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THE BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019 MALVERN, GREAT BRITAIN JULY 25 – 27 , 2019 St or y a n d P h o t o g ra p h s b y B e t t y F in ke
How can you write about this show? The British Nationals this year were far removed from being business as usual. This has nothing to do with the new organizing team, who did a splendid job. Despite starting off with the hottest day ever recorded in Britain, the show was progressing nicely, with everything smoothly running on schedule. Then, late on the second day, the unthinkable happened: trainer Ryan Jones, on his way back from celebrating a very successful day with friends, suffered a fatal heart attack, and the Arabian community was thrown into a collective state of shock. Ryan was just 43 years old, one of the most popular and finest handlers who also worked with farms in the Middle East, and his sudden death sent shock waves through the entire industry. The show
committee acted quickly and decisively and announced the cancellation of the third day of the Nationals. Nobody felt capable of continuing as if nothing had happened. It would have been near impossible to run the halter classes anyway, as each class included horses shown by Ryan and/or his brother Rod, whom you could hardly expect to just carry on under the circumstances. The fact that the decision to cancel the show was universally accepted by the exhibitors bears witness to the affection and the respect Ryan was accorded in the Arabian community. What then, about the unfinished show? A National Championship where, for the first time in history, several major titles remained unclaimed? Despite the shadow that now hangs over the event, it would
Gold Champion Junior Colt AV MOSCHINO (Emerald J x LB Gucci), owned by Ryan Jones and Sue Oldham. From left are Caroline Reid, Sue Oldham, Ryan Jones and Judge Emma Maxwell. top right : Silver Champion Junior Colt BUGATTI (Master Design GA x Lyanka), bred and owned by Sue Jones. bottom right : Bronze Champion Junior Colt HB KRYSTOFF (Santorini x Kryzstal), owned by James Scammell and Eleanor Wood. left :
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Gold Champion Junior Filly DELICIOUS KK (Kanz Albidayer x Vvivacious), bred and owned by K. & K. Pody. Silver Champion Junior Filly LOLWAH AL SAWARY (Marwan Al Shaqab x Monalisa Al Sawary), owned by David and Marianne Smith. bottom right : Bronze Champion Junior Filly ALEXA MAGNIFIQUE (Magic Magnifique x VA Amawi Bint Valentina AA), owned by Amy Dutkowski-Southworth. left :
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the entered yearling fillies were forward, which may be vastly unfair not to honor those who had their have been a consequence of the extremely hot moment of glory during the first two days of the weather. Some exhibitors understandably preferred show. Ryan would be the first to acknowledge this, to leave their youngsters at home rather than not the least because he was one of them himself. expose them, and themselves, The fact that there are any to the excessive heat. With the National Champions this year THE FACT THAT THE DECISION show ring being out in the at all is entirely down to the TO CANCEL THE SHOW WAS open with no shelter at all, the particular British way of doing things. All the championships UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED BY THE collecting ring was usually deserted, handlers and horses are held immediately after the EXHIBITORS BEARS WITNESS TO preferring to huddle beneath respective qualifying classes, the shade of the trees next to rather than all together at the THE AFFECTION AND THE the entrance of the ring. end, which adds a bit of variety RESPECT RYAN WAS ACCORDED The horses, however, coped to the proceedings and helps IN THE ARABIAN COMMUNITY. pretty well, all giving the kind avoid a huge “championship of beautiful full-length trotting dump” at the end of the show. displays you hardly see anywhere else anymore. In this case, it meant that all junior and the gelding Foremost among them was IS Elasca (Ascot DD x IS titles were awarded as scheduled, as well as half the Elanda), the very deserving winner of both the senior ridden titles and also the Crabbet Organization’s yearling filly class and the Gold Champion Yearling National Championships. Filly. Bred by the Ismer Stud, the oldest private The fillies were judged by ECAHO president Arabian stud farm in Germany, she was a class Jaroslav Lacina, whose classes, while not large, were winner and Bronze Champion Foal at the German of high quality. Disappointingly, only around half of
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Gold Champion Yearling Colt LUCCIANO (Santorini x AA Lavinia), bred and owned by David, Marianne, and Laura Smith. Silver Champion Yearling Colt PANDOREZ O, owned by Andrew Lilley and Amy Dutkowski-Southworth. bottom right: Bronze Champion Yearling Colt SANDMANDALA (MM Just Cavalli x NA Copycat), bred and owned by Nick Arnold. left:
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Gold Champion Yearling Filly IS ELASCA (Ascot DD x IS Elanda), owned by Marianne Smith of Armada Arabians. Silver Champion Yearling Filly ALIHANDRIA (EKS Alihandro x Mia Bint Adala), owned by Joyce Robertson. bottom right : Bronze Champion Yearling Filly SILVER STARLIGHT BJ (Master Design GA x Silver Martina BJ), owned by the Jones family. left :
