CARMENS NOVELLO for owner Charlotte Read, winner of the Rockleigh School Supreme Pony of the Year Championship at the Horse of The Year Show 2018 at the NEC near Birmingham in the UK between 2nd- 7th October 2018
A five-year-old gelding belied his lack of experience to land the 2018 Ruckleigh School Supreme Pony of the Year in the closing evening performance at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
Charlotte Read’s Carmens Novello, a part-bred Arab ridden by his producer Lucy Glover gave a neat and tidy show under judges Jeff Osborne and Mark Tamplin to top a strong field of pony champions, which included the 2017 supreme pony Thistledown Van-Der-Vaart, who produced a challenging show — featuring a rein back — with jockey Lily Richardson and handler Sharn Linney
The young leading man Novello has been lightly shown this term and his tally includes championships at Midland County, Nottingham as well as overall supreme at Royal Norfolk.
Charlotte bought the pony after HOYS last year, where he competed in the show hunter pony ranks and Lucy has since produced him as a show pony.
“I’m so pleased with him; he’s not done a lot this year and has only been out about 10 times,” said Lucy after her part-bred win. “He has the most amazing temperament.”
Charlotte’s son James will take the ride next season. Novello also competed in the Kathleen Wood Children’s Riding Pony of the Year earlier in the week where he took fifth place.
Also in the mix for the supreme title were Miranda Wallace’s two intermediate stars Mexican Summer (show hunter type) and Forgelands Hyde Park (show riding type), the latter producing a foot-perfect show with canter transitions and a flawless rein back.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Gwen Rae’s Fell stallion Greenholme Emblem also gave a delightful show for his producer Kirsty Aird, who had ridden the eight-year-old to land the overall mountain and moorland working hunter pony championship on Thursday.
While the pre-judging saw superbly strong quality, several of the combinations attempted rein backs during their individual shows but failed to pull them off.
Full report from HOYS in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 11 October. For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Former H&H showing editor and deputy features 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 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
