Richmond double provides winter of content for Harrogate youngster

Ashville Junior School pupil Emily Walmsley rode her four-year-old home-produced pony Milford Fair Minuet to victory in the BSPS Show at Richmond recently.

The Year Five pupil and her mount won their Mountain and Moorland First Ridden Class before going on to win the Mountain and Moorland championship, guaranteeing their place in the winter championships.

Emily’s pony, which the youngster only rode for the first time in May, came from the Milford Stud in Ripon.

Ashville Junior School head teacher Jonathan Dolman said: “We are delighted for Emily in qualifying for the all-important BSPS Winter Championships.

“Emily has produced the pony herself through dedication and a lot of hard work and she is now starting to reap the rewards.

“Just a few days before this competition, Emily helped the Under-10s Cross Country team to victory in the HMC (Head Masters Conference) Cross Country Championships in Sheffield.”

Horse of the Year Show have announced that there will be an individual final for both New Forest and Connemara ponies during next year’s Mountain and Moorland Ridden Pony of the Year Championships.

Since the introduction of Mountain and Moorland classes to the Horse of the Year Show schedule in 1999, the New Forest pony has competed against the Connemara at both the qualifying stage and the final.

Following the announcement back in March that there will be eight stand-alone qualifiers for both breeds from 2013, in addition to a number of combined qualifiers, these individual finals will enable the two breeds to compete independently during the competition process.

Having noticed a significant increase in the number of top-quality New Forest ponies coming forward to qualifiers and the increasing volume of Connemara entries at qualifiers, Grandstand Media Ltd, organiser of Horse of the Year Show, considered it a natural progression to have a greater number represented at HOYS.

Next year’s HOYS will take place between Wednesday, October 9 and Sunday, October 13, and will be staged at Birmingham’s NEC.

Details have also been confirmed with regards next year’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.

The event will take place on Tuesday, July 9 to Thursday, July 11, with top class show jumping and equine classes heading up the list of attractions.

Tickets can be bought in advance from Friday, March 1, with an adult ticket priced at £21, concessions £20, children £9 and a family ticket available for £54.

Tickets bought on the door will cost £24 for adults, £23 for concessions, £11 for children and £62 for a family ticket.

Next year’s Countryside Live event will take place on Saturday, October 19, and Sunday, October 20 – both events organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

British Eventing are seeking a new sponsor for the British Eventing Young Horse Series and the Championships from 2013.

Lycetts have ended their association after supporting the initiative, which showcases equine stars of the future, over the past four years.

The series sees qualifiers held throughout the season for four- and five-year-old horses with Championships held at Osberton for four-, five-, six- and seven-year-old horses.

The six- and seven-year-old championships are run as international classes, offering a national equivalent to the world six- and seven-year-old championships at Le Lion D’Angers in France.

British Eventing chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith said of the decision: “The support that Lycetts brought to the Young Horse series has played an integral part in boosting the profile of this important series for event horse breeding.

“Their boundless enthusiasm at qualifying events and the Championships at Osberton will be sadly missed.”

Former champions from the series include Billy Landretti, who was successful for Pippa Funnell at three-star level including Hartpury and Chatsworth, and Flying Machine, who went on to win Blenheim’s 8/9 CIC three-star class and fourth at Luhmühlen under Piggy French.

Granntevka Prince was also a Young Horse Champion and is now competing four-star with Lucy Wiegersma having recently completed Burghley.

Another former young horse champion is William Fox-Pitt’s new four star ride, Chilli Morning, who was fourth at Pau in October.