HOYS 2019: Jo Bates and Grandeur scoop SEIB Racehorse 2 Riding Horse championship
The stunning grey gelding Grandeur got his centre line moment when he was crowned top of the 2019 SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse (R2R) final on the first day of competition at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
The 10-year-old, who is owned by Yvonne Jacques, was ridden as usual by his producer Jo Bates.
Grandeur was trained by Jeremy Noseda and won an impressive £591,223 in prize money during his career. He raced a total of 10 times on the flat.
His foray into showing has been a successful one and he has also been placed at HOYS as an open hack with Jo. The duo has previous placed third and eighth in the SEIB R2R final in 2017 and 2018 respectively before securing the top placing today.
Lizzie Harris and her own 12-year-old Lough Inch took second. The gelding was making his debut at the NEC but Lizzie herself took the runner up position in the SEIB R2R final last season with Wild West.
Lough Inch was formerly in training with Jonjo O’Neill for whom he ran under hurdles without success before he went into Point to Pointing and won a total of 19 starts.
Taking third was Qulinton ridden by Thea Geake. The 15-year-old ran 60 times in national hunt races and won eight times, earning over £90,000 in prize money.
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The other placings were:
4th Mumford and Collette McGoldrick
5th Clonard Lad and Paul Langrick
6th Golden Bird and Richard Telford
7th Singing Hinnie and Katie Jerram Hunnable
8th Mr Ooosh and Lynn Russell
9th Desert Joe and Rebecca Court
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday. The full 2019 Horse of the Year Show report with all the action from the showing, showjumping and dressage classes will be in the 10 October issue. Catch up at horseandhound.co.uk during the week.
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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.