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// Nationals last year. There she caught the eye of Marianne Smith of Armada Arabians, who (understandably) fell in love with her and purchased her on the spot. Silver was awarded to Joyce Robertsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alihandria (EKS Alihandro x Mia Bint Adala), who was second to IS Elasca in her class, and Bronze to the junior class winner Silver Starlight BJ (Master Design GA x Silver Martina BJ). The latter is bred and owned by the Jones family and represents the fourth generation of breeding from their original foundation mare, Berenice. The classes for two- and three-year-old fillies were both larger and, especially in the finals, tougher to judge. For his champion, Jaroslav Lacina eventually chose the winner of the senior two-year-old filly class, the exquisite Delicious KK (Kanz Albidayer x Vvivacious). This fillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career had being steadily on the rise, progressing from Bronze Champion Foal to Silver Champion Yearling last year to Gold Junior Female Champion this year. She is bred and owned by K. & K. Pody, who also bred and own her dam Vvivacious, who also had a stellar show career. Silver and Bronze both went to three-year-old fillies, but in reverse order from their class placing, with the originally second-placed Lolwah Al Sawary (Marwan Al Shaqab x Monalisa Al Sawary) taking Silver over the class winner Alexa Magnifique (Magic Magnifique x VA Amawi Bint Valentina AA). Both are imports,
Lolwah Al Sawary being bred by the sons of Sheikh Hussain Basha, Saudi Arabia, and owned by David and Marianne Smith, and Alexa Magnifique bred by Sweden Arabian Stud and owned by Amy Dutkowski-Southworth. The geldings were next, judged by Scott Benjamin, and they are always a delight. Both Gold Champions were sons of Emerald J, who has been heavily used in Britain with excellent results (World Champion Admiraal being one of them). Some of the best just happen to be geldings. This includes Gold Junior Champion LME Raphael (out of Lavinias Design), bred and owned by Marianne and Laura Smith and Elaine Clare, who won the very small yearling class and went on to beat all others in the championships. The first and second two-year-old geldings took Silver and Bronze, respectively, namely Tabou (Orient El Aziz x Psyches Thais), bred by Amanda Holloway and owned by S. Wigg and L. Bensley, and Hadiat Qayima (Vivegas x Psynammon), bred and owned by Joyce Robertson. Among the senior geldings, the eventual Gold Champion was the winner of the class for four- to six-year-olds, Parvez (Emerald J x Parysa), whom I remember seeing and admiring last year, when he was still a colt. Now he is a gelding and pretty much impossible to beat, not even by former Silver Champion Stallion Serengeti (Vivegas x Legacys Gold Champion Senior Gelding PARVEZ (Emerald J x Parysa), left, owned by Clive Evans, and Silver Champion Senior Gelding SERENGETI (Vivegas x Legacys Sonata), right, bred and owned by Lisa Dunn, and pictured with Kim and Rod Jones.
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Bronze Champion Senior Gelding AJA ROMEO (EKS Alihandro x Aja Sabiba), owned by Alf Hallworth.
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// Crabbet National Supreme Champion VALLETTA HUNTER’S SONG (Silvern Surprise x Silvern Sheena), bred and owned by Georgina Rees, who of course also took the special prize for the best Crabbet/Old English horse.
Sonata), bred and owned by Lisa Dunn, who won the class for seven- to 16-year-old geldings and took Silver, with Bronze going to the second-placed horse in Parvez’s class, Aja Romeo (EKS Alihandro x Aja Sabiba), bred by Malcolm and Jane Hickford and owned by Alf Hallworth. The fateful second day kicked off with the yearling colts, judged by Emma Maxwell. For her Gold Champion, she chose the junior class winner, the elegant and typey Lucciano (Santorini x AA Lavinia), bred and owned by David, Marianne, and Laura
Smith, making this the fourth title won by the Smith family at this show. His sire Santorini (Vervaldee x Lady Madonna) is fast emerging as one of the leading sires of winners in Britain, with three class winners among the juniors this year, two of which won titles. He is currently with Johanna Ullström in Belgium and also proving popular with breeders outside of Britain. Silver went to the senior class winner, Pandorez O, bred by Sweden Arabian Stud and owned by Andrew Lilley and Amy DutkowskiSouthworth. This already snow-white colt is an unmistakable son of Shanghai EA, out of the amazing Pocahontas K, who is also the dam of the successful sires Pallaton K and Parys K. Bronze went to the second placed colt in his class, Sandmandala (MM Just Cavalli x NA Copycat), bred and owned by Nick Arnold. The two-year-old colt class, and the junior male championship, in retrospect turned out to be the most poignant of the show. The top two colts of the
Gold Champion Junior Gelding LME RAPHAEL (Emerald J x Lavinias Design), bred and owned by Marianne and Laura Smith and Elaine Clare. top right : Silver Champion Junior Gelding TABOU (Orient El Aziz x Psyches Thais), owned by S. Wigg and L. Bensley. bottom right : Bronze Champion Junior Gelding HADIAT QAYIMA (Vivegas x Psynammon), bred and owned by Joyce Robertson. left :
