Wot Perfection lifts 2022 HOYS ridden coloured championship

Lindsay McCulloch’s mare Wot Perfection (Spook) was crowned CHAPS-sponsored HOYS ridden coloured championship at the 2022 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).

The beautiful Free Spirit nine-year-old was ridden by her producer Richard Telford, for whom this championship win was career first.

“I always knew she had this in her; when I saw her trotting across the stubble fields for first time I knew she was the horse for me,” said Lindsay, who has had horses with Richard for 20 years. “She looks after me and I’m the most nervous rider. She’s my world. I hack her out every weekend and we take her to shows as a family on our own. Richard has worked his magic on her; this is why I wanted him to ride her at HOYS.”

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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.

‘I always knew she had this in her’: coloured mare takes HOYS crown home to Scotland

The last championship Richard won at HOYS was in native ranks.

“She gave me the best feeling in there; she lit up,” said Richard. “I’ve always had natives and hunters here, so this is a bucket list win.”

Lindsay, who works as a lawyer in Edinburgh, regularly rides Spook and competes her in the show ring and in dressage.

Ride judge Sue-Helen Shuttleworth said: “She had a lovely way of going. She looked through her bridle and went on command.”

For the second year in a row, the coloured cob Red Rock III took reserve for the HOYS ridden coloured championship, this time with his owner Janay Leeman in the saddle.

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