THE 2009 SEIB SEARCH FOR A STAR CONTINUES
THE 2009 SEIB SEARCH FOR A STAR CONTINUES
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The Search For A Star classes began with the Working Hunters, which saw 8 horses, of a high standard, jump clear. Rebecca Campbell, and her lovely 10 year old grey gelding, Step Aside, produced a smooth round and gave the judge a beautiful ride, putting them in first place. Second place went to Hannah Ladd, riding Horseworld Charity's 6 year old piebald gelding, Northern Light. "He is the most fabulous all rounder and does a bit of everything. He has a wonderful character - I can watch him for hours! I am shocked to have qualified for HOYS, I can't believe it", said Hannah.
In the Riding Club Show Horse class, 17 entries were required to negotiate trotting poles and two small jumps which caused a few problems. Thirteen remained for the final judging and saw Claire Parsons' 8 year old chestnut mare, All That Jazz, take first place. "Search For A Star seemed to be the right thing for us to do. We have come close before, 2nd and 3rd behind professional producers in open classes, so it is brilliant to qualify for HOYS. I have only ever been to watch and I am still in shock to have qualified. It has been my ambition", said a delighted Claire. Mister Julius, a 12 year old bay ex-racehorse, owned and ridden by Kayleigh Slater took second place in this class. The 4 hour trip from Pembrokeshire to Badgworth certainly paid off with their qualification to HOYS. "I have always wanted to get to HOYS, this is a dream come true", she said. Kayleigh, whose cousin, Grace Gibbin also qualified for HOYS at this venue, in the Ponies class.
Twenty four entries in the Show Hunters meant that this class was split, giving the ride judges Guy Landau, and his assistant ride judge, Matthew Mayher Burns plenty to do. There was a double celebration in this class, as the two winners are both good friends! First place went to Fiona Meardon, with her own 5 year old grey gelding, Penstrumbly Pen Arther and second place went to Tina Sharp with her own 6 year old chestnut gelding, Pencarder Ramano. "Fiona and I do horse things together, so it will be great that we are going to HOYS together".
| In the Ponies class, sixteen entries came forward. First place went to Paul Green's 5 year old bay gelding show pony, Woodview Canasta, ridden by his 13 year old daughter, Rochelle Green. Heather Gibbon's 8 year old bay gelding, Small-land Screenplay, known as "Bob", took second place in this class. Bob is ridden by Heather's 12 year old daughter, Grace who has previously done Pony Club activities, cradle stakes and M&M with her first pony. "We were 3rd in the HOYS SFAS qualifier last year and were a bit disappointed, but this year has made up for it and we are delighted", said Heather. Grace is cousin to Kayleigh Slater, who qualified in the Riding Club Show Horse class earlier in the day and so the trip to HOYS will become a family outing with the cousins cheering each other on in the arena. "It is great that we have both qualified. We often ride together and go to shows together when we can, so it will be fun. It will be a dream come true to end this season with a trip to HOYS", said Grace. The Riding Horse/Hack class had 21 entries and the top spot went to Hollys Golden Velvet, a 14 year old bay mare, owned and ridden by Carol Jones. Carol travelled 5 hours from Chad, Derbyshire to compete at Badgworth. Claire Blackham took second place riding her own 10 year old bay gelding, Barella. The final class of the day was the Cob class and the 10 year old piebald mare, Rose of Leamlara, owned and ridden by Emma Kirby, took the honours. |
"Qualifying for HOYS was a childhood dream, and not something that happens to ordinary people or ordinary horses like Rosie", said Emma modestly, whose whole family will be at HOYS to support. Malcolm Dixon's 7 year old bay gelding, Chinwagg Finn came second in this class.
The Racehorse to Riding Horse class is supported by the charity, Retraining of Racehorses and was initiated by South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) to help ex racehorses when they come out of training and to recognise their abilities in the show ring. Horses need to have been in training with a recognised trainer and have raced to be eligible for these classes, which provide an opportunity to qualify for the prestigious HOYS finals. They are open to both amateur and professional riders
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First place went to Caroline Cowlard's Fast Mix, ridden by Wendy Gibson. This French bred,16.1hh grey gelding was bought out of Martin Pipe's yard 2 years ago having won 5 and been placed 8 times from 31 starts on the flat and over hurdles. Since then Caroline has had him at home, hacking out and taking him to Exmoor for holidays, getting him to think about things other than racing. "Fast Mix really does give and likes to please", said a delighted Wendy. Second place went to Charlotte Salisbury riding her own, Mickey Croke, a 12 year old, 16.2hh dark bay gelding. She was a little disappointed after not qualifying at Osbaldeston, so at the last minute decided to make the 6 hour journey to try again and qualify at Badgworth. "It was well worth the journey, it is brilliant to have qualified again", said Charlotte who finished 3rd in this championship at HOYS in 2008.
At the end of the day, ride judge, Guy Landau commented, "I have had some really cracking rides today and there were some horses with really good mouths. The top riding horses/hacks were very nice and the racehorses were also good".
The South Essex Insurance Brokers Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship qualifier also took place at Badgworth. For a full report on this qualifier and for further information, visit http://www.racehorse2ridinghorse.co.uk
Championship finals for both The South Essex Insurance Brokers Search For A Star and Racehorse to Riding Horse will be held at the Horse Of The Year Show on 7th -11th October 2009, at NEC, Birmingham. For further information, full reports and photographs of this year's Search For A Star qualifiers, visit www.search4astar.org.uk
Photographs by smrphotos.co.uk
Added on: 20/07/09.
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