Moment of glory at the Great Yorkshire

Now competitors in the ridden classes will be able to have their moment of glory too in the new Top of the North Supreme Ridden Championship.

It is being sponsored by the North Yorkshire feed supplement company TopSpec, which is run by Nicola Tyler, her husband Philip and daughter Katy. They also breed Dartmoor ponies and have had many successes with them over the years.

"I feel very close ties with the Great Yorkshire Show," said Nicola. "It's now the best in England since the demise of the Royal and we are delighted to be sponsoring this new championship."

Champions from the majority of the ridden classes will be eligible with the winner taking home 1,500 and the reserve 250.

It was a Dartmoor pony with foot problems that started Nicola off on what became a cottage industry and grew into a major business.

Nicola and Philip met when they both studied animal nutrition at Reading University.

"A pony I bought for Katy as a toddler had problems with his feet. I knew the kind of balanced supplement he needed but I couldn't find anything anywhere," said Nicola. She asked a feed company she had worked for to make up a formula to her specification, which was eventually to become TopSpec's first product, a hoof supplement.

"When we went to shows people kept asking me what I'd done as hoof problems were often seen in small, native ponies," said Nicola.

She began to make up little bags containing the supplement which she gave to friends, farriers and vets. As she received more requests, she realised that what had started as a hobby was turning into a business. The long-term effects of a riding accident when she was younger – her horse put its foot down a rabbit hole and fell on her – meant that Nicola increasingly needed to use a wheelchair.

Ten years ago, Philip gave up his job so that they could work from home and they decided to launch the business nationally.

They now manufacture a whole range of feed balancers and supplements, do research trials and run a helpline based at their farm at Pickhill near Thirsk. Nicola is meticulous in keeping a record of every horse or pony that people call in about.

"Between us, we have a good understanding of most disciplines and when people ring the helpline I can empathise with them very well," said Nicola.

Look out of the kitchen window into the fields beyond and the Dartmoor ponies appear right on cue. "They are tough little ponies with such a good temperament," says Nicola, their number one fan.

The Great Yorkshire Show runs from July 13 to 15.