2022 HOYS finalist Rookery Boomerang

At the 2022 British Show Pony Society (BSPS) summer championships, a 12-year-old rider and her home-produced Welsh section A Rookery Boomerang headed a mammoth M&M junior ridden small breeds class, lifting their first ever Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) pass.

Holly Dilks and her mother Fae Dilks’ Rookery Boomerang, known at home as Boomy, have progressed through the show ring ranks together. Boomy was an eighth birthday present for Holly.

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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.

‘He was the best birthday present’: home-produced pair who ‘school on the beach’ head to HOYS

“He was the best birthday present ever,” said Fae. “He’s brought Holly off the lead rein and has given her so much confidence. She was a nervous rider and he’s taken her through Pony Club, first ridden, hunting, arena eventing and showing.”

Boomy was bought locally as a first year first ridden, after taking two children successfully into the show ring off the lead rein.

“He is the perfect first pony,” said Fae. “He’s a total gent to ride, but has a cheeky Welsh character on the ground. He loves his food and is willing to break and enter to obtain it.”

“He’s our pony of a lifetime and there’s nothing he cannot do,” said Fae. “They have worked incredibly hard together. At home in Cumbria we have no facilities. We use hacking to keep fit and we school on the beach when the field is too wet.

“Holly is due to compete at HOYS the day after her 13th birthday, so what a present that will be for her.”

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