First ticket
‘He made tHe best of a difficult class’
FOR most home-produced riders, the first ticket to HOYS is the highlight of the showing journey.
Optician Kirstie Wright, who runs the Mill House sports horse and New Forest stud at her parents’ South Staffordshire base, had her moment last September on the then nine-year-old coloured gelding Mill House Adimo Pectore (Mo).
“His early years were difficult,” says Kirstie. “He was quite ill as a foal, but his luck changed when we put a saddle on him. Aside from his showing, we have also discovered he has a talent for eventing.
“We qualified at Bakewell where the ground conditions were horrendous. The ring was like polish, but Mo coped well and made the best of a difficult class. He did manage to twist his shoe, but luckily the bottomless ground meant that it caused him no difficulty and he carried the ride-judge beautifully to achieve a mark of 49/50.
“HOYS was an equally incredible experience. I remember suddenly feeling exceptionally nervous as we stood in the collecting ring, but Mo was his usual professional self and just strolled in and got on with the job.
“My only regret is that I let my nerves get to me and I didn’t show him off like I do at every other show,” concludes Kirstie. “But I’ve learnt from that and if I ever get to go back, I will ride more positively.”
Kirstie’s top tips
Second opinions — I regularly use clinics as I believe the more advice and different views you can get, the better. You don’t have to take everyone’s suggestions all the time, but you can take pieces of input from lots of different people.
Keep them fresh — horses need to be kept happy with a varied lifestyle. A content horse who enjoys the job will have his ears pricked and be looking through the bridle when you enter the ring.
‘The more advice and different views you can get, the better’
KIRSTIE WRIGHT