Latest from Horse & Hound in British-showjumping-national-championships

‘Fantastic opportunity’ as third arena means new national championship for amateur riders

Eleanor Jones — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:22:21 +0000

Grassroots showjumpers have a new national final to aim for at the British Showjumping National Championships.

As a third surfaced arena has been created, the new national 95cm championship will be included at this year’s event, which runs at Stoneleigh Park from 4 to 9 August. This and the 1.05m and 1.25m championships, which were introduced two years ago, will run over three days including preliminary rounds and a championship or consolation final.

“We are always looking for ways to enhance the national championships experience for our members, and the addition of the additional arena has given us a fantastic opportunity to do just that,” said British Showjumping (BS) national director of sport Stephanie Toogood.

“Introducing the national 95cm championship allows us to welcome even more combinations to compete for a national title and provides another important stepping stone within our championship pathway.”

To qualify, combinations must have jumped four double clears at 90cm or above, between 1 January and 30 June this year. It is restricted to combinations who are eligible for the bronze league.

“The introduction of the national 95cm championship reflects British Showjumping’s continued commitment to creating opportunities for members at all levels of the sport, recognising the importance of grassroots competition and providing clear progression pathways for riders and horses,” a BS spokesperson said.

The teams and para championships will also run in the new arena, and the Andrews Bowen surfaces on the two existing rings has been refreshed.

Emma Williams, event director at championship organiser Grandstand Media, said: “As organisers, we are committed to improving the national championships experience and have made significant investments in the venue’s infrastructure.

“We’re proud to have introduced a third arena, creating opportunities to expand the programme. It’s fantastic to see this investment enable British Showjumping to launch the new national 95cm championship and welcome even more riders to compete for a national title.”

More details on issues including final qualification criteria and schedules will be announced in the near future.

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Chris Smith: ‘There were more officials watching the speed class than spectators’

Chris Smith — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:28:24 +0000

British international showjumper, producer of young horses and highly respected coach, Chris Smith, ponders how to make the national championships in to a flagship event

Potentially, the British Showjumping (BS) National Championships could be an amazing show, it’s just lacking something. It is hard to put your finger on what that something is, but I think it needs a bit of a shake-up to make it successful.

Perhaps it’s the lack of atmosphere more than anything. Driving in is like arriving on a building site. They can’t help what’s going on around the show, but there’s no banner, or anything to say you’re at a national championship. It’s a shame as it should be our biggest national show of the year.

The speed class, which I won, finished at 7pm and I counted just eight people watching – there were more course-builders and judges than spectators.

I think holding the show at Bolesworth in 2020 highlighted some real issues, as Nina Barbour did a fantastic job there. Could the organisers listen to feedback then get together with BS chief executive Iain Graham – and I don’t think this is down to BS – to come up with a new concept?

I’ve been to some of the European national shows and they are spectacles. Our flagship event isn’t.

Conflicting schedules

The schedule could do with some tweaking because the juniors and seniors are pretty much separate shows now and the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) wild card series is held over three consecutive days, which is a lot of jumping.

On the first day, the 1.30m and 1.40m ran at the same time, but the same riders contest both classes, so they were calling Joe Trunkfield and put him on a three-minute warning, but he also had three horses to ride in the wild card. I think people got a bit fed up. The flagship class should be on a Saturday but it was on a Thursday afternoon, when everyone’s at work.

Scope Festival used to have something for everybody, with some of the best classes you’d ever jump and it was rammed; people had a good time.

We’re lucky to have shows like this, but we don’t make the most of them. We have some of the best facilities and the best riders in the world, we just need something to bring them in.

The national championships are never going to have prize money to match the Global Champions Tour, but other countries’ national championships attract their top riders.

Butlins for showjumpers

Perhaps organisers could involve someone who understands what riders and owners want – there was no one in hospitality, no parties and it was a ghost town by 8pm. That’s what made Scope work so well. You had the best riders there and it was like Butlins for the rest of them.

The courses at this year’s championships were good, the results were fair, the jumping was fantastic and Rebecca Marsh deserved the title. But there’s an opportunity for change, so let’s make it happen.

● What would you like to see at the British Showjumping National Championships? Write to us to let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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British gold medallist, 20, is first woman in 61 years to win Dublin puissance: ‘He’s an unbelievable horse’

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‘I absolutely adore him’: dream comes true as national champions make history by retaining their title

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‘He bucked me off every time!’ Years of hard work pay off as young rider wins national title on pony she started herself

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‘The best ponies in the whole world’: tiny rider beats older competition to win two national titles

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‘I’m so proud of who she is and what she’s done’: young rider’s epic summer continues with top championship win

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 16:10:10 +0000

Hollie Gerken has cemented her place in the showjumping halls of fame as she added the national 148cm title to her vast list of achievements, in her last year on ponies.

Hollie, who turns 16 in December, and Livewire VI won the title at the British Showjumping National Championships with the only clear round, ahead of pony Foxhunter champions Ella Spencer and Rouet Rouge.

Only four of 39 starters jumped clear in the first round, which Hollie said she had not expected.

“We all knew it would be technical, and it was built to height but I thought there would be more clears,” she said. “When there are 10 or 11 in the jump-off, you have to plan to go fast but as there were only four and I was third, and the others had had poles, [my trainer] Paul Kelly said just to do the usual thing but not move up as much between fences, or go quite as tight. ‘Lily’ jumped amazing; I’m so proud of her.”

Hollie, who has now won just about every national title on offer, not to mention team gold at the pony European Championships this summer, said it had been a great summer, topped off by winning this final for the first time.

“I’m really sad I will have to come off the ponies, but it has been an amazing year,” she said, thanking Paul and his wife Kerry Grimster for all their support.

Her mother Jade paid tribute to Hollie’s glittering CV so far.

“I’m just so proud of her,” she said. “She’s so level-headed and grounded, a lovely girl who works so hard, and this makes all the running around worthwhile. I’m so proud of who she is and what she’s done.”

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‘The best ponies in the whole world’: tiny rider beats older competition to win two national titles

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 16:06:13 +0000

Anya Dewey Clarke pulled off a spectacular British Showjumping National Championships double, winning the 128cm final on the legendary Jim, and, without turning a hair, the 138cm title with Fredaine De Blonde, less than two hours later.

Anya said to win both was “absolutely incredible”.

“They’re the best ponies in the whole world,” she said. “It was such a shock to win both titles.”

Anya is no stranger to leading major laps of honour; she and Jim already have two winter 128cm finals to their name, but Anya said she took nothing for granted.

“We didn’t go expecting to win – but we went to give it a good go!” she said, after she and the 17-year-old superstar had flown round as is their wont to win by two seconds.

Picture by 1st Class Images (Image credit: creditUnknown)

She and her mother Anna had even lower expectations for the 138cm final, as Anya is still only 10, so has two years left on 128s, and was four years younger than some of her competition.

“I just tried to get a big canter and get the turns super-tight and super-smooth,” she said, both of which she and 10-year-old “Blondie” did admirably.

“She’s the loveliest girl; I call her beautiful Blondie.”

Her mother Anna added that she is “so unbelievably proud”.

“When she came out [in the 138s], I thought she’d come second, and said that was amazing.” she said. “Then someone said ‘Don’t you know what that music means? She’s in the lead’! I was so nervous, I hadn’t realised. Anya works so hard; she’s got an immense work ethic, and has an incredible bond with her ponies.”

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‘He bucked me off every time!’ Years of hard work pay off as young rider wins national title on pony she started herself

Eleanor Jones — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 16:01:12 +0000

Years of hard work and persistence paid off for Gracie Maw, as she won the discovery final at the British Showjumping National Championships with a pony her family bought as a two-year-old, and she has done everything with herself.

Gracie and seven-year-old Creggaun Sparrow Dun triumphed in a class of 72 starters to win their first national title – something neither Gracie nor her mother Amy had ever thought possible – two days before Gracie’s 15th birthday.

“She was only 10 when I bought him and everyone said I shouldn’t buy a youngster but I had to because of the price of ponies,” Amy said. “She’s done it all herself and it’s been challenging, so it means so much to do something like this; it’s all paid off. She’s already got her Horse of the Year Show ticket for the newcomers final, and she’s still got another year to ride him so it’s brilliant, and she deserves it.”

Gracie said the winning feeling was all the more rewarding after the journey she and “Murphy” have had.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “Five years of hard work and this year, it’s really come together. He impresses me more each time, and it makes an achievement like this even more special.”

The Maws bought Irish-bred Murphy after he had been in the UK for a couple of weeks. When he was old enough to be backed, he was sent away for a few weeks to learn the basics.

“Then I took him on, when I was 10,” Gracie said. “It was really hard and I lost my confidence as he bucked me off every time! He wasn’t easy at all, and all my friends were off jumping their ponies and doing better. But my mum said I had two options: sell him and have nothing, or work with him, so I worked with him.

“When we bought him, we thought he’d be a pony who’d just do 60cm so to do this; I never expected him to shine like he has. He’s a lovely pony.”

Gracie added that she knew she was up against speedy ponies and riders in her jump-off, “so I knew I had to put my all into it”.

“I had to get my turns right, keep straight and go as fast as I could,” she said. “There’s a lot to think about but the adrenaline kicked in, it all goes quiet and you crack on.”

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‘I absolutely adore him’: dream comes true as national champions make history by retaining their title

Sarah Radford — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 14:16:55 +0000

Rebecca Marsh and Stevie G became the first combination to successfully defend the national champion title, seizing the British Showjumping (BS) Business Partnership international stairway final at the BS National Championships with a fiercely competitive round that was also the sole double clear.

