ex-racer What Of It is crowned RoR champion
The supreme of show title goes to a 15-year-old gelding, who beat off some serious competition to scoop the sash
HANNAH HORTON rode Sarah Ward’s stunning gelding What Of It to victory in the RoR elite performance award for showing, topping it off with the supreme championship title.
What Of It had stiff competition from previous winners Jack The Giant (Clare Poole) and Wild West (Lizzie Harris), as well as the eagerly anticipated Don Cossack (Louise Lyons). However, the 15-year-old son of Tel Quel kept a cool head to give a flawless performance for judge the Hon Lucinda Cavendish.
“I keep and train the horse at home with me and Hannah rides him at shows,” explained Sarah, a British Eventing accredited trainer. “We bought him for my son Tom to race and they had a successful National Hunt season together. Tom then went off to work for Richard Hannon, so I was left with the horse and began re-training him three years ago.”
Sarah approached showing supremo Richard Ramsey to ask if he was worth showing.
“He nearly bit my hand off,” she laughed. “He finished racing very sound so there has been no rehabilitation to do, just some re-schooling. We do a bit of everything with him, I even teach Pony Club A test students on him. Hannah has ridden him once since Hickstead but knows her job and rides him beautifully.”
Previous winner Jack The Giant was reserve champion, this time with Clare Poole riding.
HERO’S MOMENT
ABI DRURY scored a double win heading the RoR Tattersalls special and the ridden veteran championship with her own Hero Worship, who she has
owned for ten years.
“I wasn’t looking for a horse — my parents were — so I told them they may as well get something I could ride,” explained Abi. “My sister was working in Newmarket so we went to the Darley Rehoming Centre. Instead of running about with the other horses, Hero came up and started playing with my boots and the rest is history.”
Abi admits the pair have had their ups and downs during the re-training process and says the gelding has got more opinionated as he’s got older: “I had help in the beginning and, when I moved to my now husband’s yard, things started to fall into place. He can be spooky at home but not normally in the ring, thankfully.”
Lizzie Harris couldn’t quite emulate her supreme champion victory of last year, but the versatile Wild West topped the RoR amateur ridden championship, ahead of Andrew Ttophi and Laradello.
As well as showing, Lizzie has hunted, team-chased and evented “Westy”, who she got from Jonjo O’Neill’s yard with a non-racing agreement five years ago.
“He’s a great horse, very willing and able, though he doesn’t always make it easy and can be very fresh at home,” said Lizzie. “However, he was foot-perfect in the championships, playing to the audience.”
The 10-year-old, by Galileo, also won the side-saddle class.
TWELVE WEEKS OUT
ANOTHER ex-Jonjo horse,
Lough Inch, gave Lizzie a second championship win, heading the RoR Jockey Club novice show horse championship, with Crunched (Tara Rait-Rattray) in reserve.
“‘Locky’ came to us as a pointer and won 19 out of 23 races for us.
His last race was in May this year, so he’s only been out of racing for about 12 weeks. This is his second show,” explained Lizzie.
“That said, I’ve done schooling work with him alongside his fitness work since we’ve had him, so all the basics are there. He’s a total gentleman. I might hunt him or do some showjumping and I’d like to try some Horse of the Year Show qualifiers next year.”
A familiar face at this show, the 2016 supreme champions Rebecca Court and Beware
Chalk Pit, stood RoR in-hand open champions, ahead of Mairi Wilson and Brandberg, and Jayne Brace and Royal Craftsman. The 14-year-old ex-chaser is owned by Ann Leftley and was previously trained by Jonathan Geake.
Di Arbuthnot, chief executive of RoR said: “It is wonderful how this event continues to develop, attracting such quality as well as quantity. A horse’s rating on the racetrack counts for nothing in the dressage, showing or jumping arena and that is one of the strengths of RoR’s competitions — it provides opportunities for all former racehorses to excel in a different discipline.
“We would like to thank
Goffs UK for their generous support, as well as the team at Aintree and all involved with making the six days happen. The whole event has a wonderful feel-good factor and it is vastly rewarding to see the pleasure working with former racehorses gives people.”