A tack malfunction in the form of a broken stirrup at HOYS during the working hunter pony final wasn’t going to stop a rider and her Welsh stallion… until it did.
Robyn-Jayne Hadland and Garlance Flash Jac set off around the 133cm M&M working hunter pony track at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) with gusto, until Robyn’s stirrup leather unexpected snapped at the second fence.
Jac, who qualified for this year’s final at Robyn’s local show Flint and Denbigh, was not deterred, though, and the pair kept on going until the ninth fence where Robyn couldn’t quite manage to stay in the plate, just two fences from home.
“We jumped the first fence well, then over the second I looked down at my stirrup and saw it had snapped,” Robyn recalls. “I thought ‘screw it’ and carried on.
“A few years ago I actually lost my stirrup while jumping a novice course and we went clear so I thought I could do it again. I’d paid for my entry and there was a crowd full of people watching, too!”
The pair managed to jump seven fences after suffering the broken stirrup at HOYS.
“Jac had a poo, came back to trot and I just lost my balance,” Robyn continues. “He’s normally very keen to a fence so I think he was like ‘something’s wrong, Mum’. Though the whole way around he went so well; if I was going, he was going.”
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Robyn and Jac had finished seventh in the open Welsh section C final the previous day.
“As we’d had such a good week, I still left the ring smiling,” Robyn says.
Robyn has owned 10-year-old Jac for four years. This was his second worker appearance here, and his first on the flat. He stood second at the Royal International in 2023.
“He hasn’t actually done a lot of jumping at all, but he loves it,” Robyn adds. “Last year [at HOYS] I’d broken my hand so couldn’t ride him here, so it was just nice to be able to get the chance this time.
“We have such a good bond and while at home’s very mischievous, but he doesn’t put a foot wrong under-saddle.”
● Have you ever experienced a tack malfunction at a key moment? Share your story by emailing hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
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.