“Winning the national championships twice in a row is a bit of a dream, especially with it not having been done before,” Rebecca said. “He’s so amazing, what a guy. I absolutely adore him, he gives 100% every time.”

The first-round track was “quite big and tough”, and clear rounds were slow to materialise, but by the time all 28 competitors had jumped, six remained faultless.

Rebecca had taken two rides through, enabling her to have a pathfinding trip on her less experienced mare Izara Des Dames. And by the time she entered the ring in penultimate draw on 13-year-old Billy Mexico gelding Stevie, nobody had kept a clean sheet.

She delivered a fluid and harmonious round that axed one second from Miles O’Donnell’s leading four-fault performance on Jackpot DS – and there was only Anna Power and McQueen IV left to challenge. They went all out to cut 0.57sec from the target time but had to settle for the runner-up spot when a pole fell.

Rebecca’s run-up to the show was almost a facsimile of last year’s, as the pair hit top form right on cue, winning the area trial at Royal Lancashire before going on to claim victory here.

“Getting a Horse of the Year Show [HOYS] wild card was the aim,” she said.

“It’s great qualifying for HOYS – it’s one of those shows you always want to go to as a child, so to do it last year and have that experience, to then do it back to back this year – you know it means a lot, and I can’t wait to go back.”

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‘This one’s for you’: rider qualifies for national championships with horse renamed for his late owner

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 16:40:39 +0000

The winner of the British novice second round at Bicton Arena said “This one’s for you, Iris,” as she qualified for the nationals on a horse whose owner had died just a year beforehand.

Clare Lewis and Malibu IAW topped the class on 15 June to earn their ticket to the finals; Clare added the initials to Malibu’s name in honour of Iris Wotton, who was killed in a car crash last year.

She told H&H she had known Iris for years and had ridden Malibu “on and off” since he was young.

“After Iris’s accident, her daughter found some old photos of me riding him and asked if I’d like to buy him – and I couldn’t think of any reason to say no,” she said. “I had to think outside the box [about renaming him] and that was perfect; it’s lovely to keep thinking about her.”

There were 22 starters in the second round but only two combinations made it into the second jump-off so Clare and 16-year-old Phoebe Green (KMS Mr Blue Heart) knew their places in the finals were secure.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“I’d have been happy with top six!” Clare said. “We were second to go, so I just thought ‘You do what you like, I’m just going for a steady clear’ – but it was special to win.

“He’s a real cheeky chap, but like a big labrador; an absolute sweetheart. I’ve never jumped at Stoneleigh so that’s quite exciting.”

Phoebe’s proud grandmother Jackie Shore told H&H the teenager has only started competing in senior classes this year. Jackie was a close friend of Iris, and owned a horse Clare used to ride.

She said Iris, a former Pony Club district commissioner, was on her way to watch her grandchildren ride when she was hit by another car.

“It’s nice to keep her memory alive, and Malibu is a lovely horse,” she said. “It was great two local riders came first and second, and a lovely thing for Iris.”

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Are you looking for a showjumping championship target? Plan your 2025 season with our helpful guide

Jennifer Donald — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 08:30:43 +0000

Whether you’re competing in British Showjumping, or choosing the unaffiliated route, showjumpers who like to have a championship goal have a number of different options to consider in 2025. Whether you’re aiming for a prestigious qualifier or just looking to rack up points, there’s no shortage of showjumping championship opportunities to test your skills, whatever your level. Here’s a taste of what you could target – or enjoy from the stands – this season.

Showjumping championships to aim for in 2025

Blue Chip Winter Showjumping Championships

Addington Equestrian, Bucks

8–13 April

Level: from novice to JA ponies (80cm–1.20m) and novice to grade A horses (90cm–1.30m). There are 16 championship finals.

Qualification

Top eight horses (subject to clear round) in each of the 280 qualifying classes through the winter go through to championships. There are a handful of qualifiers left in late February/early March, but make it an aim for spring 2026, with qualifiers starting again in October.

Visit: bluechipchamps.co.uk/qualifiers/

British Showjumping National Championships (BSNC)

Stoneleigh Park, Warks

5–10 August

Level: more than 40 classes to qualify for in junior, senior and para categories. From 90cm up to 1.40m.

Qualification (not an exhaustive list)

1.15m Members Cup championship (for riders not listed in gold league): two double clears between 1 June–31 May.
National 1.30m open, 1.40m open and national B&C handicap championships: two double clears at the level qualify between July–June.
Redpost Equestrian senior Foxhunter, senior newcomers, Nupafeed Supplements discovery championship and British novice championship – for horses who have won up to 700 (Foxhunter), 375 (newcomers), 225 (discovery) or 125 (British novice) points. First round qualifiers run between 1 May–30 April, with four double clears qualifying for second round. Second rounds run April to July. Top five plus treble clears (Foxhunter and newcomers) or dependent on placing per number of starters plus treble clears (discovery and British novice)
National 1.05m championship (bronze league combinations): three double clears at 1m or above between 1 January–30 June.
National 1.25m championship (silver league combinations): three double clears at 1.20m or above between 1 January–30 June.
Pony bronze and silver league finals: the top 10 combinations in the regional leagues in each height category will be invited to the championships.
STX-UK pony Foxhunter and Blue Chip Pony newcomers masters, for ponies who have won up to 700 and 500 points respectively: first round qualifiers as for horses. Second rounds run April to July with the top eight qualifying, and all treble clears.
Pony discovery and STX-UK Pony British novice championship, for ponies who have won up to 300 and 150 points respectively: First round qualifiers as above. Second rounds run April to July with the top 10 qualifying, and all treble clears.
Para classes (grade I–IV/70–90cm): open to all registered BS para equestrians (club and national). Riders must have competed in a para competition or attended BS para jumping training in the 12 months prior to BSNC. Riders may only compete in their graded height unless they request in writing to jump up a grade.

Visit: bsnationalchampionships.co.uk/

Horse of the Year Show (HOYS)

NEC, Birmingham

8–12 October

Levels: bronze and silver leagues, grade C, newcomers, talent seekers, Foxhunter, 128cm 138cm and 148cm

Qualification

NAF bronze and silver league: eight regional leagues accrue points in classes; between 85cm and 1.10m for bronze and 1.10-1.30m for silver. League periods are 1 April–20 September and 1 October–31 March. The top 15 combinations in each, plus the top three in each of eight direct qualifiers, will go to the semi-finals; seven from each qualify for the respective final. For more details on these qualifiers visit: britishshowjumping.co.uk
HOYS grade C: qualifiers run April to September yearly. Top three qualify.
Events Through A Lens talent seeker incorporating seven-year-old final: qualifiers run April to September yearly. Top four qualify to HOYS including highest-placed seven-year-old.
Redpost Equestrian Foxhunter and senior newcomers championship: first rounds as above. Second rounds run April–July with the top two horses qualifying for the final. The top four in the Foxhunter and newcomers masters at BSNC also qualify.
128cm, 138cm and 148cm (pony showjumper of the year) qualifiers run May–July yearly, riders must have obtained two double clears at 1m, 1.10m or 1.20m or above respectively to jump qualifiers. Top four combinations qualify to final; must jump clear in first round.
STX-UK Pony Foxhunter and pony newcomers championship: first round qualifiers run 1 May–30 April, four double clears qualifying for second rounds. Second rounds run April to July with the top four qualifying for final.

Scope Festival

South View EC, Cheshire

Seniors: 17–19 August

Juniors: 21–23 August

Level: from 85m to 1.40m; horses and ponies

Qualification

For the majority of classes, combinations or horses (dependent on class) need to record one double clear at qualifiers between 1 January–31 July.
Qualifiers are listed at: britishshowjumping.co.uk

The All England September Tour

All England Showground, Hickstead, West Sussex

27–31 August and 3-7 September

Level: 90cm to 1.40m grand prix

Multiple rings run throughout the show, with chances to qualify for finals in the International Arena.

The Arena UK Major Showjumping Championships

Arena UK, Lincs

15–21 September

Level: British novice to 1.40m

A full range of national classes, with riders competing throughout the week to qualify for the finals, with the 1.40m grand prix the highlight on the Saturday night. Also runs puissance, six-bar, ride-and-drive plus entertainment and hospitality.

Amateurs

National Amateur & Veteran Championships

Aintree International EC, Merseyside

November, exact date TBC

Level: 85cm, 95cm, 1.05m, 1.10m, minor veteran riders and major veteran riders

Qualification

For amateur and over-45yo riders who are not on the BS gold league, or silver league as horse/rider combination. Cannot have competed on any senior team in past 10 years or youth team in past five.
Amateurs need to jump five double clears in any of the classes between 1 September to 31 August for direct qualification. You can qualify for second rounds with one double clear and then need to finish in top eight with an initial clear. Veteran championships by direct entry.

Sunshine Tour Championships

All England Showground, Hickstead, W Sussex

11–14 September

Level: fun championships series for novice, amateur and unaffiliated, with finals in dressage showing, showjumping and eventers’ challenge.

Qualification

Combinations must be registered with the Sunshine Tour.
Finish first to third in an open, unaffiliated showjumping or dressage class at a registered centre or club, from 1 January and 31 July.
Finish first to fourth in an open, unaffiliated showing or eventers’ challenge from 1 November to 31 December at any centre or club; and from 1 January to 31 July at a registered centre or club. Submit evidence of results within one month of qualifying competition. Entries open 10 August.

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Veteran combination claim BS national title for second time in three years

Sarah Radford — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 17:08:27 +0000

Adrian Speight and 17-year-old veteran Millfield Baloney proved they were still at the top of their game when they claimed the British Showjumping Business Partnership international stairway final, and with it the British Showjumping national title, for the second time in three years.

