HOYS winner has Blenheim victory in mind after storming into CCI4*-S dressage lead

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Blenheim Horse Trials dressage: Hayden Hankey and Heads Up
Hayden Hankey and Heads Up performing their dressage at Blenheim CCI4*-S
(Image credit: Shamela Hanley Photos/The Jockey Club)

Hayden Hankey blitzed into the lead of the CCI4*-S class for eight- and nine-year-olds at the end of Friday morning’s dressage session at Blenheim Horse Trials. The morning’s contenders in this young horse section had failed to make much of an impact at the business end of the leaderboard, until Hayden, penultimate to go before the lunch break, produced a polished display on Heads Up to take a 3.3-pen lead over Gillian Beale King (Derena Super Star) on 24.3.

Hayden is as adept between the white boards as he is in the show ring or the hunting field, and the skills of this all-round horseman came to the fore. But while to spectators this seemed like an impressive display from an eight-year-old, Hayden implied there is much more to come. There were a few green wobbles, notably in an early shoulder-in. But he barely made a mistake, consistently scoring 7.5s, and earned a nine for his extended trot.

Martha Terry
Martha Terry
Features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.