A young handler made her in-hand class debut a winning one as she scooped the supreme accolade at the North West Championship show with her Welsh section A pony.
Six-year-old Honey Ohara led out her grey gelding Gilfac Zac to perfection to be called top of the 25-stong young handler class before landing the supreme accolade.
“She was the smallest in there by a long way,” said Honey’s mum Chloe, who produces their small team of ponies from their home in Rochdale.
Posted by Chloe Ohara on Monday, October 14, 2019
While she is a super keen young horsewoman, Honey’s early years have certainly not been without difficulty. At age two she was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia and has been in and out of hospital ever since.
“This means she can’t tolerate a lot of food and often has to go on a drip,” explained Chloe. “I’ve nearly lost her twice.
“Last June, she was rushed to hospital and had to have a bolt put through her skull as she has chiari 1 malformation [where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal].”
“She is on daily medication but despite all this she is so dedicated to her ponies and she has so much enthusiasm. She does her ponies every single day unless she’s in hospital.
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“When she was in hospital last summer she kept telling the nurses to hurry up and get her out as she had a Horse of the Year Show qualifier to ride in. Three days after she was out, she rode in that very class. She is just incredible.”
At North West Champs, Honey also picked up two fourth places riding her lead rein hunter pony, before netting the top in-hand title with Zac in the evening performance.
“She declared a few weeks ago that she wanted to have a go at in-hand so she’s been practising non-stop,” added Chloe. “The judge told her that she has never seen anyone run a pony out so straight. Honey now wants to compete at the Royal Welsh next.”
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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.
