A 19-year-old rider posted her first Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) victory as she won an ultra-competitive Polly Coles RIHS amateur hunter supreme championship with her mother’s small hunter.
Liberty Taylor-Hopkins was in the saddle of Amanda Picillo’s lovely 11-year-old Tiger Eye to reign out of eight contenders who returned from the final reckoning held in the Agria Lifetime Equine Insurance Ring Five.
“I’m thrilled; I can’t believe it,” said Liberty, who noted that “Tiger” is the first horse she’s shown in adult ranks. “We bought him two years ago for me to step into horse classes. We competed here in the amateurs last year, too, and he’s also qualified for this year’s intermediate final and the open small hunters.”
Liberty and Tiger are trained by Martin Skelton. Earlier this month they finished second in the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) small hunter class at the Great Yorkshire.
“The step up to these classes was hard at first as they’re so competitive, but Tiger is a gem and he’s really looked after me,” added Liberty, who is HOYS-bound with the horse. “I think he might be my favourite horse of all time.”
Faye Ludlow and Chris Gordon were judging:
“He was an absolute picture on the go-round; his movement and his presence shone,” said ride judge Faye, of her champion. “He came into the championship and he stepped up. His rider rode him him beautifully, too.”
Reserve for the RIHS amateur hunter supreme title went to Rose Bailey aboard the winning middleweight, her own Bloomfield Greystone, an eight-year-old who is produced by Team Ross. The upstanding grey gelding was an absolute professional during the championship, never twitching a hair as a child who had escaped from the nearby grandstand suddenly ran in front of him.
“He gave a beautiful ride and he was very, very well mannered,” noted Faye.
The separate home-produced championship saw two lightweights called forward. Top spot went to Francoise Babington and her own Seabourne Silent Valley, while reserve was Jane Collins and her own San Miguel.
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