens, one golden oldie is certainly proving that age is definitely just a number.
Harry, a 36-year-old grey coloured pony, was recently seen at the Coloured Horse and Pony Society (CHAPS) championship show, where he not only landed the supreme veteran title, but galloped away with the Lostock Blue Challenge award and also scooped an £1,000 prize when he won the Dan Birch Memorial performance accumulator.
H&H reporter Tricia Johnson, who was at the show said the little grey “looked as exuberant as ever, producing storming gallops which put many of his much-younger rivals to shame.”
Harry is ridden by criminology student Megan Champney who has had him on loan from Cassie Hartley for 16 years. She still hunts him regularly with the Wilton.
“He hasn’t been here since 2013 as we tried to retire him,” said Megan. “He wasn’t having any of it though, so he came back into work and has just hunted for a couple of years before making a show ring comeback this year.
“The day he doesn’t want to do it will be when I stop riding him — he owes me nothing and I owe him the absolute world. I wouldn’t be half the rider I am today if it hadn’t been for the little fat ‘pig pony’ I was given when I was five; he bolted with me countless times and taught me that sitting up and kicking on for the stride is often the way forward.”
Megan also won the non-native yearling final and stood reserve yearling overall with her own Owston Special Edition, who was given to her as a 21st birthday present.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday. In this week’s edition, read the full report from the 2018 CHAPS championship show.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.