Royal International amateur champion loses title after ‘genuine mistake’ on eligibility
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(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
The definitions of “amateur and “home-produced” have come into the spotlight after a Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) champion was disqualified.
Martina Lawrence’s Cherokee IX and Amelia Lockhart were the highest placed amateur combination at last month’s RIHS, but the title has now gone to Penny Williamson and her own Ottawa, who had stood reserve.
The British Skewbald and Piebald Association (BSPA) announced the result change, as although Amelia and her sister Kirsty Lockhart home-produce their ponies, they are brand ambassadors for an equine products company, so are not eligible for amateur status under BSPA rules – although they are classified as amateurs by other societies.
“Martina is a friend who lives down the road and ‘Okee’ is her happy hacker pony,” Kirsty told H&H. “She is very new to this level of showing, and coloureds are also a new avenue for us. However, we are both home-produced families who do our ponies ourselves.
“It was the most genuine mistake. We were thrilled to finish eight in the class and we didn’t think twice about being presented with the highest placed amateur award, as under other rules we are classified as amateurs. If someone had told us not to go into the championship, we wouldn’t have gone in.”
Kirsty added that the sisters have had unpleasant messages and comments on social media, and that the situation had been “disappointing for everyone involved, including Amelia and the reserve, who missed out on their championship in the ring”.
“I take responsibility for the fact that we should have triple checked the rules; we’ve learnt the hard way,” she said. “It would be great if amateur and home-produced rulings could be defined by The Showing Council and then there could be one blanket rule across the societies. It could prevent this grey area, which also creates a divide between professionals and amateurs in showing.”
Lynda Lodge from the BSPA told H&H the rules for amateur and home-produced eligibility are “clearly specified on the BSPA’s membership form submitted by members”.
“ The application form is sent in with a signature that confirms each competitor’s awareness of the definitions,” she said.
“We had no concerns during the classes or the championship [at the RIHS] and it came as a surprise that we had two complaints regarding the eligibility of the amateur champion.
“The BSPA acted quickly to firstly establish if these complaints were both accurate and justifiable. With the findings our enquiry returned, we notified the champion that they had been disqualified and the reserve champion was immediately contacted to be promoted to champion. Prizes were returned and sent to the correct person. We now consider the matter closed and dealt with.
“We believe that everyone should show on a level playing field and when we find ourselves in a position as such we have standards to uphold. As a society, we deal with situations accordingly should they arise.
“The BSPA has held the amateur championship at the RIHS for the past 10 years and this is the first time we’ve had an issue.”
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