Palomino event horse competes at Bramham: meet Future Plans

Palomino event horse Future Plans — Louisa Milne Home and Future Plans at Bramham 2023.

(Image credit: Benjamin Clark Photography)

Among the event horses competing at Bramham Horse Trials this week, one definitely stands out – the palomino Future Plans, ridden by Scotland’s Louisa Milne Home and owned by his rider and Susie Wilks.

“My first pony was a palomino called Popcorn and I always fancied having a nice palomino event horse, but finding a nice one is tricky because they’re not all performance sports horses,” said Louisa after her dressage yesterday.

Future Plans was bred by Eddie Hanlon in Co Wicklow. His pedigree shows he is by the cremello stallion Crown’s Ace Of Pearl, who stands at The Ivy Stud in Herefordshire, out of a chestnut Irish sport horse mare called Out To Sea – a match which The Ivy Stud website explains was guaranteed to produce a palomino. Out To Sea is by the thoroughbred Tasset out of an Irish draught mare by Sea Crest, the sire of Cruising.

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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.

Meet the palomino competing at Bramham: ‘He’s very striking with bags of ability’

“I saw him at Dublin Horse Show in the young horse class but I was too slow and Vere Phillipps bought him, so then I bought him from Vere.

“He’s very striking. He was really green at that point and was probably bottom of the pile in Dublin, but he had a nice attitude while being babyish.

“He looked willing and was still trying even though he was a bit gobsmacked and that’s kind of been his thing all along. He’s quite spooky, quite nervous, but he does try hard and he’s got bags of ability so I’m very lucky.”

“He’s actually quite conventionally bred for eventing,” says Louisa.

Louisa and Future Plans did their dressage in the CCI4*-L yesterday, scoring 35.8 to sit 11th overnight.

Like many in this higher-scoring competition, Louisa was disappointed with her mark.

“But he went great and that’s the main thing – basically that’s all you can judge it on, how you feel they’ve gone against their normal performances,” she said.

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