The combination have had a phenomenal track record over the past few seasons, although Judith Witham’s gelding has had a slightly quieter run this year — albeit still banking more than £60,000 in winnings.

“We tried to do a bit less with him, taking his age into account, but the problem we have is that he’s better the more he does!” Adrian said.

“He is a freak of nature, he keeps coming out and doing it. He’s sound and he’s more of a pain when he’s not doing as much. You don’t have to patch him up after he jumps, he’ll go out in the field tomorrow and carry on with his normal routine. He just loves his job.”

Jason Abbs, Ben Townley and Peter Allens’ track for the 1.50m international stairway final jumped a little softer than the first day’s exacting 1.40m, letting through 10 clears from 41 starters, with most of the remainder lowering just the one or two poles.

“It was clever course building with wide oxers and tall verticals and some options on distances and to save time,” Adrian said. “The fences that were falling were here, there and everywhere.

“In the first round you had to set off in a rhythm and stay in it. Both rounds started with a triple bar to get you in the right frame of mind and keep you moving forward.”

All bar one of the first five jump off contenders produced a second faultless round, making it apparent that this final would be a dogfight against the clock.

Star combination headed for hat-trick

Mark Edwards, who was sixth to jump, was the runaway favourite to take the title. He appeared set to sweep the board after claiming the first two legs of the national championship show league with his phenomenal little 15.3hh homebred Flying Tinker II.

This partnership was cresting a wave of form, having already more than guaranteed a Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) wild card by heading both the gold and international stairway leagues.

The 12-year-old gelding’s prowess against the clock had been made obvious in the previous day’s national speed horse final, where he had romped to victory by an unequivocal 4.42sec.

Coming into the ring, Mark had Karl Robin’s target with Camille HBF to topple, and he was well up on the clock as he turned from the double to jump the final right-handed line home.

But the son of Mark’s former grand prix ride Tinker’s Tale just rolled the pole behind on the penultimate vertical, beating Karl’s time by exactly 2sec but ending all hopes of a hat-trick.

The door was left swinging open for Adrian and “Louie”, who were jumping third from last.

Light-footed, blood and effortless off the floor, the Balou Du Rouet gelding is capable against the clock, and Mark had already shown there was ample leeway for Karl’s time to be overthrown.

Adrian set out to attack, just taking a slight pull before the penultimate vertical, and then opened up to dare the final oxer. He came home 0.30sec ahead of Karl to snatch the win.

‘I don’t know if I could have gone quicker’

“I was a little bit cautious about [the penultimate] fence, I wanted to give him time to jump it in front as I knew he’d be quick away from it,” Adrian said.

“I don’t know whether we could have gone quicker than Mark if he’d left the fence up. Maybe we could have caught him but you’d have to have taken some risk. He’s unbelievable and that horse is a machine.”

Adrian and “Louie” came to the British Showjumping national championships on the back of their 5* debut at the Royal International, where they finished in 12th place in the King George V Cup.

While known for his unusual personality traits, including his narcolepsy and ability to jump fences, even as they blow down in front of him, the horse has continued to shine in what would normally be the twilight of his career.

“Right here right now, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be fit and sound for next year,” Adrian said. “We don’t have him entered for anything else after this but we’d like to find him some more good shows.”

‘He lives out 24/7 with the 2yos’: meet the unusual British Showjumping young horse champion

Sarah Radford — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 16:37:07 +0000

Catherine Housman and Honky Cat won the five-year-old title at the British Showjumping national championships this week but life has not always been plain sailing with the “very strange” gelding, who was so tricky to back that they nearly gave up on him.

Honky was bought as a two-year-old by Catherine’s boss Julian Mincher, and later sold to Louise Drinkwater, but is still kept and produced at Julian’s yard.

“I broke him myself and he was really tricky,” Catherine said. “He was very much scared of the rider and you couldn’t stand on the right hand side of him.

“He had to live in a headcollar as otherwise you couldn’t catch him — he was very strange compared to any horse I’ve known before.

“He took a long time to back because he’d act like he’d forgotten everything he’d learned the day before.”

The rangey and scopey gelding — who is estimated to be about 16.3hh, although they can’t get a stick on him to check — is still quirky at home but comes into his own in the ring.

“He’s so random, he’s incredibly brave to a jump and has all the stride and scope in the world but if you move something on the outside world, it’s a problem,” Catherine said.

Honky’s quirks have earned him his own special management regime.

“We had him in through the winter and he just got sharper and sharper, so he now lives out 24/7 with all the two-year-olds, he loves being out there in charge of all his little mates,” she said.

“He’s so willing to come in and work though, he comes over to the gate.”

Lots of muddy early morning baths are involved in his show prep, as he can only wear a rug “sometimes”.

“He doesn’t like anything flapping,” Catherine explained. “I can’t wear a jacket with a hood and he can’t wear a rosette.”

The pair jumped the fastest of eight double clears in a closely-fought jump off for the national five-year-old title, beating Joe Trunkfield and Sing Z to the win by 0.23sec.

“I wasn’t sure I’d done enough. I knew I had Joe after me and I thought there was no way I’d hold him off,” Catherine added. “I knew Honky was brave enough to go against the clock, as in the five-year-old final at Northcote, which was my first proper show on him, we came really forward down a four-stride distance and he took off on three. We’ve got a wonderful photo of him looking like a carousel horse. Sometimes he’s a little too bold!”

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Christmas-present pony goes from ‘spooky and green’ to national champs winner

Sarah Radford — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 14:35:00 +0000

A pony bought as a Christmas present exceeded expectations to win the Blue Chip pony newcomers masters at the British Showjumping national championships, collecting a ticket for Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in the process.

Michael Mccolm had been riding Legend Scais for a local family last year and “fell in love with him”, so his parents bought him as a surprise.

“Michael’s sister is 17, so she’d got her first wee car for Christmas. Michael had gone out to sit in the car with her on Christmas morning, and it was parked right outside Legend’s stable,” his mum Natasha said.

“We said ‘we’ve got you a lovely present as well’ and pointed at Legend. We were all crying.”

The very talented 148cm was an embryo transfer foal, who ended up being a twin, so never grew to be full height. Bred to jump, he is by Emilion out of a Zirocco Blue mare who is a full sister to Scott Brash’s great five-star partner Ursula.

“He’s very striking to watch and his temperament is lovely, he’s not like a normal pony, he’s like a big dog in the stable,” Natasha said. “When he sees Michael coming through the gate home from school, he broncs and circles in the stable, he gets so excited.”

As Legend is only seven, it was anticipated that he would be one for the future, and the plan was just to “have a play” with him this year and see how he got on.

“Recently he’s become so brave and bold that we’ve just cracked on with him,” Natasha said.

“We didn’t expect to jump newcomers second rounds this year. At the beginning of the year he was quite a wuss and very spooky and green, he would try to not jump the first fence.

“Then we went to the Highland show and I was nervous about him jumping there as there was no warm-up class and he had to go straight into a 1.10m. He came out so brave, it was like something clicked and completely changed, as if he got a taste for it.

“Now he’ll take anything on and doesn’t spook at anything, I’ve never seen such a complete change happen in one week.”

Michael was the fastest of five double clears in a seven-strong jump off in the newcomers masters, where the top four combinations all qualified for the pony newcomers final at HOYS.

Sophie Coward Talbott and Kohinoor Come On Annie took reserve, ahead of Lexie Corcoran (Dowdstown) and Flynn Baker (Vinura Bobby).

‘She was born to it’: failed mounted games pony excels in showjumping arena

Sarah Radford — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 14:34:19 +0000

She might have failed at a mounted games career but 11-year-old mare Rosegate Giselle has found her niche in the showjumping arena — winning a title this week at the British Showjumping National Championships.

Jasmine Willis and the skewbald British riding pony were victors in the pony British novice final.

Competition was fierce for the title, with 26 making the jump-off, of which 11 jumped a second clear, but Rosie still managed to finish 2.41 sec out in front.

“I think it’s between the fences that she’s so fast,” Jasmine, 14, said. “But she also turns so well. That’s why they thought she would be good for mounted games.”

Jasmine competes at mounted games herself — although not with Rosie — and she was initially given the ride by friends who owned the pony.

“She didn’t like mounted games at all, so at the beginning of this year, our friends asked us to try her show jumping to see what she was like. We took her to a few shows and she was born to it,” Jasmine said.

“My coach Gary Morgan and I worked hard to get her where she is. We focused a lot on the foundations, doing lots of schooling and flat work.”

Jasmine said that mounted games just “blew her mind” but the mare has really settled in to her new job.

“She just got too excited. At first I think she thought she’d be off doing games again but she’s much happier and calmer now.”

The Herefordshire-based rider is out of 138cms at the end of this year but still hopes she can continue to progress with the talented pony, who she also jumped in the 138cm championship final.

“We’ll be keeping her for next year as we think she has the potential to jump newcomers second rounds. She has a nice long stride, so should be able to make the [148cm] distances,” Jasmine added.

Jasmine had a successful week at Stoneleigh, also winning the 138cm stepping stones final with Reifals Surprise.

Teenager finds ‘self belief’ thanks to riding racehorses – and qualifies for national final

Becky Murray — Sun, 28 May 2023 19:51:53 +0000

A 16-year-old rider who has autism and struggles with anxiety has found new confidence thanks to riding out racehorses – and qualified for the British Showjumping national championships on his first attempt.

Toby Clapham jumped three clears on Shanaclough Phantom to win the 38-strong senior British novice second round at Allens Hill, Worcestershire, on 21 May, and secure their ticket to the final at Stoneleigh in August.

