Boost for amateur working hunter riders
The organisers of the British Jumping Derby Meeting at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead are introducing a new working hunter championship for amateur riders at this year’s show on 18-21 August.
The class will be run under SHB (GB) rules and will be open to riders for whom horses are not their main source of income. The course will be less demanding than for a normal open working hunter class to encourage more riders to take part.
The new initiative will be the first time Hickstead has held a working hunter class for amateur riders. Currently the Royal International Horse Show holds amateur hunter weight and riding horse classes, but not working hunters.
Hickstead’s showing director, Roger Stack, said: “Amateur riders are the backbone of working hunter classes and we want to give them the opportunity to compete on equal terms without coming up against the professionals.
“They will find that the jumping course is rider friendly, not massive, because the whole idea is to encourage more people into the sport.”
The class will be held on Sunday, August 21 &mdash the day of the famous DFS Derby, giving amateurs the chance to compete in the unique Hickstead Derby atmosphere.
New showing sponsorships
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
- The ridden hunter championship at Hickstead’s Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead (27-31 July) is to be sponsored by Patey Hats
- Blue Chip Feeds is sponsoring this year’s Veteran Horse Society Showing Championship, the final of which is held at the London International Horse Show at Olympia in December
- The prize fund for the TopSpec Supreme Ridden Championship at the Northern Horse Show at Wetherby, North Yorks on 27 July has been increased to £2,500. The winner will receive £1,250 with the reserve winning £500 and second reserve receiving £250. Further prize money will be given all the way down to 10th place
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.