Top amateurs head for HOYS
Britain’s top amateur-produced show horses and ponies will be heading for the Horse of the Year show at the NEC, Birmingham later this month to contest the finals of the prestigious SEIB Search for a Star series.
The last of the selection events, which have been staged around the country, was held at Richmond Equestrian Centre in Yorkshire recently, where the remaining two places in each class were secured.
A total of 61 competitors have qualified for the finals, across the following six classes:
- Working Hunter
- Riding Club Show Horse
- Show Ponies and Show Hunter Ponies
- Cobs
- Show Hunter
- Riding Horse/Hack
The class finals will be held in the Horse & Hound Arena at HOYS between 17 and 19 September, with this year’s amateur showing superstar crowned by the series judges Robert Oliver and Anne Pritchard in the supreme championship on Saturday 20 September.
Robert Oliver, who has judged alongside Anne in every Search for a Star final, says: “This has become a very important event and the standard rises each year.”
This year’s finalists are:
Working hunters
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
- Just a Lyric, ridden by Paula Clegram
- Whinfell Mr Christian, ridden by Chloe Reynard
- Rocking Robin, ridden by Jenny Stephenson
- Rapps Diamond Jack, ridden by Karen Johnson
- Impy, ridden by Kate Johnston
- Playboy Forever, ridden by Keith Talbot
- Nouveau, ridden by Lorraine Allan
- Another Diamond, ridden by Georgina Richardson
- Clover Knight, ridden by Lianne Cureton
- Wunathose Daze, ridden by Charlotte Baines
Riding club show horse
- Euginie, ridden by Jane Walker
- Knights Abys, ridden by Jacqueline Byrne
- Ruyton Finnegan, ridden by Holly Badenoch
- Sienna, ridden by Michele Luckwell
- Kilmore Blue, ridden by Jackie Gordon
- Secret Melody, ridden by Donna Knowles
- Foxwood Jazz, ridden by J J Burns
- Just William, ridden by Brian McMahon
- Holmesley Kumar I, ridden by Yvonne Lortal
- Blakes Thicket, ridden by Sally-Anne Barton
Show and show hunter ponies
- Silken Breeze, ridden by Joanne Bott
- Belle Vue Lucky ‘B’, ridden by Anne Hartley
- Hindleap Sweet William, ridden by Charley Sale
- Bitterdale Badger, ridden by Carly Kimberley
- Ockley Fiasco, ridden by Jamie K Andrew
- Hollinhurst Carribean, ridden by Claire Heywood
- Deanhills Masterpiece, ridden by Rachel Crier
- Rotherwood Peterkin, ridden by Ella Morris
- Jackets Bewitched, ridden by Eleanor Corkett
- Lenmar Shades of Mink, ridden by Krystle Small
- Challaborough Tiger Moth, ridden by Becky Jackman
Cobs
- Barney Rubble V, ridden by Rebecca Brierley
- Chocolate Apache, ridden by Nicky Hatch
- Maguire, ridden by Vicky Johnson
- Guinness, ridden by Maggie Aikman
- Double Take, ridden by Carly Curbishley
- Seamus, ridden by Joanne Mills
- Doo-Lally, ridden by Angie Tyson-Davies
- O’Reilly, ridden by Theresa Fitzsimons
- Stan the Man, ridden by Louise Gaunt
- Blue Batik, ridden by Helen Orr
Show hunters
- Out of Blue IV, ridden by Marie Glotz
- Amazing Grace, ridden by Christine Booth
- Amontillado, ridden by Mrs Harrap
- Kensington, ridden by Diana Richards
- Flynn, ridden by Julie Robinson
- Kingston Bay, ridden by Peter Hodgkinson
- Midas Touch, ridden by Ann Drabble
- Sharp Enough, ridden by Lizzie Whitehouse
- Broadstone Armani, ridden by Kerry Mackin
- Greylands Albert, ridden by Lucy Jane Turner
Riding horses and hacks
- State Policy, ridden by Tamzin Jefferson
- Longriver Aristocrat, ridden by Sarah Garmichael
- Millimetre, ridden by Emily Curtis
- Ruby Tuesday, ridden by Laura Millman
- M C Sahara Sunrise, ridden by Emily Cooper
- Tudor Knight, ridden by Fiona-Jane Bebb
- Brizemead Baccharat, ridden by A Bell
- Paschal Lincoln, ridden by Pauline Taylor
- MacQueen, ridden by Catherine Brewer
- Catherston Goldcrest, ridden by Sarah Odham
For more information about HOYS, including tickets and a full timetable, visit: www.hoys.co.uk
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
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.