Showing Royal Welsh Winter Fair and British National Foal of the Year
A home-bred section C filly lands a supreme early in her career, while a chance opportunity to run a sport horse proves fruitful for one handler
STANDING supreme and exuding both femininity and presence to the end was Gloucestershire based C er iF ell’ s home-bred yearling section C filly, Brynseion Red Hot Gossip (Gertie). Fortunately, Ceri, who was on holiday in Barbados, was able to watch all the happenings on FaceTime from the comfort of her sunbed.
An appreciative Ceri commented: “We’re very lucky to have Gemma [Paxford] hold the fort while we are away; she has a special bond with this filly. She won the yearling filly class at the Royal Welsh this year, our first home-bred winner.
“We loved Gertie from the minute she was born and she’s from the first crop of foals by our Starlans Evol, a previous Cuddy finalist and out of our great producer, Laurtom Hot Gossip.”
Ceri is no stranger to Winter Fair success, having taken the supreme Welsh award in 2014 with her black yearling section C colt, Brynseion Lord Mayday.
The initial hurdle on her pathway to the supreme was under section C judge Stuart Morgan, who said that she “couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a section C, having limb and substance but still retaining pony quality”.
Richard Francis’ filly foal, Maesymor Welsh Doll, out of Tyntyla Menna and by Kylebeck Crespo, stood reserve in the section Cs. “She also had very good movement and limbs,” observed Stuart.
Supreme judge Ellis Davies said: “Things fell into place quite easily — I could recognise my champion from the outset. She was beautifully made with great limbs. I was pleased to see a young animal move so well, and she kept it throughout.”
MA LARKIN LANDS RESERVE TITLE
ON the reserve, the bay yearling filly and sport horse champion Ma Larkin — owned by Robert Scrine from Swansea — Ellis commented: “She had a lovely topline, nice temperament and moved gracefully on all fours.”
“I bought her as a six-month foal from her breeder, Mrs Shervington,” said Robert. “It took me two hours to get her into the stable, three days to get her out, and another two weeks to get her going in and out properly.”
With easy, free-flowing paces, she was shown to advantage by Dylan Kitts at her first-ever show.
“I saw Dylan five minutes before the class, and as I hate going in the ring myself, luckily he obliged,” said Robert, who previously owned the 2018
Royal Welsh supreme horse and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) show hunter pony champion, Penstrumbly Our Latif. Reserve sport horse was Cosette’s Prospect, the winning foal owned by Leander Walton from Worcestershire.
The overall Welsh championship, judged by Ifor Lloyd, went to Mark and Liz Kilbey’s spirited and free-moving grey section A filly foal, Idyllic Glamorize, another having her first outing.
“She’s the fifth generation of Idyllic breeding” said Essex-based Liz, adding: “From the second she was born, Mark and I thought she was special. We have shown here
for the past seven years and have won here a total of seven times.”
Idyllic Glamorize is sired by Idyllic Entrepreneur and out of Idyllic Guinevere.
Reserve Welsh champion was the bay section D filly foal Fronarth Top Model, owned by the Jones family from near Aberaeron. With a beautiful head and eye, she was Helen Williams’ choice and a justified winner of the section D title, ahead of Mark Swistun’s black yearling colt Llanmorlais Dynamo, whose movement is accentuated by his four, lengthy white socks.
Sarah Baker’s Copybush Time Lord, from Tenby — shown in the capable hands of Matt McGivern — was Tracy Landon’s choice for champion Welsh part-bred.
“He is by Small-land Maytino out of my son William’s 148cm HOYS show pony, Chiddock
Story Time, being her first foal,” said Sarah. “We have been out of breeding for a while as we’ve been concentrating on the children’s ridden ponies.”
Lucy Griffiths’ Penstrumbly Valentino — by Liberace out of the Welsh cob mare Foxglen Brenhines and produced by Rebecca Lamb — stood reserve.
EYE-CATCHING COLOURED
LYNN SCOTT’S eye-catching native piebald filly, Lynuck Look At Me, shown by Thomas Partridge, clinched the coloured title.
“She was recently supreme champion at Northern Counties Pony Association Lancashire at her only other outing,” said Thomas. “She will be shown at some county shows including the Royal Welsh next year,” said owner Lynn. “Her sire is a traditional stallion and she is out of the Welsh cob mare, Rhydypandy Gwawr.”
Commenting on her reserve, Marta Kucharczyk’s yearling Midnight Dreamer, judge Rhianwen Rosser said: “The reserve has the potential to make a super ridden hunter type and has good movement.”
Peter de Rade, section B judge, found his champion in Mark Tamplin’s yearling chestnut filly, Griashall Le Cuckoo, a daughter of Griashall Kiwi, champion at Royal Welsh as a two-year-old and who is now 21 years old.
Mark, from Caerphilly, said: “I was running up the field when Kiwi was about to drop and I heard a cuckoo, so the name was given.
Judge Peter said: “She had length of rein, bone and a nice hindleg, which she used well in her movement.”
Reserve went to France,
Beth Loisil’s yearling colt,
Kallared Lovestruck. He was bred in Sweden, and is by Stings Testarossa and out of Eyarth Sophia. His first major success was at this year’s Royal Welsh and with another win at the same show site, a bright future lies ahead.