One of the most anticipated championships held at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) is The Price Family in-hand supreme and taking top honours this year was Steve Pitt handling Rosemary Penn and Vicky Smith’s gorgeous mare Lovestruck.
The former top riding horse, a 14-year-old by La Rochelle, was bred by Gail Burrough. She was bought as a foal by Rosemary and she has only attended one show prior to HOYS this year, Midland Counties, where she lifted her ticket.
She was shown with her Future Gravitas-sired colt foal, also supreme foal at Midland Counties, at foot.
This was the fourth time Lovestuck has qualified for the HOYS in-hand; when she was shown as a youngster she won at the HOYS final.
Vicky rode her at Biringhman as a riding horse before she retired as a broodmare.
This was the second year on the trot that Steve has secured the overall title; last season he led Tell Me Another into the same spot.
The winning pony, Vanessa Clark’s Connemara mare Skaergaardens Delicious Love, was overall reserve for handler Scott Dixon. The 10-year-old qualified at Notts County back in May and she was also shown with her foal at foot. She was making history by becoming the first Connemara to win at HOYS in-hand.
The filly foal, Chilham Delightful, led by Jo Jack, was joined in The Price Family supreme pony class by her sire, Cloverhill Magic.
In 2017, Delicious Love, just a five-year-old at the time, took the M&M ridden championship at HOYS.
Joining the winners in The Price Family in-hand championship was second placed pony, David Hodge and Julian Walters’ home-bred Shetland Sharptor Kinsman, a six-year-old by HOYS and Olympia finalist Sharptor Laser Red and out of Laddyll Kimberley. He qualified at Royal Cornwall.
Joining them was the second placed horse, Ami Miller’s DPUK Nightdancer, handled by James Knight, who was shown with her Alonby Artisan-sired foal at foot, The Honourable Bachelor, who was handled by Jerome Harforth. The 13-year-old was making her eighth visit to HOYS, having won at the final three times as both a hack and an intermediate. She qualified on her in-hand debut at Derbyshire Festival. Jerome Harforth handled her foal.
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