Toby’s mother Annabell told H&H Toby only moved onto horses from 148cms at the beginning of this year after turning 16 in December. They bought six-year-old 17hh gelding “Simba” as a blank canvas in February, and Toby started competing him in April. Within four weeks the pair had four double clears at British novice, and Allen Hill was their first attempt at the second rounds.

“Toby was over the moon to win. It was a really big course, and for such a big horse Simba tried so hard to get round those corners, but they won by more than four seconds. Toby is very competitive and thinks he’s still on 148cms,” said Annabell.

“Simba is still green, but he’s a very kind horse. The plan is to put some more schooling in before the final, and we’re going to go to Hickstead and do some classes at the Royal International to get some more experience at the stayaways. We also hope to get Toby’s twin Charlie qualified for the nationals too.”

Annabell said Toby was diagnosed with autism last year, and has struggled with confidence issues and bullying. Toby attended school with Jonno Balding, son of racehorse trainer Andrew Balding, and when Toby dropped out of school, the Baldings offered Toby an opportunity to ride out for them. Toby has now been riding out three days a week for 10 weeks, and discussions are taking place about a potential apprenticeship next year.

“The Baldings scooped Toby up and have given him a new outlook on life. The routine really helps him and the opportunity has given him such a confidence boost in so many ways,” said Annabell.

“He didn’t really talk to anyone before, but being at such a big yard with lots of lads and staff, he’s now communicating and chatting. He’s really enjoying working with the young horses and is totally unfazed, he’s got a real connection with horses. I’m so grateful for the opportunity he’s been given, it’s amazing to watch how far he’s come. He’s got his self belief back.”

Seeking somewhere to stay near Stoneleigh Park? Here are some options near by

georgia.guerin@futurenet.com (Georgia Guerin) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 07:32:14 +0000

The National Agricultural Exhibition Centre in Stoneleigh Park hosts the British Showjumping National Championships among many other events throughout the year. Finding hotels near Stoneleigh Park will help you make the most of your time in Warwickshire, whether you’re there to spectate, support or compete.

We’ve included a great selection of accommodation by type – not just hotels near Stoneleigh Park, but guesthouses, B&Bs and holiday lets, too, so you can easily find what you’re looking for. Distances are calculated in driving distance to the venue (CV8 2LZ).

Hotels near Stoneleigh Park
Guest houses, inns and B&Bs near Stoneleigh Park
Holiday lets and apartments near Stoneleigh Park

Hotels near Stoneleigh Park

Woodland Grange, Blackdown

Distance to Stoneleigh: 2.5 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Peacock Townhouse Hotel, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.2 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at booking.com

Premier Inn Leamington Spa Town Centre

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.2 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at premierinn.com

Travelodge Regent Hotel Leamington Spa

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.3 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at travelodge.co.uk

The Kenilworth, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.5 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Holiday Inn, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.7 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Abbey Field, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 5.2 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Old Bakery, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 5.2 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Warwickshire Hotel and Country Club, Leek Wooton

Distance to Stoneleigh: 5.6 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Premier Inn Coventry Earlsdon Park

Distance to Stoneleigh: 6.6 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at premierinn.com

Travelodge Coventry Binley

Distance to Stoneleigh: 8.6 miles | Type: Hotel | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at travelodge.co.uk

Guest houses, inns and B&Bs near Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Park Lodge, Stoneleigh Park

Distance to Stoneleigh: <1 mile | Type: Guesthouse | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Oak, Baginton

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.2 miles | Type: B&B | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Old Mill, Baginton

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.2 miles | Type: Inn | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Dakota, Baginton

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.5 miles | Type: B&B | Trip Advisor rating: |

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The Spinney, Weston under Wetherley

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.9 miles | Type: Guesthouse | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Wethele Manor, Weston under Wetherly

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.5 miles | Type: Guesthouse | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Holiday lets and apartments near Stoneleigh Park

Northum Place, Leamington Spa

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.2 miles | Type: 2-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Crossway Accommodation, Finham

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.6 miles | Type: 1-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at booking.com

Dunara Suites, Leamington Spa

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.7 miles | Type: 2-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Jasmine Grove, Leamington Spa

Distance to Stoneleigh: 3.9 miles | Type: 2-bed house | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Gretna Road Home, Finham

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.1 miles | Type: 4-bed holiday let | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Buckley Road Leamington Spa

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.2 miles | Type: 3-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Ebourne Close, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.6 miles | Type: 1-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

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Hock-tide Cottage, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 4.9 miles | Type: 1-bed holiday let | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at booking.com

Park Hill Studio, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 5 miles | Type: 1-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: Not yet rated |

View at booking.com

Castle Hill Apartment, Kenilworth

Distance to Stoneleigh: 5.3 miles | Type: 1-bed apartment | Trip Advisor rating: |

View at booking.com

‘He’s a riding school horse in the week, and a jumper on the weekends’: 17-year-old gelding jumps to winter bronze league glory

Alex Robinson — Sat, 26 Mar 2022 13:17:20 +0000

A 17-year-old gelding led a six-strong jump off to clinch the NAF Five Star winter bronze league championship at the 2022 British Showjumping Spring Championships at Northcote Stud (24—27 March).

Shannon Wilson made use of her own Casallasca’s athleticism and scope to jump the final round in a time of 34.36, which was over five seconds clear of the second fastest time achieved by Claire Chambers and Meacham Quickstep.

Shannon was given “Larry” nine years ago after his former owner was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Larry is based at riding school Trentvalley Equestrian Centre where Shannon works.

“He’s a riding school horse during the week and a jumping horse at the weekends,” said Shannon, who made a four-and-a-half hour journey to compete at Northcote at the 2022 British Showjumping Spring Championships for the first time.

Larry initially came from Michael Whittaker’s yard but it was decided he wasn’t going to make the grade.

“He was a bit of a write off,” Shannon continued. “He had suspensory issues and he’s got a club foot, but with very good farriery we’ve managed to keep him sound and fit his entire career. I also have to credit my sponsors, NAF; Larry has been on NAF Five Star Superflex for the nine years.”

Shannon was making a victorious comeback to top level competition after seriously fracturing her spine.

“I broke my spine in half; it was dislodged by about 40 degrees,” she explained. “But Larry’s very good, he just takes me round.

“When you’ve had an older horse who has jumped bigger tracks and it’s time to step down, it can be difficult to know which direction to go in. It’s nice to have something like the bronze league to aim for as you still get to ride in a big final at a prestigious show.”

At home, Larry isn’t ridden in the school:

“He’ll buck me off if I go into an arena, so he’s hacked out mid-week and jumped at the weekends. It’s an easy life.”

“The first round of the class is the difficult part for us,” commented Shannon. “The combination down the long side was quite distracting and Larry isn’t that big so he finds it hard to make up the distance.

“The jump off is his time to shine; you kick him on and he knows his job. You could show him the course plan and he’d take you round if he could.”

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

‘He’s definitely high-needs!’: Meet new British Showjumping national champion Millfield Baloney

Sarah Radford — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:24:26 +0000

It’s been a rewarding few weeks for Millfield Baloney’s owner Judith Witham, whose gamble on an awkward-looking three-year-old 12 years ago has evidently paid off.

This year, the 15-year-old won two area trials, the Royal Lancs international stairway and grand prix and headed the gold league, before topping it all with a masterful victory in the international stairway final at the British Showjumping national championships.

“He came from the Millfield Stud and we took a chance because of his roach back,” Judith recalled.

“He only did two loose jumps and we thought ‘wow’! Andrew Millin helped me make the decision and produced him for me, so it is a credit to his good eye as well.”

Adrian Speight took on the ride three years ago, when the Balou Du Rouet gelding, who is more than 50% blood, was already jumping at 1.40m level.

After starting out jumping 1.40ms “when we could find them”, the pair have stepped up a notch this season and found some real success at 1.50m level.

“I think we have got to know him a lot more this year,” Adrian said. “This year we’ve gone looking for bigger classes and had a good mix. I jumped him in the South View stairway and it felt enormous in that ring, but he coped well with that. Equally, he jumps on grass somewhere and it doesn’t seem to worry him, he doesn’t mind if the ground is uneven.”

While not built like the ideal show jumper — “if you went looking for a horse and saw him stood in a stable, you’d probably walk past’, Adrian said — “Louie” has two major advantages, his light-footedness and ample scope.

“He has so much jump. I don’t think I have ever jumped a fence and thought ‘my clutch is slipping’,” he explained. “Even if I don’t have the exact stride and he has to try a little bit, he just has a way of stretching his legs out in front. He finds it so easy to jump a big fence.

“You would expect a strong back end for a jumper, he’s not got that, but he is so light on his feet, like a deer.”

Adrian describes “Louie” as a “time-consuming” horse to look after. He is difficult to keep weight on and, as Judith explained, he rarely lies down and as a result has the tendency to fall asleep stood up when at rest in his stable.

“He sometimes falls asleep on his feet, then wakes up with a start as he nearly falls over — it’s a bit disconcerting to watch!” she said.

His roach back, however, doesn’t seem to cause him any problems.

“He holds himself quite well under saddle and when we’ve had the vet physio out, they’ve said he actually has more range of movement than any of the other horses,” Adrian said.

He also has to have his bridle swapped regularly to find the most effective bit.

“We have half a dozen made up for him, different hackamores and different combi bits,” Adrian said. “When he’s jumping well in one he never gets worked in it at home and we will warm him up in one bridle and then put another one on for the ring — he definitely is time consuming!”

His spookiness has also improved as he has got older, although Adrian found out the hard way during lockdown exercise that he is still quite sharp and doesn’t always make the best decisions as a result.

