M&M working hunter champion is “foot-perfect” at HOYS

Sarah Challinor landed an amazing double when Wednesday’s ridden Mountain and Moorland champion, Pumphill Buckthorn, put in another foot-perfect performance to take the working equivalent on Thursday.

Sue Hughes’s charismatic Dartmoor stallion made nothing of a challenging and attractive course to win a strong class, rounding off the day with his trademark rousing gallop in the main ring finale.

Sarah, understandably, was overjoyed.

“This was my dream,” she said. “I simply can’t believe it’s come true.”

“Yesterday was amazing, as it was our first-ever ridden title here, but to do this today is incredible,” added owner Sue, for whom this was a best-ever result.

Reserve went to Scarlet Worrow, 13, with her 138cm victor, the 15-year-old Connemara gelding Silver Fox, who also competes in ‘plaited’ workers and was a dual gold-medallist for the English team at the BSPS summer championships.

Sarah was on a roll, though, as she also finished second in the 138cm division with the O’Connors’ Welsh contender, Brimstone Bowman, and in a similar spot in the over 138cms with her own ‘pride and joy’ Rebels Flight, the Connemara pony which launched her into native worker ranks some 12 years ago.

Father and son Alan and Simon Charlesworth each overcame strong competition in the Cuddy preliminaries to post their first wins and come head to head in the evening finale.

Alan’s charge, John Thomas’s home-bred two-year-old potential show pony, Scallywag, is one of several Kilvington Scoundrel offspring to shine here and headed an exceptionally strong pony class, where his closest competition came from the Atherden family’s wonderful Highland stallion, Stirlingdene.

But in an emotional finale, the coveted top spot went to Simon with the Parkins’ Harforth-produced hack broodmare, Catwalk.

Her free, floating paces were evident in the mud at Bucks County when she qualified and here, on the firm sand, she again showed her true ability.

This was the second HOYS final for the nine-year-old, who was second here as a three-year-old and competed successfully under saddle.

“Until now, I’ve always been on the end of the wrong one,” said Simon, whose previous Cuddy bids had never landed the top spot.

Results

Thistledown M&M WHP (A Berryman-Home, J Etheridge) 122cm.— 1, Pumphill Buckthorn; 2, J Armson’s Hanmere Showman; 3, D Barr’s Waitwith Westwind. 138cm.— 1, G Worrow’s Silver Fox; 2, V O’Connor’s Brimstone Bowman; 3, S Smith & M Barber’s Brooksan Kitchener. exc 138cm.— 1, S Fairlie’s Fairlies Red Flare; 2, S Challinor’s Rebel’s Flight; 3, T Milne’s Havenstreet Sweet Sensation. Brineton mini M&M (A Berryman-Horne) FR.— 1 & res, Mr & Mrs P Sellars’ Dryknowl Ennar; 2, G Shuttleworth’s Waxwing Thumbs Up; 3, S Leech’s Heniarth Cupcake. LR.— 1 & ch, A Smalley’s Ekens Fifer; 2, V Bywater & J Newbury’s Newoak Balladier; 3, L D Barr’s Westfirle Duchess. hack (K Sears, A Hanson) sml.— 1, K Dove’s Golden Gunner; 2, M Jarnet’s Pendley Sir Gayle; 3, C Cooper’s Whalton Razzamatazz. lge.— 1, S Wood’s Royal Angel; 2, H Broom’s Paschal High Flyer; 3, V Rudd’s Holtess Wise And Wonderful. SEIB Search for a Star cob.— 1, J Dewhurst’s Funky Munky; 2, F Woods’ Wide Load; 3, D Cox’s Killinare Lad. riding club show horse.— 1, J Gubb’s Zinidan; 2, P Hunt’s Ballyhaise; 3, K Hayward’s Nobelle Clover. working hunter.— 1, P Tuckwell’s Baloo; 2, R Woolley’s Kings Cruise; 3, L Eadon’s Ulster De La Barre. Mobile Phones ladies hunter (J Newborough, D Heath).— 1, Dunbeacon; 2, A Tate’s Shanbo River King; 3, R Lane’s Conspiracy Theory. BEIB racehorse to riding horse (E Morley, M Lawrence).— 1, T Billington’s Blue Java; 2, J Jerram’s Night Prayers; 3, V Smart’s Rogers Revenge. Cuddy supreme in hand (J Chugg, A Pease) pony.— 1 & res, W Thomas’ Scallywag; 2, S Atherden’s Stirlingdene; 3, T Goulding’s Thursden Valley Raphael. horse.— 1 & ch, Mr & Mrs J Parkin’s Catwalk; 2, A Bassett’s Elite de Roulette; 3, D Evans & P Jarrett’s Eastern Index.

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