New winter series to promote opportunities for novice ponies and young riders
The British Show Pony Society (BSPS) has announced a new winter qualifying series that aims to “encourage new members to the society and enable existing members to bring on novice ponies during winter.”
The new classes, set to run during 2022 and culminate in a final at the BSPS winter championships on 30 April, is to be named the Winter Worker Stakes.
The series is a change from the normal working hunter pony classes as they will be run in jump height sections ranging from 60cm to 1m and will be open to riders of any age.
“This will allow experienced riders a chance to educate young ponies and help our younger riders gain valuable experience over smaller courses before the summer,” said a BSPS spokesman.
The marking system has been tweaked to place more emphasis on the jumping phase, with 70 marks available for the jump round. There will be 30 marks available for style and manners, while jumping and for conformation. This system will “ensure that ponies jumping the courses are aptly rewarded”.
The first three in each class as well as the highest-placed child will qualify for the final to encourage younger riders to compete.
The BSPS added: “Riders and ponies will be able to compete in multiple classes to help them gain valuable experience and to ensure that competitors have more than one class to compete in at winter shows.
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“However, riders must still be suitably mounted size-wise for the pony they ride, and marks will be deducted if judges consider this not to be the case.”
Qualifiers will be held at BSPS affiliated winter shows from now until the end of April.
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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.