“We were out on the Wolds during lockdown trying to keep him fit. They put slurry on the fields about 3ft or 4ft deep and we were walking down a track alongside the field when he spooked at some water running under a hedgerow — he’s a bugger to get through a puddle — and landed in the slurry.

“He was in there bronching – he had his head between his knees and was bucking and running backwards,” he said.

“Rob Shaw, who works for me [and is competition groom for Louie] was on another horse and turned the other way and trotted off trying to get him to follow. He suddenly stood still, took a huge breath… and then just started bronching again. The sh*t was everywhere, up my saddle flap and all over me, me feet were in it — I just couldn’t wait to get home and hose it off.

“This horse is definitely a bit high-needs!”

Billy horses head two senior finals at the British Showjumping national championships

Sarah Radford — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 14:15:42 +0000

Horses bred at the Billy Stud took the first two senior titles at the British Showjumping national championships at Stoneleigh (3-10 Aug).

After two days of pony classes, the senior schedule launched on Friday (6 Aug) with the national grade C championship, which was headed by Nicole Lockhead Anderson and Dean Vernon’s eight-year-old Billy Mexico daughter Billy Chill.

Billy Stud jockey Lucy Townley then booked a Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) ticket when she headed a classy Equitop GLME Foxhunter masters with the seven-year-old Billy Nikon.

“When I walked the first round I thought it looked quite tough, but from 36 they had 20 clears and all the horses jumped it really well — I said to the course builder that I didn’t think it could have been built much tougher, but he said that all these horses have jumped triple clears in Foxhunter regionals, so it didn’t surprise him,” said Lucy, who already had one HOYS ride, Billy Marionette, qualified for newcomers.

Of the combinations to make the jump off, a further eight jumped double clears. Lucy led from the front, producing a round from second draw that remained 1.26sec ahead of her closest challenger, Olli Fletcher and BP Pocahontas.

“I followed Adam Botham and Ebanking in and I thought ‘he’ll set the pace’,” Lucy said. “I also had in my mind that when Will [Funnell] rides a jump off, it’s not about speed as much as it’s about the rhythm and taking less strides between the jumps.

“She is a super scopey, super careful horse and knocking the jumps wasn’t going to be the issue, it was trusting myself to ride her forwards.”

Lucy added that a training tip from Swiss Tokyo Olympic rider Martin Fuchs had also helped hone her round.

“I saw a video recently of Martin training using two cavaletti with a gap between them, and practising taking a turn on six strides through them in a soft, balanced way. I’d been doing it at home last week, playing around, and at the end of the course there were two verticals side by side, just as I’d laid out the cavaletti. I thought ‘take six strides there, don’t swing out, land and stay level’ and it all came together,” she said.

Nikon, by Plot Blue, is a third generation mare whose damline traces back to Tatum, one of the Billy Stud’s foundation mares and her half-brother Billy Kodak (Billy Mexico) has also been competing this season with Pippa Funnell.

“Their mother was called Billy Snap and from there it’s gone into cameras!” Lucy said.

The 17hh mare is relatively low mileage, having jumped two Bolesworths and a Hickstead last year.

“She jumped well at the beginning of this year and then spent the last two weeks in the field, we bought her back in a week ago to go to the national champs and put some shoes back on her!” Lucy said. “You can do that when the basic work is there, it shows they don’t need drilling every week.”

In the national grade C championship, four of the five jump off contenders delivered double clears, with Nicole taking the lead 1.71sec clear of runner up Megan James, who was riding the seven-year-old Ustinov mare Jolita L.

Nicole, whose boss Holly Smith has been jumping at the Tokyo Olympics this week, has been riding the chestnut mare for the past three months, and they have already been picking up wins at 1.40m level.

“She’s so talented, I am very lucky to be riding her,” Nicole said. “She is so careful and she makes everything feel very easy.”

Partnership on top form crowned new British Showjumping national champions

Sarah Radford — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 12:17:31 +0000

Adrian Speight and Millfield Baloney capped a stellar season as they headed the The Showjumping Business Partnership international stairway final at the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 Aug) and were named national champions.

Adrian and Judith Witham’s 15-year-old gelding headed to this show on a tidal wave of form, having won the international stairway and grand prix at Royal Lancs (30 July – 1 Aug) and area trial at Hartpury (25 July) in recent weeks.

The combination, who have been together for three years, had already picked up their Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) wildcard as they topped this year’s gold league and also finished second in the international stairway series.

“Since taking over the ride, with the help of Pam Dunning, Adrian has transformed the horse and formed a superb partnership,” said Judith, who has owned ‘Louie’ since a three-year-old.

“Finding a bit which suited him instead of the hackamore helped as he has a little more control! Adrian is meticulous in his preparation and seems to have nerves of steel — unlike ‘Louie’ who can get wound up. The pair have been on fire recently, but this is their best win so far and I couldn’t be more pleased for both horse and rider.”

“I had a little bit of luck in the first round, I was stood with Joe Whitaker and we watched six or eight go and realised the time was very tight,” Adrian said.

“At the fence after the water jump you had to go back round the triple bar and there was a clock there — we worked out you had to be there in 52 sec and I looked up and I was gone 52sec and I thought ‘I’m behind’. I had my bit of luck over the next oxer where we had a rattle on the back rail. After that, I knew there wouldn’t be many clears.”

In the end, just three combinations from more than 40 starters kept clean sheets, and Adrian was joined in the second round on 0 faults by Joe Stockdale (Equine America Cacharel IV) and Robert Smith (Ilton).

Under the table A9 format, Joe Fernyhough (Calcourt Particle) on one time penalty and Jack Whitaker (Elucar VE) on two also went through, while Michael Whitaker (Q Parvarti N) also left the fences standing but collected two time penalties for sixth place.

In the jump off, Jack and Joe Fernyhough both had a rail to add to their first round penalties before Joe Stockdale took the lead with a deceptively smooth and relaxed clear on his mother Laura’s hugely talented 10-year-old mare.

But the partnership left just enough margin to enable a challenge and Adrian seized the advantage of jumping in last draw, delivering a fast, accurate and clean clear on a spring-heeled Millfield Baloney to find 0.61sec of headway.

“He was very clean in the jump off, I think the first round woke him up a bit,” Adrian said. “He felt great.”

The horse has won a couple of area trials this year with either the sole clear or beaten a steady round, but this class showed just how competitive he could be against the clock.

“Mark Edwards said to me the other day that since I’d had Happy Boy (his current speed horse), who is very quick round a 1.30m, I’ve been riding [Millfield Baloney] a lot faster — and I thought he was absolutely right!” added Adrian, who had also had the fastest time in Friday’s 1.40m final, but added one down.

As Adrian had already guaranteed his place at HOYS, the wild card from heading this class was passed down to Joe Stockdale. Mark Edwards also collected a wild card as gold league runner up, so his ticket for winning the international stairway series went to Tim Davies.

The U25 wild card was collected by Joe Fernyhough, who finished third in the final, while the wild card for the winner of the British Showjumping championship series — awarded for the highest points across the 1.40m national final, speed horse final and international stairway final — went to speed horse national champion Ben Walker.

Stoneleigh stories: ‘The hardest part was admitting I had lost my confidence’

Sarah Radford — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 11:24:35 +0000

A rider who battled back from loss of confidence after breaking bones in two falls was “chuffed to bits” to compete in the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) bronze league final at the British Showjumping national championships this week (3-10 August).

Sarah Ashley bought her ex-racehorse Thomas (Fair Chance) straight out of training nearly five years ago, and it was the first time she has qualified for the final at Stoneleigh.

The pair’s journey hasn’t been smooth as Sarah had two bad falls from the 17.1hh grey gelding, breaking her hip on one occasion and breaking ribs and puncturing a lung on another.

“I’ve always retrained racehorses straight from the track and I have them for life — I love their enthusiasm, their energy,” Sarah said. “I got him from a very good friend of my dad’s, who trained him as a point-to-pointer. I was looking for a horse and they said they might have one that would suit me as he wasn’t going to make it as a racehorse.

“He had legs as long as a model and a head carriage like a giraffe,” she added. “I had him on a three week trial, and after taking him clear round jumping locally, he might have knocked a few down, and it was all a bit untidy, but he was so keen, honest and loved it, that was it, he was paid for and mine.”

Sarah said that to start off with, Thomas didn’t know how to trot properly and wasn’t the best of travellers, but his schooling and jumping was improving. Then, despite not “really being a bucker”, on one day he unexpectedly sent her flying and broke her hip, and she head to spent five months not riding while she recovered.

“I took off, Easyjet would’ve had a job to keep up,” said Sarah. “I’d put up some exercises for him in the school to encourage him to jump properly and I had just gone into trot when he saw something and put in the most enormous buck — I was on the deck while he went round jumping the fences for 10mins without me!

“Fortunately the neighbour could see from their kitchen window him going round and me not on him, and they realised there was a problem when I didn’t get back on.”

A year after breaking her hip, Sarah then had another unlucky accident out hacking, when Thomas spooked at something flying out of the hedge and “did a 360” and she landed on a tractor rut, breaking her ribs.

“When you’re younger you bounce better and you get up and get on with it, but this was the first time I ever started to worry about falling off,” she said. “He still had quite a way to go in his education at the time and you start to have doubts and feel a bit useless.

“After the second fall I thought ‘do you know what, I’d have been OK if I’d have worn a body protector’, so I bought a comfortable one which I always wear now.”

Sarah said that after her injuries, she would get nervous about jumping and sometimes on the way to shows would feel “physically sick”.

“Everything suddenly seemed so much bigger,” she said. “I’d think ‘you used to really enjoy this’, but over time the nerves got less and less.

