Despite a slip up, and losing a stirrup in the individual show, Craig Kiddier and Susan Tennant’s Mulberry Lane stayed cool to win the Barberstown Castle supreme ridden horse for a second year running at the Agria Royal International Horse Show. In a dramatic ride-off against Robert Walker and Flash Point, Craig and “Obi” did enough to go ahead.
Of the tense moment, Craig said: “He just slipped and I lost my stirrup and at that point I thought that was it. It just went terribly wrong and it felt like it was horrendous. Then the judges had been more generous than I would have been, but I’d never done a ride-off and to be honest I wasn’t sure what to do.”
The crowd were appreciative of his showmanship in the ride-off, cheering as he jumped the hedge at the bottom of the arena for a second time which cemented the win.
Robert Whitaker had a fantastic weekend at Hickstead, becoming one of the very few riders to have won both the Hickstead Derby and the Al Shira’aa King George V gold cup at the Agria Royal International in the same year. Robert’s performance on Vermento on Sunday for the King George V was outstanding, leading to his second win in three years in this class with his own and Caroline Blatchford’s stallion.
A first-time exhibitor at Royal Welsh Show has credited a fellow competitor’s kindness and sportsmanship for his win. David Newsome felt “like a rabbit in the headlights” when judge Stuart Morgan pulled him in at the top of the line in the Welsh section C yearling filly class with Coppathorne Glitz And Glamour.
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David had only shown at five local and area shows before the Royal Welsh. His family only bought this lovely filly a week before, but brought her to the show since she had qualified and been prepared by former producer Tommy Fuller.
“I just thought I’d watch to see what a few others did first and copy them. But then when I was pulled top I couldn’t do that and I didn’t know what to do,” said David.
He asked fellow competitor Lowri Reed, who’d been pulled in second, what to do.
“Fair play to her, she talked me through the whole thing. She told me where to stand, what to do and where to go through the whole thing. She didn’t need to do that; it’s a rare quality to help a competitor that way,” David said. “Lowri deserves credit for my win as I couldn’t have done it without her. I’m really grateful to her.”
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
