The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Equestrian action from Royal Highland Show
ROYAL HIGHLAND: ‘Biggest win to date’
Four action-packed days of Royal Highland showjumping competition reached a climax on Sunday with the thrilling Young Masters Championship.
Open to qualified riders under the age of 23 on the show day, the contest was run over a testing 1m 40 track, designed by Andrew Palmer and Mark McGowan, including some of the Highland’s challenging new feature fences.
First into the main arena, setting the bar from the get-go, was eventual championship winner Jordan Thompson.
Jordan, who has been based with top Scottish rider Douglas Duffin, outside Dollar, for the last five years, said it was without doubt his biggest win to date.
He topped the class riding Uni Stop – a 13-year-old Belgian-bred gelding by Non stop and out of a Zamirom are–which was previously campaigned by John Whitaker and which together with Jordan came to the Highland with form at the Liverpool International Horse Show, at Balmoral and on the Spanish Sunshine Tour.
“The crowds and the atmosphere were just amazing. Nothing beats winning at the Highland–it’ s the biggest and best show in Scotland,” he said.
Talking about his round, he added: “As I was first to go in the class, I had to go relatively quickly round the course just in case the time allowed was tight.
“Uni Stop is quite a big horse, so sometimes the time allowed can cause us problems.”
But Jordan’s fears were allayed with a fast first-round clear–sending him into the jump off as the final rider.
Entering the ring safe in the knowledge that Aberdeenshire’s Aimee Bell, riding her seasoned campaigner Cameron Poe, had produced the only double-clear (on 57.69 seconds), Jordan knew if he could maintain a clean sheet while upping the tempo, the win was within reach.
The partnership tripped the clock with a final time of 55.44 seconds to take the glory.
“I’ve only been competing Uni Stop since January but he’s the kindest horse and he always wants to please. He’s also absolutely our yard favourite so I couldn’t be more pleased with him for getting the Highland show win.”
Jordan, who is in his final year of these age competitions, has now set his sights on qualifying for Olympia.
Another crowd-pleasing competition – the Mini Major feature class – also raised the grand stand roof at the Highland on the Friday night.
This speed class, partnering the top Scottish 128cms pony riders with some of their showjumping idols, runs as a relay race – with fences down translating to additional time.
Speeding to snare the win – and in doing so maintaining a family tradition – was Aberdeenshire rider Crista Lockhead Anderson, coupled with Jessica Hewitt, from West Yorkshire.
Crista’s elder sister Nicole had won the same class in 2014 and 2015, while the last time Jessica contested a Mini Major, she was herself the junior rider.
Crista took the win ahead of second placed Codie McGowan and Fergal Holohan in third.
Top 128 cm sr id er sA my Morris, William Stewart, Madelaine Archibald, Isla Campbell and Lewis Lawson had also been invited to compete.
The leading rider over the four action packed days was James Smith, from Kirkcudbright.
James topped the Ultrabed Highland Challenge, the International Stairway, the Breakfast Stakes and the RHS Open Accumulator with his team of horses, including Ballyhane Etto, Twix de La Roque and Bolton Gate Ben, which accumulated just under £5,000 in prize money over the show’s duration.
Cheshire-based Keith Shore amassed the greatest haul of prize money, scooping a total of £9,650, buoyed by Saturday’s £6,000 Grand Prix win on board Mystic Hurricane.