‘There will never be another like him’: tributes paid to multi-garlanded riding horse

The prolific show horse I’m Blue Chip Too (Glen) has passed away aged 23.

Owned by Blue Chip Feed owner and founder Clare Blaskey, Glen was famous for landing the riding horse of the year title at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) as a four-year-old in his first season with Robert Walker; he was the youngest horse to ever win the accolade.

He returned to the NEC as a five-year-old to win the same championship and was also champion at the Royal International (RIHS) in the same year.

His journey began when Clare picked up a six-week-old copy of Horse & Hound in 1998.

Clare says: “I was looking through an old copy of the Horse & Hound and in the classified section at the back of the magazine was a small advert with a riding horse for sale. People had been to see him but no one had bought him as he was quite a character.

“I arranged to see him on my way to Olympia. I loved him the moment I set eyes on him and continued to adore him for the next 20 years. There will never be another like him.”

Clare started showing him as a five year old, and there after he was produced from home. She noted that the gelding had won at his first ever show in 1995 at five weeks of age, shown by his breeder Dot Collins, and his last at 20-years-old in 2015.

Glen was very successful as a ridden horse in HOYS, RIHS and Olympia qualifiers with 35 championships, 21 reserve championships and 58 first places during his career. In his later years, he also qualified for the Senior Showing grand final at Olympia.

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Glen was a four-time winner of the national best trained show horse competition and he was also succesful in the dressage ring. His last award was in 2017 when he was runner up in Showing World Horse Personality of the Year.

Glen gave many people their first experience of riding a top show horse and taught Clare’s granddaughter, aged nine, to ride side saddle.

Alex Robinson

H&H showing editor

Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 since when she has cemented its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK.