Tales from Hickstead: Veteran driving pony turns his hoof to in-hand showing at the Royal International

Stephanie Bateman's avatar
By
Published In Features
Danielle Twitchen's veteran driving pony turns his hoof to in-hand showing
Danielle Twitchen's 31-year-old driving pony Bronheulog Principle turns his hoof to in-hand showing.
(Image credit: credits-unknown)

DANIELLE TWITCHEN’s former driving pony Welsh section C Bronheulog Principle, is enjoying a change of sport and has qualified for his first ever Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) at the ripe age of 31. The gelding made the swap to in-hand showing at the end of 2019 and qualified for the RIHS on his first attempt last year.

“He’s been a carriage driving pony all his life and has been with me for 26 years,” said Danielle. “We attended our first ever Senior Horse Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) qualifier and went champion in-hand to qualify for RIHS. It was a bit stressful as we qualified at the one and only show in 2020, so were really thankful that our ticket was carried over to this year.”

Stephanie Bateman
Stephanie Bateman
Freelance journalist

Stephanie Bateman began her career working for Horse & Hound’s sister title HORSE magazine in 2009 after studying a BSc Equine Science degree at Hartpury university. After a few years working in-house for a national equestrian title, she went freelance in 2011, and now writes for a variety of print and online platforms, editing sections of national monthly magazines and contributing regular features and event reports to Horse & Hound. She juggles working with being a mummy and wife, and riding her coloured mare Matilda.