“I think the hardest part was admitting I had lost my confidence — I joined a really good Riding Club and started doing all the clinics and found a really nice instructor. I think it helps if you have got positive people around you as well.

“Now I don’t worry about anything, I don’t feel as though I have got to be out jumping 1.10m or 1.20m, we just have fun.”

Sarah said that Thomas, who is now 13, had become a brilliant all-rounder who every one at the yard wanted to hack out alongside.

“He’s such a good lead horse,” she said. “We do a bit of everything together — team chasing, eventing fun rides, dressage and show jumping.”

The pair had one down in the RoR bronze league final, when Sarah “messed up on the way in to the double”.

“I was really pleased with him, I had a great day and I’ll have to qualify him again next year now,” she said.

Rider claims one-two in Big Star six-year-old championship at Stoneleigh

Sarah Radford — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 08:37:15 +0000

Kaleche continued her brilliant track record in young horse classes for Ronnie Lee Jones as she headed the Prestige Italia Big Star six-year-old final at the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August).

The F-One USA x Nassau mare, who has been owned by Runningwell Sportshorses since she was a three-year-old, delivered the quickest of six treble clears to land the prestigious title, finishing 0.26 sec ahead of her stablemate, the stallion Key West RSH.

In an incredibly close jump off, Lucy Townley collected third place with Billy Marionette, trailing just 0.03sec behind Ronnie’s two rides.

“There were quite a few good six-year-olds in the class, so it was really nice to have two in it,” said Ronnie, one of the most successful young horse riders on the circuit, who also won this title with Interstar B two years ago.

“I had an early draw and it was hard to know what to do. Luckily I had horses at the beginning and the end so I could see how it went and make a better plan on the last one if I needed to.”

Ronnie, 27, has been Runningwell’s stable jockey for the past six years and has produced these horses from the start.

Kaleche is a previous winner of the four and five-year-old championship at Bolesworth and this year she won the coveted Walwyn novice title at Royal Windsor, as well as heading the newcomers second round at Pyecombe.

Key West RSH particularly shone out at Hickstead where he took the Al Shira’aa six-year-old championship at the national show in June.

“I think Kaleche is probably one of the best young horses that [Runningwell] own. She has been fantastic as a four and five-year-old and she is proving herself even more as a six-year-old, there is no limit to her career,” said Ronnie, who now hopes to take both horses to Bolesworth to qualify for the world horse breeding championships at Lanaken.

“I had my sights set on that when I started off the year with Kaleche, but I thought Key West might not be ready but he’s really stepped up to the mark. He is really enjoying the bigger rings and as a six-year-old they have to deal with quite a step up in [fence] height and I think that has really suited him,” he added.

Both horses, as with most of the horses owned by Ruth and Ian Dowie at Runningwell, were sourced from Roelof Bril.

“They are very different horses with their own their strengths and weaknesses, but they are both really competitive — when you put pressure on them and ask a lot from them, they both dig deep and deliver,” Ronnie said.

“They are nicely bred horses and while management and how you produce them matters, good breeding definitely helps with how they perform.”

Kaleche has already had embryos taken from her and now has two two-year-olds on the ground, one by Runningwell’s eight-year-old stallion Invictus and the other by Key West.

‘I hoped I had the perfect little horse to do it’: rider takes first and second on senior British Showjumping national championship debut

Sarah Radford — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 15:51:56 +0000

Abi Leadbetter made an impression on her first shot at a senior championships when she partnered Hearts Cruise to the Equissage Pulse British novice title and came second in the Nupafeed Supplements discovery final at the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August).

Abi, 17, and the 15.1hh mare took the win in strong company, finishing more than 1sec ahead of Emma-Jo Slater and Kalisha H, while Bex Mason collected third place with Rarity.

“I’ve never won a national title before, although I’ve qualified often in the pony classes, so I wanted to win for once and I hoped I had the perfect little horse to do it,” Abi said.

“I watched Emma go into the lead and thought ‘yeah, that’s quite quick’, although I thought I could still win it. When I went in, I knew she still had another ride to come so I thought I might as well ride my own jump off and set something for people to chase — and we did.

“The others are always going to beat us across the ground as she takes so many more strides — she chipped two in at the one stride double — but I was able to make up the time by going the same route but turning more easily, as she is so little,” she added.

The A-level student was all the more determined to claim the title after losing the discovery championship by just 0.81sec to Monica Ballard the previous day.

“I was drawn early — seventh out of 25 — in the discovery final so all I could do was set something for them to chase and I went into the lead by 7sec,” she said.

“Monica ended up winning it, and everyone knows she is so quick, so I just held my hands up and thought ‘fair enough’, I couldn’t do anything about that — but today I just really wanted to do it.”

Abi bought the six-year-old mare in June last year and they have gone on to early success despite having a stop-start campaign with national lockdowns.

“I first saw her ad on Facebook and once I saw some videos of her, I just loved her,” Abi said. “When we went and tried her it took her 20 mins to get on and she pulled back twice on the yard and snapped two lead ropes — I think the girl selling her thought ‘they’re never gone to buy her’.

“I knew she was a mare and was just being quirky and she’s settled down into her job really well, she knows what to do and gets on with it.”

Home-bred wins discovery final on rider’s British Showjumping national championships debut

Sarah Radford — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 14:32:36 +0000

Monica Ballard’s first time contesting the British Showjumping national championships ended in triumph when she headed the Nupafeed Supplements discovery final with her six-year-old home-bred Cartier 666.

Runner up Abi Leadbetter had set a 7sec lead in this very quick 25-horse jump off and Monica had to go all-out to find her 0.81sec advantage.

“I didn’t think it was beatable, I thought if I could beat it, it would be only just. I couldn’t have gone any faster,” said Monica, whose mare is 17.2hh whereas Abi’s is just 15.1hh.

“Abi cut in tight everywhere and I had to rely on taking strides out. I would never have caught up with her if it was a more twisty track.”

Although Cartier 666 has several wins on her card, and is just out of newcomers, this was the first time Monica had really tested her against the clock.

“She’s really become competitive in the last six weeks. That was the most I have asked of her as I’ve kept it pretty sane until now. I normally jump amateurs, but I have young horses at the moment and I struggle with young ones as I want to go fast and win! Doing it properly with her has paid off though,” she added.

The partnership didn’t have the greatest preparation for the show — despite having had a flawless run of double clears, Monica fell off on their final outing before the championships.

“We went to Golden Cross on Tuesday and had a horrendous round, they had cross-country fences around the edge of their new arena and I couldn’t get her near a house fence on the edge. She saw the fence we were meant to be jumping a bit late and jumped the top of wings from a standstill and jumped me clean off. It wasn’t the best preparation for a final!” Monica said.

“It’s good to know she can jump the top of the wings even if I can’t — at least not from a standstill!”

Cartier 666, is by Noble Warrior out of Monica’s prolifically successful amateurs mare Miss Cartier. She is also currently competing her five-year-old half sister, who is by Balou Star.

“They’ve turned out completely differently — one is a big horse and the other is small. I can’t keep them both so now I have to decide which one I am going to sell. It was going to be her but I am not sure now, although she has got more scope than the level I want to jump with her,” she added.

‘Win or go home’: Ben Walker claims speed horse title at British Showjumping national championships

Sarah Radford — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 10:01:50 +0000

Ben Walker and Fygo Von D’Ouwe Grint are brilliantly consistent performers on the national circuit and finally they were rewarded with a high-profile win when they claimed the national speed horse title at the British Showjumping National Championships (3-10 Aug).

Emma Ziff and Pennie Cornish’s 11-year-old gelding is rarely beaten at 1.30m and 1.40m level and proved himself fiercely competitive round this 1.45m table C track, as he led the field from 15th to go.

Several highly consistent partnerships tallied uncharacteristic faults — particularly at the combination and double — leaving Ben’s bold early clear standing an unequivocal 4.75ec proud of the rest of the field.

Karl Robins and G Camille HBF, who were equal third in yesterday’s national 1.40m final, were the next fastest combination, while Sienna Charles and Havanna M collected third place despite adding 4sec for a rail down.

“When I walked it, I thought it was strong enough for a speed class — you don’t get many table Cs with a combination and for some reason, the way the combination was placed caused a lot of them to back off, or not come off the floor properly,” Ben said.

“Early on I thought I’d come out in the top five. There were a lot of other horses capable of going that speed, but I had luck on my side. Mark Edwards (Tinker’s Tale) beat me on time, but had two down — and he never just lets me win,” he added.

“It was always in my head that it would be a really fast class and so I set off at the pace I normally would on that horse — win or go home!”

Ben originally rode Fygo as a four-year-old and he was then sold to a client who took an impressive run of victories in age classes before starting to jump world rankings classes on him when he was eight.

“She gave up and went to uni and as he has a few quirks, we ended up having him back,” Ben said.

“Before Covid I’d jump him in trials and stairways where he was a bit out of his depth, but tried his hardest for me. As other horses came through I dropped him down a level — he’s normally amazing up to 1.45m, if he’s clear he’s unbeatable.

“This show I decided to step him back up and see what happened and where he’s not doing big classes day in and day out, it paid off.”

There are five opportunities for national riders to land a wild card for the international classes at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in October and this championship was one of three legs that form the British Showjumping national championships show league.

The final element of the league is tomorrow’s international stairway final, the winner of which also gets a wild card — as does the winner of the international stairway league and the two highest placed riders in the gold league.

“I’d love to get to the international classes at HOYS as I have never got in — the year I had Roulette [who was sold to the US for Amanda Derbyshire to ride] and was winning a lot of trials there was a mess up with the points and I thought I’d qualified but I hadn’t,” said Ben, who currently has 11 horses capable of jumping 1.40m-plus tracks.