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// few hours later, it is difficult not to agree. The two-year-old class were pretty obvious: the flashy two-year-old colt class was both bigger and and showy chestnut Bugatti (Master Design GA x stronger than the three-year-old class, which had a Lyanka), bred and owned by Sue Jones and shown clear winner in HB Krystoff (Santorini x Kryzstal), by son Rod, and the less exuberant, but very elegant bred by Heather Brown and owned by James and refined bay AV Moschino (Emerald J x LB Gucci), Scammell and Eleanor Wood, who bred by Caroline Reid and THE REALLY AMAZING also showed him. Ryan Jones, owned by Ryan The final national championship and his partner Sue Oldham, THING IS THAT THIS FILLY IS of the day was for foals, again and of course shown by Ryan. THE FOURTH FOAL OUT OF judged by Scott Benjamin. Initially, Emma Maxwell had pulled in the more flamboyant HER DAM, THE FOURTH TO BE Fortunately there were more foals Bugatti first and AV Moschino SHOWN IN THIS CLASS AT THE forward than last year, and very second, but at the very last BRITISH NATIONALS, AND THE nice ones, too. Still, the Gold Champion was the only entry in her minute switched them round FOURTH TO TAKE THE GOLD class for weaned or orphaned and gave the win to AV FOAL CHAMPION TITLE! THAT foals. This was the stunning Monica Moschino, and they ended up Bey by Bourhani Aldebaran out of Gold and Silver in that order IS DEFINITELY A RECORD. V Exotic Enchantress, bred and in the championship as well. owned by the Jones family. The really amazing thing That last moment switch caused some consternation is that this filly is the fourth foal out of her dam, the at first, as nearly everyone had thought Bugatti the fourth to be shown in this class at the British obvious winner. But a few days later, Emma stated Nationals, and the fourth to take the Gold Foal on Facebook that she was “damned glad” she Champion title! That is definitely a record. Not to switched them, and in view of what happened only a
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Gold Champion Foal MONICA BEY by Bourhani Aldebaran out of V Exotic Enchantress, bred and owned by the Jones family, and shown by Ryan Jones. top right : Silver Champion Foal OBX APHRODITE by the WH Justice son GB Adala out of Psyches Showgirl, bred and owned by Gretchen Kirby. bottom right : Bronze Champion Foal SERENDIPITY by last year’s Gold Champion Stallion Mabrouk Aljassimya out of the Psynergy daughter Symphony, bred and owned by Emma Whitlow. left :
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// Diamond Auction Yearling Filly CAMEG NYVADAH (Om El Bahreyn x Cameg Parisa), bred and owned by Susan McArthur, and shown by Ryan Jones.
mention that these four foals, despite being by three different sires, all look like peas from a pod, with the same color and the same incredible style. Having said that, I would rank this filly at the top of the group, not least because of her amazing, ground-covering trot. It really has to be seen to be believed. You rarely see even grown horses move like this! The really beautiful class of foals shown with their dams was won by the eventual Silver Champion, the charming liver chestnut OBX Aphrodite by the WH Justice son GB Adala out of Psyches Showgirl, bred and owned by Gretchen Kirby. This little filly was not only a very fine foal and cute as a basket of kittens, but to top it all she has a huge white spot on her right flank that is shaped exactly like a heart. She’ll never get lost in a crowd! Second place in class, and Bronze Champion, went to another lovely chestnut filly, Serendipity, by last year’s Gold Champion Stallion Mabrouk Aljassimya out of the Psynergy daughter Symphony, bred and owned by Emma Whitlow. The Crabbet National Championships ran parallel to the mares and foals and featured strong youngstock and gelding classes, but only few mature stallions and mares. The Supreme Champion was once again the winning gelding, Valletta Hunter’s Song (Silvern Surprise x Silvern Sheena), bred and owned by Georgina Rees, who of course also took the special prize for the best Crabbet/Old English horse. Reserve was the junior winner, the three-year-old 100% Crabbet filly Binley Silver Sunset (Binley Ronaldo x Sa’ira), bred and owned by Caroline
Sussex, and 2nd Reserve the veteran winner, the 22-year-old stallion Imperial Silver Star (Shabash x Zaidah), bred by the late Geoffrey Plaister and owned by the Geoffrey Plaister Charitable Foundation. One class remains to be mentioned, the last of the day, which was for Diamond Auction Yearling Fillies. This is for fillies that are the result of a breeding purchased at a special auction, and is held as a futurity with considerable prize money. Unlike the rest of the show, these classes are judged by three judges awarding points. The win was a very close contest between last year’s Gold Champion Foal Elizza Aljalyla (Mabrouk Aljassimya x Eqarra), bred and owned by Amy Dutkowski-Southworth, and Cameg Nyvadah (Om El Bahreyn x Cameg Parisa), bred and owned by Susan McArthur, and shown by Ryan Jones. Both these top fillies were just a fraction of a point apart in the end (and well ahead of all other contestants), with Cameg Nyvadah taking the win by a very slim margin. Little did anyone guess at the time that this was to be Ryan Jones’s last win. The following morning, everyone was stunned by the news of Ryan’s death and the cancellation of the show. Friends and associates joined in an informal gathering to commemorate Ryan. Many tears were shed and hugs exchanged. The capricious British weather for once did the appropriate thing: it rained relentlessly and didn’t stop the entire day. Everyone was crying for Ryan, even the skies. One thing is certain: this show will never be quite the same again.
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