Showing BSPS Heritage Championships and highlights
A four-year-old is best in show, a new partnership scoops the new best-of-breeds accolade and a Welsh cob is victorious for his young jockey
A NEW star emerged on the native scene when showing legends David Tatlow and his daughter Loraine Homer chose Zoe Clarke’s Heritage ridden novice champion, the Dartmoor Kingshaugh Hailstorm (Harry) to head a quality-filled field of 16 overall supreme finalists.
The four-year-old gelding – attending only his fourth-ever show – was partnered by young producer Charley Baxter and never missed a beat.
After watching the individual shows, David adopted his familiar “chessboard” style of moving ponies around in order of preference, then pulling others forward, creating a truly electric atmosphere to keep everyone guessing until the very end.
The line-up included several Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), Royal International (RIHS),
Royal Windsor and breed show champions, but both David and Loraine had no doubts about their final choice.
“This pony is the most beautiful model,” David enthused. “It is stunning, correct for its breed, has good feet, excellent front legs, a deep middle, good hindlegs and a great step. It is very hard to fault.”
“It just oozes star quality,” added Loraine. “It was also very tactfully ridden – just as a fouryear-old should be.”
All connections of this stunning pony were amazed and delighted in equal measure.
“We only came to give him a bit of education,” said shocked owner Zoe Clarke, who bought Harry on impulse last winter while searching for a first ridden for her daughter Grace, now nine.
“Harry was at Julie Barton’s yard to be broken in, aged three. He was still entire when I saw him so, in theory, he was totally unsuitable as a first ridden,” added Zoe. “But I was instinctively drawn to this handsome head that kept shouting at me over a field gate so eventually I asked Julie if we could try him.
“He had been beautifully started by Julie, and Charley had a little ride round before we popped Grace on just to see. I was smitten and the rest is history.
“He most definitely found us with his naughty shouting, but how grateful I am that he did!” Charley, 22, was in shock, too. “The novice class on Saturday was my first Heritage show win, so that in itself was amazing – then to be champion was a massive achievement,” she revealed.
“When I saw the line-up in the supreme, I was a bit worried that my show would be a bit basic as I didn’t want to put any pressure on Harry – I just wanted him to have a great experience in there.
“To be pulled forward in the top four was more than I ever expected, but then to be supreme
“It just oozes star quality”