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‘He’s a darling of a pony’: show team’s loyal lead rein shines, before intermediate enjoys win

Rebecca Haywood

    • A show team enjoyed a bumper run in pony ranks on the final day of the 2024 Royal Windsor Horse Show as they took home two titles. Team Ahern’s run began when 14-year-old lead rein show pony Barkway Sweet William clinched his third win at this prestigious show, before he went on to stand overall mini champion.

    His jockey, Arabella Pickles, six, was on board him when he reigned here in 2023, too.

    The chestnut gelding, who was led by Arabella’s aunt Alex Ahern, is the 2016 Horse of the Year show (HOYS) champion. He was a Windsor winner in 2017 when he was partnered by Arabella’s older cousin, Lilly Ahern.

    “We’ve had him since he was a three-year-old so it’s a dream that both girls have been able to ride him,” said Arabella’s mother, Kirsty Pickles. “He’s an absolute darling of a pony and it’s brilliant he’s now won here for both our girls. The only major class to elude him is the Royal International (RIHS).”

    Reserve went to second placed show pony lead rein contenders, Hightopps Black Magic and seven-year-old Scarlett Smith, led by Adam Forster.

    The six-year-old bay mare, who is produced by Team Jinks, had a great start to her career in 2023, standing novice supreme champion at the BSPS summer championships before she went onto win the mini supreme crown and reserve overall pony supreme at the RIHS.

    The daughter of Hightopps Hugo is owned by Scarlett’s grandmother Naomi Bradwell. With Adam choosing to lead the winner of the lead rein show hunter pony class, Black Magic was led by Jack Owen in the championship.

    “Jack out-ran me today,” said Adam, who led hunter pony Newoak Midnight Blue and Violet Mennie, six, in the championship.

    The six-year-old bay gelding, a former HOYS winner, was previously owned by Naomi. Scarlett rode him to win HOYS as a four-year-old and RIHS the following year.

    “He was also mini champion here last year,” said Adam.

    Midnight Blue, now owned by Charlene Mennie, is by Lickfolds Snowstorm out of Ardenhall Midnight Charm. He was bred by Joyce and Jacky Newbery at the Newoak stud in Devon.

    “Jacky sent me some pictures of him being shown in-hand as a three-year-old at the Dartmoor breed show, so we went down to see him,” said Adam. “I told David that I wasn’t leaving Devon without him!”

    Also in the mini championship was another pair of HOYS winners, Barrdene Romeo and Penny Richardson, who won the first ridden class.

    Shildons Royal Affair is out of the same dam, Colbeach Regal Model, as this week’s hack champion, Shildons Plan B

    Celebrations continued for Team Ahern when Abbie Kirkbride and her mother Lisa’s eight-year-old small but mighty Shildons Royal Affair won the small show riding type section before landing the intermediate championship.

    The gelding is out of Colbeach Regal Model, also the dam of the 2024 Royal Windsor hack champion Shildons Plan B. Royal Affair is Tiger Attack, the sire of the large class winner Ladies’ Man (Poppy Carter).

    Abbie and her Team Ahern-produced pony, who was intermediate show riding type of the year at HOYS in 2022, stood ahead of  Sophie O’Keeffe’s nine-year-old show hunter class winner Rosemore Midnight Rendezvouz, who was riding horse champion here just 24 hours earlier with his producer Justine Armstrong-Small. 

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