‘There’s so much power there’: Irish Draught steals the show in amateur hunter supreme at RIHS
After campaigning in amateur ranks at the Agria Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) for several years and winning a class on four separate occasions, Jono Fryer finally went one better and lifted the overall Polly Coles supreme amateur hunter championship on his magnificent Irish Draught.
Jono’s own gelding Dowdstown Purple (Quinn) won the heavyweight division for the second year on the trot, before he powered on in the championship to be Magnus Nicholson and Charlotte Richardson’s choice for the title
The Crosstown Dancer nine-year-old was on-form from winning the Irish Draught championship at the Great Yorkshire for a third time. He is also already booked in to return to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
Jono won the heavyweight spoils twice in a row on his former ride Duke Of Royal Emblem some 15 years ago.
“Quinn is getting better and better, though we’re also gelling together more; I’m learning how to really tune him,” Jono said. “There’s so much power there and he is so smart as well as being nimble. He is just a phenomenal horse.”
Jono originally bought Quinn, the reigning Irish Draught Horse society breed show supreme champion, from Jane Collins.
“Jane still takes a lot of pleasure in his successes, which means a lot; it’s what it’s all about,” said Jono.
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Jono juggles horses around work as a business consultant: “I often take phone calls when I’m riding; the client will hear the hooves and ask ‘can I hear a horse’?”
Reserve in the Polly Coles supreme amateur hunter championship was Sally Iggulden and her Cougar five-year-old Centre Court II who headed the middleweight field on their debut at the final.
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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.