The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Equestrian
Record entry of ponies at Blair horse trials
The National Pony Society of Scotland finals at the Blair Castle International Horse Trials saw record entry numbers of registered mountain and moorland ponies forward across all sections.
Lisa Allison from Glenfarg won the novice ridden championship and the Nick Mason memorial salver with the Highland gelding Ardnagaisk Edan.
Owned and bred by her parents, Moira and George Gourdie, the sevenyear-old is by Echo of Achnacarry and out of Blair Rose of Shianbank.
Only lightly shown, the combination qualified at Fife Show and stood reserve champion at Central and West Fife.
The working hunter pony championship saw Donna McElhinney’s Welsh section C pony Synod Ieuan claim the overall title. Ridden by her 14-year-old daughter Bernadette, the pair headed a strong 133cm class en route to the title.
The eight-year-old chestnut gelding was bought a year ago by the Fife family.
Kilgraston schoolgirl Bernadette qualified Ieaun for the Royal International Horse Show, where they had one pole down.
They have also been reserve at Fife Show and are heading to Moreton in Marsh next week to contest a HOYS qualifier.
Lifting the overall in-hand championship was Bracklinn Norah, owned and bred by Ian Smith and son Alistair, the Braco Show chairman.
Norah has been a stalwart of the Bracklinn show team, being part of the five-time winning St John’s Wells pair at the Royal Highland Show.
Also this year the nine-year-old mare was overall Fell pony in-hand champion at the NPS Summer Championships at Malvern.
The overall reserve title and overall gold medal championship title went to Castle Diceman, a five-year-old stallion, shown by Alison Grainger from Stirling.
The pony was previously champion at Clifden in Ireland as a three-year-old and is broken to ride and will come out in ridden classes next season.
The Peat Inn Connemara breeder Winsome Aird won the youngstock in-hand title with her three-year-old colt Castle Neptune.
The pony was first and reserve champion at the Royal Highland Show and was shown on the day by Richard Telford.
Winsome also enjoyed success in the novice ridden class with the five-year-old mare Castle Diva, ridden by Kirsty Aird.
There were huge entries forward for the mini mountain and moorland classes, where the championship went to the lead rein victor Pumphill Tirella, a nine-year-old Dartmoor mare, ridden by Ella Anderson.
The reserve went to one of the furthest travelled competitors, Avie Robertson from Shetland, with Welsh section A mare Broughton Tiffany, ridden by her daughter Keiva.
For the second year in succession Justinhaugh show producer Sue Williamson claimed the riding and hunter pony championship with Moluccas Royal Anise.
Handled by Jo Brock, the three-yearold gelding is a future ridden pony and has had a tremendous year, being champion at the Royal Northern Spring Show, reserve supreme at Turriff and Perth Show.