A Highland and his teenage rider delivered a cracking performance to land the Thor Atkinson Steel Fabrications Ltd 2025 junior mountain and moorland championship at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
Winning both her classes on her first visit to the HOYS was not what 13-year-old Holly Smith expected this week with her charming Highland gelding Kincardine Uist, but that’s exactly what happened for this pair from Forfar in the northeast of Scotland.
On Wednesday, they lifted the National Pony Society/Supreme Products mountain and moorland ridden Highland final and on Friday evening they not only scooped the Thor Atkinson Steel Fabrications Ltd junior mountain and moorland ridden large breeds pony of the year title – winning by a huge 11-mark margin – they went on to clinch the overall junior ridden championship sash.
“It’s absolutely unbelievable, if someone had told me on Tuesday that I would have won both my classes and taken the junior championship by the end of Friday, I wouldn’t have believed them in the slightest!” said an elated Holly, who is only in her first season with Uist.
The pair have form for doing it all in one go though; at the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) Winter Championships they collected all three of their Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) tickets in one weekend. They followed this up with a trip to Royal Cheshire, where they booked their pass to HOYS in both the classes they won here.
Ride judge David Blair set a deceptively tricky show which included a gallop on the diagonal and a canter circle, and riders were rewarded for accuracy.
“We spend most weeks just hacking on our farm at home,” said Holly, who has lessons with Kirsty Aird. “She gave me a lovely pep talk before we went in the ring that really helped!”
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Uist was only bought from Sarah-Jane Forbes in September last year, and the new partnership almost came to an abrupt end a few months later. “He had a really bad accident in the field in February and we thought he had fractured his shoulder,” explained Holly’s mum Julie, but happily Uist made a swift and full recovery.
Holly and Uist will now relax until Sunday afternoon when they will contest the Supreme Products supreme pony of the year championship.
Reserve in the 2025 junior mountain and moorland championship
Standing reserve was the winner of the Thor Atkinson Steel Fabrications Ltd Junior mountain & moorland ridden small breeds final, Marsh Walk On By and 13-year-old Lilly Richardson.
The pair occupied this same spot last year when they finished second and were also last year’s winner of the ridden Welsh section A final. “He is just the most amazing pony,” declared Lilly.
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Celeste is an experienced equestrian journalist based in Cornwall, specialising in native breeds and carriage driving. She has been reporting showing for Horse & Hound since 2012. Celeste brings a lifelong passion for ponies to her reporting. She competed both plaited and native working hunter ponies up to her teenage years, then taught herself to carriage drive in 2018 and has successfully competed and won at county and national level.
