Horse of the Year Show 2017

Localrider Magazine

SHOWJUMPING • SHOWING • DRESSAGE • EVENTING www.localrider.co.uk

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November 2017

Show Reports and News

Including local successes at:

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November 2017 • VOLUME XVII NUMBER 7

● Horse of The Year Show ● Sunshine Tour Championships ● Edenbridge & Oxted Show ● Southern Counties Show ● SsangYong South of England Horse Trials

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HoYS report

Horse of the Year Show The NEC, Birmingham • Wednesday 4th to Sunday 8th October 2017 Pictures by 1st Class Images

Whether your chosen discipline is showing, show jumping, driving or mounted games, everyone wants to be at the Horse of the Year Show. This year there were a great number of riders from the South East competing at the show and between them they produced some outstanding results. Over the next few pages we share some of our favourite stories…

Kelly Jones – Skaegaardens Delicious Love

Kelly Jones and Skaegaardens Delicious Love, pictured with Jane Buchan of Baileys Horse Feeds and HRH Princess Anne

NPS/Baileys Horse Feeds Ridden Native Champion

K

elly Jones’ five-year-old Connemara mare, Skaegaardens Delicious Love won the nPS/baileys Horse Feeds ridden native Championship. Kelly bought the mare from Denmark at the end of last year. She said: “I had been following her on Facebook and I am a believer everything happens for a reason. I never buy a pony without the approval of a very good friend, Clare oakes. I buy all my Connemaras from Clare, so I called her to ask her opinion on Delicious and she had actually judged her twice, pulling her champion on both occasions. So that confirmed it for me.

She had just been backed when I bought her at the end of last year. She did one novice show with me and won and then this year she hasn’t been out much. She started the season as a novice qualifying for the Picton Final and I then decided to try a couple of open classes with her as she has a very mature outlook on life. She went to nCPA Staffs to do the HoYS qualifier and she just rose to the occasion and qualified. So that was the last show she did before her Picton Final in August, which she won and then went Champion.

She didn’t go to another show until HoYS in october where she also won and went Champion. I never felt like she needed to go to all the shows in between, as she loves doing fun things like going to the gallops, hacking, going to the beach and general schooling.

Delicious will not contest HoYS open classes next year, but I may try and find a nice junior jockey to try and make a return trip in a different class. I will focus on the olympia qualifiers with her and I also have a nice selection of other ponies to bring out next season.”

Kelly Jones and Skaegaardens Delicious Love, NPS/Baileys Horse Feeds Ridden Native Champions

Elloise Smit – Newton Samson

Elloise Smit and Newton Samson

Twelfth Pony Showjumper of the Year Fourteen-year-old Elloise Smit and her pony, Newton Samson, competed in the Pony Showjumper of the Year final. Rolling an unlucky pole, they were the fastest four-faulter, finishing in twelfth place. It was the combination’s first time at HOYS. Elloise has owned the 15-year-old Newton Samson for two years in December. They were part of the Gold medal winning English Team competing at the Home Pony International (HPI) in Scotland in July and in October will be part of the team of five competing at the English HPI. Elloise is supported by her mother, Deborah Smit and her mother’s partner, Nat Heal, who helps her at shows.

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Ella Dalton – Stambrook Maestro

First 143cm Working Hunter Pony of the Year Fourteen-year-old ella Dalton’s hard work and belief that her pony could win was rewarded when she rode Stambrook maestro to win the 143cm Working Hunter Pony title.

The fourteen-year-old part Welsh was bred in norfolk by Sarah rook, who also bred the third placed pony, Stanbrook miss Demena. He started his WHP career with ellie Hirst from norfolk. He was then sold to molly munnelly in 2014 were he had a very unfortunate accident, which potentially could have ended his ridden career. ella’s mother, michelle burnett said: “molly and her family were selfless and gave maestro the time and rest he required, although this meant molly was never able to compete him herself. ella was adamant that this was the pony that she wanted for her 14h WHP, she had dreamt of having him two years previously and after a long phone call with her trainer rachel Turner we decided to take a leap of faith and bought maestro over the telephone. He arrived on 19th october. ella worked tirelessly bringing maestro back to competition fitness, with the help of our fabulous farrier, Peter marley, our vet, Tony Warr and physio, rachel Keevil. ella spent hours walking up and down our local hills.”

It’s lap of honour time for Ella Dalton and Stambrook Maestro

Set-backs along the way The road to HoYS wasn’t all straightforward. michelle continued: “We suffered a real set back at the beginning of may when maestro pulled a muscle after having jumped a clear round in a royal International (rI) qualifier and was unable to do his show. ella was very upset and concerned, but with a lot of hand massaging and gentle stretch work we were able to get him to the last rI qualifier of the year at rutland County. He jumped a clear round and ella came out of the ring with great anxiety that he was still ok, luckily the fitness work and continual massage work had paid off and he won and qualified. The win was made sweeter by the fact we were able to share this day with ella’s old pony, Stockham Secret envoy, and his new rider Chloe Le mieux, who was qualifying at their only attempt at the same show.”

Whilst winning the HoYS title is the highlight of ella and maestro’s year, it is not their first taste of the limelight. The combination won their championship class at the blue Chip Show Jumping Finals in April. They were part of the english Team at the bSPS Championships and also won and went Champion open WHP at the bSPS Championships. michelle said: “We weren’t very prepared for HoYS, as less than a month earlier ella managed to fracture her brow bone resulting in a very swollen black eye. In addition, the lorry had broken, so maestro’s preparation was walking round

the roads every day. We are very grateful to Lucy van Den broek for allowing us to get to HoYS in her lorry.

Top Marks When we arrived, we were very happy with how calmly maestro worked in the arena that evening. In the morning ella walked the intermediate course and came back to the stable to plait up and prepare maestro for his class. He jumped a cracking clear round, for which he got the highest jump mark of 18. As the class entered for the presentation ella had no expectation of her placing, she thought she might be fifth. As the numbers were called forwards in reverse order her heart was in her mouth, each time it wasn’t her number she couldn’t decide if she was relived or disappointed.

When it came down to the final two placings, ella knew she had made it through to the Championship in the main arena so was very excited. but when they called forward Susie eddis and noble Sir Prize into second place ella realised her life-long dream had come true. Her very special boy had got the recognition he deserved and was the 143cm Working Hunter Pony of the Year. There wasn’t a dry eye around, as the previous owners ellie and molly, his breeder Sarah, and the ellas family were all there to watch his crowning moment.”

With hard work, dedication, determination, dreams can come true.

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d Ella Dalton and Stambrook Maestro score m 143c the win to ing jump the in the top mark Working Hunter Pony of the Year title

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