“This was a title I have been aiming him for and I think he’d definitely be one for the speed horse of the year at HOYS if we got in.”

Brace of wins for Jessica Botham at British Showjumping national championships

Sarah Radford — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 16:06:37 +0000

Jessica Botham claimed a brace of victories at the British Showjumping national championships today (7 Aug), including taking the four-year-old title for a fourth consecutive year.

It was homebred gelding Clayton who was handed the first win when four-year-old championship judges Laura Stockdale and Diane Pimblett ranked him nine points ahead of the runner-up.

The 29 entries were assessed on the flat and ridden over a course of fences, before 20 combinations came forward to jump again for final judging.

“We always try and aim for this class and I put myself under pressure as I had won it for the previous three years and I was going last,” Jess said.

“We also ended up late, even though we are only 25mins away, as we hit traffic and one thing and another. I said to Adam [husband] ‘you are going to have to go down to the ring, take Arthur [son] and walk the course for me!’

“We had been allowed to go in and let them walk round, but I missed that and the course walk — it worked out alright in the end though as he is so honest and straight and has such a good brain on him.”

Clayton, who has had a light introduction to competition this year with a few training shows, was named after Jess’s grandmother.

“We were at my Nan’s funeral and when we came out I turned my phone back on and there was a message to say he’d been born,” Jess said. “Her name was Margaret Clayton, so I called him Clayton after her.”

He is by the stallion Cicero Z out of a broodmare who came from the Eilberg family.

“The Eilbergs rang me six or seven years ago to say they had a horse who had turned out to be a jumper, and would I like to ride it,” Jess said. “I rode that one and sold it, and then ended up riding and selling another out of the same mare.

“They were both by dressage stallions, but she kept producing jumpers — eventually they said ‘we don’t want any more jumpers as we have to keep paying you to ride them, would you like her as a broodmare?’, so we said yes.

“She was Michael’s young riders horse and Clayton is the first foal she had by a jumping stallion — I joked to Adam at the time that he’d probably turn out as a dressage horse and we’d have to pay the Eilbergs to ride him!”

Joe Trunkfield, winner of Friday night’s national 1.40m title with the stallion Idwerd, took the runner up spot with Car-a-lago Z.

The grey stallion also finished second in the four-year-old championship at Northcote earlier this year.

“I was really happy with him — I think in these classes two seconds is as good as a win,” Joe said. “He is an amazing horse and is definitely going to be one for the future.”

Newcomers masters victory

Jess’s second victory of the day came in a highly competitive Lord and Lady Equestrian newcomers masters, riding Jane Starkey’s Manzanita.

Four from 11 combinations through to the jump-off left the fences standing, with Jess holding off a challenge from Megan James and Jolita L to take the win by 0.9sec.

Manzanita has been on a run of recent form, claiming the seven-year-old final at Weston Lawns last week.

The mare is one of several of Jane’s homebreds out of the same mare, Gunner B, that form a significant chunk of Jess’s string, including one half sister and two full sisters.

“Mentally they are all quite similar, although they all do it in their own different ways. All three are real triers and very consistent,” Jess said. “They were originally bred as eventers and the others have evented, although Manzanita never has.

“Jane hacks to me at the other end of the village and I ride them two or three times a week and she brings them to shows for me.”

The win secured the mare a ticket for the newcomers final at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in October.

“We missed a few of the early second rounds — here you only jump two rounds to qualify [rather than the three at the second rounds] so it’s slightly easier. I was confident she’d jump clear in the first round and we had a little bit of luck in the jump off. She jumped fantastic — we went on seven to the last, not eight, and it was quite a long way and she still jumped it for me.”

‘I wouldn’t have picked myself to win’: surprise winner of 1.40m title at British Showjumping national championships

Sarah Radford — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 12:09:05 +0000

There might have been long odds on Joe Trunkfield and the relatively green eight-year-old Idwerd beating some of the country’s top combinations to the national 1.40m title at the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August) — but they propelled themselves to a 0.48sec victory with a brilliant round from final draw.

“From the start list I wouldn’t have picked myself, it shows what a good horse he is,” Joe said. “There were so many good horse and rider combinations chasing a (Horse of the Year Show) wild card, and we just came for a jump round.”

A technical first round characterised by short distances to big, square oxers had allowed 20 of the 79 starters to progress to the deciding phase.

First-to-jump Joseph Fernyhough and the nine-year-old Calcourt Particle had set an impressive target with a quick clear in 40.91sec.

Adrian Speight and Millfield Baloney then delivered a bold try, setting the fastest time of the class in 38.79sec, but at the expense of a rail. It was Jack Whitaker and Elucar VE who looked to have laid hands on the title, when they took a stride out on the final distance to jump clear in 39.87sec.

The closest any of the ensuing combinations could come to the target was when Karl Robins and G Camille HBF equalled Joseph Fernyhough’s time from their midfield draw and the championship seemed a foregone conclusion before the final partnership entered the ring.

But Joe and the Dexter R stallion took it to the wire, edging ahead as their forward distances all fell into place.

“I didn’t plan to go for the win, I just planned to beat the fences,” Joe said. “But every time we landed there was a stride there to go on. It all came off over the last three fences, there were big distances but every time they came up.

“He is really careful and really brave, I just get him there and let him jump the jumps,” he added.

Joe took over the ride this year from owner John Steels, who has produced him since he was a two-year-old, and the partnership have had a strong season, qualifying for both the Foxhunter and talent seekers finals at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).

The national 1.40m final was one of three classes at the championships where riders can accrue points to qualify for the international classes at HOYS in October but Idwerd has not been put forward for contention.

“He’s had a busy eight-year-old year qualifying and I didn’t want to put that much pressure on him, we just brought him for a jump round in an atmosphere before HOYS and he exceeded expectations,” he said.

“As for the [Foxhunter and talent seekers] finals now, who knows. I think he has proven here that he can take on the calibre of horses and calibre of fences.

“He’s always been a consistent horse and has never really had a bad round,” he added. “Two or three weeks ago we took him cross-country schooling and since then he has been on really good form — he won a couple of 1.40ms at Arena UK and qualified for talent seekers. I think when you’ve got an eight-year-old stepping up, to see something different can do them the world of good.”

Sisters dominate pony bronze league finals at British Showjumping national championships

Sarah Radford — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 14:58:22 +0000

Sisters Georgia and Sophia Hogan dominated the pony bronze league at the British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August), winning the 128cm and 138cm finals.

Nine-year-old Georgia was the first to claim a sash in the bronze league 128cm championship, riding the 19-year-old Irish mare Darth Moll.

More than half of the 43-strong field made it through to the jump off, with 13 keeping a clean sheet in the second round, where Georgia edged ahead by 0.63sec.

“It was really fun and I know she is really experienced,” said Georgia, who took over the ride on “Kelsey” from her brother Thomas last year. “She was being a bit naughty the day before — she does that sometimes — but she was good when it mattered. She tried very hard and she’s very confident in herself.”

Sophia, 11, added to the family’s haul when she claimed victory in the last class of Thursday’s (5 August) schedule, the 138cm pony bronze league championship, riding Jesse Mae Harmony.

Sophia and the 10-year-old mare were one of only six from 52 starters to deliver a double clear, heading the jump off by 0.55sec over Sienna Palin and Calusa.

“The course had a few turns but there were quite a few parts where you could make the time up by going fast. I won it by getting her to lengthen her stride,” said Sophia, who hopes to aim at winter qualifiers next year.

Sophia has been riding the nine-year-old strawberry roan, out of the 128cm mare Birchill Harmony who was jumped by Jack Whitaker, since the first lockdown. Like her sister, she also enjoys rallies, cross-country and fun rides as well as show jumping.

“Jesse has a great personality,” she added. “She is very happy pony and really fun to ride. She enjoys all her work.”

The 148cm pony bronze league final went to 15-year-old Zoe Shields and her 138cm mare Fast Fun, who produced the sole double clear of the class.

“I was last to go in the jump off and I knew I needed a clear to win, I was so happy when I went over the last fence,” said Zoe, who was claiming her first national title.

Zoe has been riding the 11-year-old mare for three years but had to stop jumping 138cm classes last year.

“I’m out of them now but she makes the distances round the 148cm tracks without any problems,” Zoe said. “Luckily I am really small, so I can still ride her! Her stable name is Fun and that’s just what she is to ride.”

Return of the champions: partnership scoop second consecutive British Showjumping national championship title

Sarah Radford — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 11:31:29 +0000

Last year’s pony British novice champions Oliver Sponer and Conella II went one further when they claimed in pony discovery title at the 2021 British Showjumping national championships (3-10 August).

They delivered the quickest of just three double clears to beat 80 other combinations to the win, heading the class by more than a second over runners up Sophia Taylor and Falcons Poppy.

The championship was a step down for this seven-year-old mare, who has also claimed both newcomers and Foxhunter qualification this season.

“It was a good jump off and was built with lots of options and lots of places to cover the ground,” said Olivia, who is based in London. “Where she can excel in a jump off is that she can turn very easily and can go to a fence with a lot of speed.

“The turns-ins we did were fairly easy for her [with her scope], she could just pick her feet up.”

Olivia has been riding Conella for around a year-and-a-half after trying her at Kerry Grimster’s yard in Berkshire.

“She’s a really honest pony with a good jump, so it’s been quite easy for her to adapt to going up the levels this year. We’re really pleased with how she’s coped.”

Olivia, who turns 15 next week, is also competing two horses at the championships in the member’s cup and 1.30m final.

