Barley enjoys ring of confidence as she acquires two titles and fiancé

LANGTHORPE’S Kath Barley is reflecting on a highly successful 2013 – with even bigger celebrations to come.
Kath Barley, left.Kath Barley, left.
Kath Barley, left.

For while the future appears bright for Barley’s star mare Bramley Rowena, the Langthorpe ace also has a wedding to plan.

Barley is still coming down to earth after a memorable experience at this autumn’s National Hunter Show at Bury Farm in Buckinghamshire. She savoured two successes on the equine front and in the run-up to the competition the Yorkshire ace became engaged.

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Grass-tracker Adam Henley, Barley’s boyfriend of seven years, popped the question just three days before the show where she triumphed in the Champion Broodmare and Champion Foal categories.

Broodmare Bramley Rowena is now set for a peaceful winter, but there will be nothing of the sort for Barley.

“The future for Rowena is a nice long winter off and hopefully getting back in foal next spring for a foal in 2015,” Barley told the Yorkshire Post.

“The future for me is about having a wedding to plan, but first we need to find a date when we’re free that we’re not foaling, showing or harvesting.

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“That’s not easy – especially as Adam also does grass-tracking.

“This year’s National Hunter Show was just amazing and I really did have a fantastic week.

“With Adam proposing to me three days before the show I was smiling before we even got down there.”

Barley was also grinning at the show itself after winning the Champion Hunter Broodmare with Bramley Rowena – a 16-year-old grey mare with her first foal at foot.

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Barley also won Champion Hunter Foal with a chestnut colt foal out of Lucky Squaw by the Yorkshire Stallion Primitive Faerie Tail. She beamed: “I was on cloud nine anyway when I went down there, but on cloud 159 when I got back.

“Rowena is quite old at 16 for a first-time mare.

“I bought her 10 years ago from Roy and Carol Bracher, from Grewelthorpe, who I used to work for, with the intention of becoming my broodmare quite soon.

“However, Rowena was doing so well in the show ring as a ride horse it seemed a shame to take her for breeding.

“We finally put her in foal last year at the age of 15 to the Yorkshire Stallion Classic. Rowena’s had a very successful season this time, Champion at Moorgreen, Reserve Champion Ryedale, winner at The Great Yorkshire Show and her foal was Champion Colt there too.

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“Lucky Squaw was actually left to my mum Irene in a will by the late Miss Stevenson and we were delighted with him as well.

“The foal Championship came first and to win that was just brilliant. But to then get all dressed up for the evening performance in the indoor arena under lights for the Broodmare Championship and to be called forward, National Hunter Show Champion Hunter Broodmare was just the icing on the cake to an unbelievable few days.

“I was a little emotional when being presented with the trophy. We bought Rowena 10 years earlier hoping that this moment might happen and it did.”

There was plenty of other Yorkshire success at the show with Martin Wood’s Romanno Royale yearling, shown by Craig Elenor, winning Champion Young Sport Horse and winning the Cuddy ticket. Steve Pullan’s Little Alice, shown by Peter Richmond, won her sport horse broodmare class and was Reserve Champion Sport horse broodmare.

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Judith Longsdale and Chris McGrann’s yearling Cutting Edge IV and Hazel Bramley’s two-year-old What a Yarn both won awards for results throughout the season.

Alistair Hood also won the Supreme Ridden Championship on Mary Bowie’s Potters Ace while Rob Walker won the four-year-old Championship on Jill Day’s Caesars Palace.

Barley added: “I think Yorkshire horses and people really did us proud. I was certainly chuffed and I’m most definitely still smiling now.”

Bramham will not rest on its laurels –Pritchard

EVENT director Nicholas Pritchard says the Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials will continue to get bigger and better as the start of their fifth decade approaches.

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The popular event has again secured the sponsorship of internationally renowned horse transport manufacturers Equi-Trek ahead of the 2014 competition which will be the 41st Bramham Horse Trials.

This summer’s 40th event was blessed by boosted prize-money and scorching sunshine and Pritchard says the only way is up ahead of the 2014 showpiece, which is set to run from Thursday, June, 5 until Sunday, June 8.

“2013 was once again a bumper year for us,” said Pritchard.

“We had a boost in prize money which was welcomed by the competitors, Ian Stark excelled himself with his cross country course, and we had a fantastic crowd. Plus it was our 40th birthday so it was a week-long celebration for us all.

“We’re extremely grateful to Equi-Trek and our loyal band of sponsors who support us year on year and allow us to continuously improve the event.

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“I’m proud of the reputation we’ve built up as one of the favourite events among competitors and spectators.

“However, we won’t rest on our laurels – planning for 2014 is well underway and the improvements will keep on coming.”

Next year’s event will feature a total prize fund in excess of £36,000 across the three sections.

In addition to a cash prize of at least £5,000, the CCI three-star winner will also get an Equi-Trek Sonic two-horse box for a year.

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This year’s CCI three-star event was successfully defended by 2012 winner William Fox-Pitt on board Chilli Morning.

Fox-Pitt is targeting the Yorkshire-owned Freddie Mac at next year’s event where he will be looking for his eighth win at Bramham.

The Box Office for the Equi-Trek Bramham International Horse Trials will open on line on December 1. For more information visit www.bramham-horse.co.uk.

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