The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Over the moon’ as Alfie heads to HOYS
Emotions ran high on the closing day of the Royal Highland Show when a Cuparbased partnership realised their lifelong dream of qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show.
As winners of the plaited ridden coloured horse class, Felicity Baker and Alfie Moon III gained a golden ticket to contest the Coloured Horse and Pony finals at the NEC in Birmingham this October.
“When our number was called out for first place to take the qualifier, I just couldn’t believe it,” said Felicity, who is a primary teacher at Ladybank. “It was completely overwhelming.” Inside the ring, Felicity shared her elation with her elder sister, groom and supporter Lucy Whiteford, who stables and helps to produce Alfie from her home at Hill Tarvit Mains, while outside the ring the joy extended to her twin sister Annabel and parents Andy and Tricia.
“We’ve each been involved with horses and ponies for so many years,” Felicity added.
“We’ve previously qualified for the Royal International Horse Show but never for HOYS. It’s a dream come true for the whole family.”
The Bakers have owned Alfie, a 14-year-old gelding sired by Posidonas and bred by the Sweet Wall Stud out of Maggie Brown, for the last six seasons.
Felicity continued: “My mum (Tricia) was looking for a new horse for me as I had outgrown my 14hh show pony, Walton Pipsqueak. She stumbled across an advert for Alfie on the HorseQuest website, so we travelled south to Cheshire to view him and I fell in love with him immediately.”
At that point, Alfie was based on an eventing yard but had done little in the way of competitions.
In the intervening years, he and Felicity progressed to lift multiple championships and supremes across the local Scottish show circuit from their base in Fife, contesting the two HOYS classes north of the Border in Scotland – at the Highland and Scottish Horse Show – each season.
In 2015, the partnership gained a fourth prize rosette, while 2015 saw them come tantalisingly close to their dream with a second placing. “He is a dream to ride,” added Felicity. “He has his little quirks, but as a family we absolutely love him and he has brought so much joy to all of us.
“We can’t wait to take him to Birmingham.”
Adding weight to an already successful conclusion to their 2017 Royal Highland, Felicity and Alfie progressed to stand reserve champion of the Coloured Horse Under Saddle section.
They also won the intermediate show hunter class, having also previously been placed second in that class in 2014.