“I don’t find it too difficult switching between them,” she added. “I think a lot of my ponies are like horses, they are very good in their flatwork and quite level, so they go quite similarly. Most of them are also really honest, so even if do have a bit of a mistake with stride they will help me out.”

Olivia now plans to give the ponies 10 days off after an intense patch in the season while she focuses on preparing the horses to jump at the London Global Champions Tour next week (13-15 August).

“It’s my birthday present,” she said. “I’m very excited to be going.”

Stoneleigh stories: rider launches winning streak with victory in class she never planned to enter

Sarah Radford — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 13:43:28 +0000

Izabella Rogers started her British Showjumping national championships (3-10 Aug) campaign with an unexpected win in the national 148cm final, then doubled down on her victory with a one-two in the Foxhunter masters.

The 13-year-old rider had not planned to aim for the 148cm title with the 13-year-old gelding Uncanny (“Cisco”), but had to change tactics when she realised she wasn’t qualified to compete in the 148cm silver league class.

“When my mum [Nicola] phoned up and asked about the entries, they asked her if she had received a qualification form. She realised we hadn’t and when we double-checked, we realised we hadn’t qualified and the only other class we could jump was the 148cm championship,” Izabella said.

“Mum asked if I wanted to do it and I said I wasn’t sure. She said ‘he can’t stay at home, he might as well come and jump it as a start for next year’, when we were planning to do pony show jumpers (148cm Horse of the Year Show qualifiers) with him.”

Izabella, who was 128cm champion at this show in 2019, has been riding Cisco — pony Foxhunter champion at HOYS in 2016 with Robert Murphy — for two years. She spent five months of 2020 laid up with a broken leg but was jumping 1.20m with him last December.

“I fell out of love with jumping him a bit and wanted to focus more on the JCs,” said Izabella, whose plan paid off as she won the winter JC title with Neil 55 at the Royal International Horse Show last month.

“I’d not long been jumping 148cms and I wasn’t ready to do pony show jumpers, so my sister (Sophia, 11) took over riding him at home for a while. If I did take him to shows, I’d jump 1.10m.”

The pair’s win means they have qualified to contest the pony show jumper of the year final at HOYS in October, where Izabella has already qualified her other rides for a shot at the newcomers and Foxhunter titles.

“This was my first qualifier and I never planned to take him to HOYS, I just wanted to do it for some experience,” she added. “For the rest of season I’ll drop him back down and then sweeten him up again for HOYS and Olympia.”

The pair won the class with the quickest of just two double clears, taking the win by more than five seconds over Noora Von Bulow and Elando Van De Roshoeve.

“He hasn’t got the biggest of strides but he covers the ground because he moves up so well,” Izabella said. “I never did any of the turns, as I wasn’t comfortable at that height turning in, but I managed to gain time by always moving on once we’d landed.”

The other riders didn’t stand much of a chance against Izabella’s solid form in Thursday’s (5 Aug) Foxhunter masters. Only three riders produced double clears of which Izabella had the quickest two aboard nine-year-old Neil 55 and seven-year-old Queen Star, who Izabella has produced from just-backed over the past 18 months.

“It was a nice and flowing course which suited my ponies as it was a bigger track — the oxers were square and there were a lot of technical lines,” Izabella said.

Stoneleigh stories: pony who herds sheep at home wins national jumping title

Sarah Radford — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 10:50:14 +0000

A pony who is used to herd livestock and carry sheep on the farm at home displayed her multiple talents when she won the British novice final at the British Showjumping National Championships at Stoneleigh (3-10 August).

Nine-year-old Irish sports pony Caramel III and her 14-year-old rider Holly Cole only started jumping at affiliated shows in September having mainly competed at Pony Club level.

The chestnut mare was bought unseen two years ago after Holly’s dad decided to take a chance on her.

“We didn’t know what she’d done or anything about her,” Holly said. “She was a bit of a handful when we first got her, she could be a bit nappy and needed a confident rider to ride her on.

“We knew she definitely had a jump in her, but she needed someone to help find it.”

Holly, who is based in Devon between Tavistock and Okehampton, didn’t start jumping the mare at all until last year but in recent months showjumping has become their focus.

“We do use her at home on farm though,” she said. “My nan takes her to do the sheep and she’s had sheep carried across her. She also gets used to bring the ponies in from the moor.”

There were almost 90 entries in this highly competitive final, where 38 produced first-round clears and a further 13 kept a clean sheet in the jump-off.

Holly delivered the fastest round by 0.75sec to take the win over runners-up Tom Bucknall and Fanta C.

The competition is likely to be the partnership’s swansong as Caramel is only 142cm and Holly has outgrown her.

“She is only small but she covers the ground quite well, so I wasn’t too sure about doing all the turns and thought I’d go more for speed,” Holly said.

“Because I am getting too big for her, I knew it was probably my last show on her and I wanted to go out with a bang. I was definitely going for it as there weren’t too many clears and I thought even if I end up having a pole, I might as well give it a try — I didn’t really expect to win though.”

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‘I don’t know if I could have gone quicker’

“I was a little bit cautious about [the penultimate] fence, I wanted to give him time to jump it in front as I knew he’d be quick away from it,” Adrian said.

“I don’t know whether we could have gone quicker than Mark if he’d left the fence up. Maybe we could have caught him but you’d have to have taken some risk. He’s unbelievable and that horse is a machine.”

Adrian and “Louie” came to the British Showjumping national championships on the back of their 5* debut at the Royal International, where they finished in 12th place in the King George V Cup.

“Right here right now, there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t be fit and sound for next year,” Adrian said. “We don’t have him entered for anything else after this but we’d like to find him some more good shows.”

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‘He lives out 24/7 with the 2yos’: meet the unusual British Showjumping young horse champion

Christmas-present pony goes from ‘spooky and green’ to national champs winner

“Michael’s sister is 17, so she’d got her first wee car for Christmas. Michael had gone out to sit in the car with her on Christmas morning, and it was parked right outside Legend’s stable,” his mum Natasha said.

“We said ‘we’ve got you a lovely present as well’ and pointed at Legend. We were all crying.”

“He’s very striking to watch and his temperament is lovely, he’s not like a normal pony, he’s like a big dog in the stable,” Natasha said. “When he sees Michael coming through the gate home from school, he broncs and circles in the stable, he gets so excited.”

As Legend is only seven, it was anticipated that he would be one for the future, and the plan was just to “have a play” with him this year and see how he got on.

“Recently he’s become so brave and bold that we’ve just cracked on with him,” Natasha said.

“We didn’t expect to jump newcomers second rounds this year. At the beginning of the year he was quite a wuss and very spooky and green, he would try to not jump the first fence.

“Then we went to the Highland show and I was nervous about him jumping there as there was no warm-up class and he had to go straight into a 1.10m. He came out so brave, it was like something clicked and completely changed, as if he got a taste for it.

“Now he’ll take anything on and doesn’t spook at anything, I’ve never seen such a complete change happen in one week.”

Michael was the fastest of five double clears in a seven-strong jump off in the newcomers masters, where the top four combinations all qualified for the pony newcomers final at HOYS.

Sophie Coward Talbott and Kohinoor Come On Annie took reserve, ahead of Lexie Corcoran (Dowdstown) and Flynn Baker (Vinura Bobby).

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‘She was born to it’: failed mounted games pony excels in showjumping arena

Competition was fierce for the title, with 26 making the jump-off, of which 11 jumped a second clear, but Rosie still managed to finish 2.41 sec out in front.

“I think it’s between the fences that she’s so fast,” Jasmine, 14, said. “But she also turns so well. That’s why they thought she would be good for mounted games.”

Jasmine competes at mounted games herself — although not with Rosie — and she was initially given the ride by friends who owned the pony.

“She didn’t like mounted games at all, so at the beginning of this year, our friends asked us to try her show jumping to see what she was like. We took her to a few shows and she was born to it,” Jasmine said.

“My coach Gary Morgan and I worked hard to get her where she is. We focused a lot on the foundations, doing lots of schooling and flat work.”

Jasmine said that mounted games just “blew her mind” but the mare has really settled in to her new job.

“She just got too excited. At first I think she thought she’d be off doing games again but she’s much happier and calmer now.”

The Herefordshire-based rider is out of 138cms at the end of this year but still hopes she can continue to progress with the talented pony, who she also jumped in the 138cm championship final.

“We’ll be keeping her for next year as we think she has the potential to jump newcomers second rounds. She has a nice long stride, so should be able to make the [148cm] distances,” Jasmine added.

Jasmine had a successful week at Stoneleigh, also winning the 138cm stepping stones final with Reifals Surprise.

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Teenager finds ‘self belief’ thanks to riding racehorses – and qualifies for national final

“Toby was over the moon to win. It was a really big course, and for such a big horse Simba tried so hard to get round those corners, but they won by more than four seconds. Toby is very competitive and thinks he’s still on 148cms,” said Annabell.

“The Baldings scooped Toby up and have given him a new outlook on life. The routine really helps him and the opportunity has given him such a confidence boost in so many ways,” said Annabell.

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Seeking somewhere to stay near Stoneleigh Park? Here are some options near by

Hotels near Stoneleigh Park

Woodland Grange, Blackdown

Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth

The Peacock Townhouse Hotel, Kenilworth

Premier Inn Leamington Spa Town Centre

Travelodge Regent Hotel Leamington Spa

The Kenilworth, Kenilworth

Holiday Inn, Kenilworth

The Abbey Field, Kenilworth

The Old Bakery, Kenilworth

The Warwickshire Hotel and Country Club, Leek Wooton

Premier Inn Coventry Earlsdon Park

Travelodge Coventry Binley

Guest houses, inns and B&Bs near Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Park Lodge, Stoneleigh Park