Accountant wins the SEIB Search for a Star championship at HOYS
An accountant celebrates winning the overall title, and there's a nail technician and a social care student in the ribbons too. Here are the amateur riders crowned SEIB Search for a Star winners at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
SEIB Search for a Star: Show Hunter and Overall Champion
A delighted Lynsey Lawrence piloted Mista Fezziwig to take the show hunter title before standing overall SEIB Search for a Star champion. Lynsey, 39, is a mother of two and works as an accountant. She bought seven-year-old ‘Ralph’, a warmblood/thoroughbred cross, when he was a yearling.
“We tried to qualify for SFAS last year, but while he went well on the go-round, he didn’t settle with the ride judge and so has been to clinics to get used to different riders,” said Lynsey, who lives in Bramcote, Nottinghamshire.
SEIB Search for a Star: Riding Horse
A long journey to Birmingham from Bodmin in Cornwall resulted in victory for nail technician Ellie Simmonds, who claimed the riding horse title aboard her six-year-old mare Hevans Forever In My Life and later stood reserve champion.
“My sister Georgie bought ‘Aurora’ as a four-year-old, but as soon as she arrived on the yard I fell in love with her and bought her from Georgie,” said Ellie. “Aurora is a princess; totally spoilt, very beautiful — and she knows it.”
SEIB Search for a Star: Working Show Pony
Emma Grimes’ Ebony And Lace won the working show pony section with 45-year-old Karen Oliver, a freelance trainer, in the saddle.
The mare, who is described as “sensitive”, used to suffer from stage fright, but she was ever the professional under the Birmingham spotlights.
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Tamzin Emmett piloted her own Ruemwood Royal Nico into the runner-up spot.
SEIB Search For A Star: Cob
Charlotte Bunyard, 18, piloted her own Take A Chance On Mr Grey to win the cob class.
The gap year student from Wantage, Oxfordshire, bought the six-year-old gelding one year ago and normally campaigns him in maxi cob ranks.
Colourful Life, owned and ridden by Emma Croft, finished second.
SEIB Search for a Star: Working Show Horse
Marlon Brando collected the working show horse title with Maisie Swain in the saddle. Maisie is a health and social care student at Dunstable College and an active Shillington Riding Club member.
“We bought Marlon just over a year ago when he was just backed and very green,” said Maisie’s mother Danielle, who owns Marlon. She added that the horse is so good-natured she can lead him while pushing a pram, and her young children groom him while standing on top of buckets.
In second place was Polden Partytime, ridden by his owner Sally Ellis Gray.
SEIB Search for a Star: Hack
Natasha Anglin’s Pendley Countryman (‘Peanut’) was crowned top hack.
The 12-year-old was partnered by 16-year-old Danni Waterman, from Middlesex, who only started riding two years ago and met Natasha at her local riding school.
Come back to horseandhound.co.uk tomorrow to find out who else has won a Search for a Star title. Don’t miss the full HOYS report in next week’s issue of H&H, on sale Thursday 12 October.
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Aimi was responsible for Horse & Hound’s showing, pointing and veterinary pages, as well as assisting with eventing content. Aimi also edited Horse & Hound’s popular occasional magazines, Ask The Vet and Ask The Trainer. She is the former deputy editor of Eventing magazine. She left Horse & Hound at the end of 2017 to take on new challenges in the publishing industry and is now editor at Your Horse.