‘The big national f inals are the aim’
A pony from Denmark dazzles and a new partnership make their mark to claim a first national title
Pony of the Year Show (POYS), Arena UK, Lincolnshire
CONSISTENTLY improving combination Ryan Perrett and Olympia VI struck a new vein of success when they headed the LeMieux JA grand prix with 1.53sec in hand.
Ryan and the 14-year-old mare, whom he has been riding since September, delivered the quickest of three double clears from five jump-off contenders, claiming victory over Mia Newman (Ohwow), while Madison Seedhouse (Quaprice D’Astree) delivered the remaining clean round for third.
“I walked the first round and I thought, ‘She can jump this,’ it was a nice course,” Ryan said. “There was a difficult combination at the end which a lot of people had down, as the distance was either a really long five or short six – I shortened up as I thought she would be more careful like that and she jumped it well in the end.
“In the jump-off, I was fifth to go and I had a couple to watch so I knew what I had to do. Olympia is very careful.”
The mare jumped 1.30m in Denmark but had a lighter couple of years with her previous owner, who was focusing more on horses.
“She has been getting better all through the winter and really proved herself at POYS. Hopefully she’ll keep improving through the summer,” added Ryan, who is in his final pony year. “The Europeans is always the aim but there are some very good ponies out there. We will definitely be aiming for all the big national finals with her.”
NEW PARTNERSHIP FLOURISHES
TILLY BAMFORD was 138cm champion at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) with Dizzy Rascal and after that show took on another 138cm ride, Playboy Van De Zoetewei. The new partnership claimed their first national title here when they headed the Sir AP McCoy 138cm final.
“I was a bit nervous in the first round as I really wanted to go clear, but after they both made the jump-off my nerves went,” said Tilly, who commutes two hours to ride her ponies.
“Playboy was second to go in the jump-off, so I really went for it to make sure the pressure was on everyone else,” explained Tilly. “Playboy is better in a jump-off than the first round and he has done it so many times, so he really knows his job.”
Thirteen-year-old Tilly’s plan paid off, as she delivered the fastest of just two double clears from the 11 through to the jump-off, beating Ella Spencer and Top Silvio Hastak to win by 1.78sec.
“It took me a bit of time to get on with Playboy but once we clicked, we’ve been in the top three in every class,” she added.
Liala Ramaci was another rider making the most of her final year competing in a height division, as she claimed victory in the TDA Telecoms 128cm final by a hair’s-breadth 0.01sec on her consistent partner Lambay Off Broadway.
There were three double clears from the nine through to the final phase and while Liala pipped Emily Gulliver and Sparkel III to the win by the narrowest of margins, Hugo Bowman and My Little Liesel were able to take third with a steady clear nine seconds slower.
“I knew I had to be really fast and tight on every turn to beat Emily’s time, but I managed to lose my stirrup after the third fence,” Liala said. “I was determined to win, though, and still managed all the turns.”
Liala, who has ridden Lambay Off Broadway since they were both seven, also managed to secure the show’s leading rider award.
Several of the show’s grands prix doubled as viewing trials, including the Squibb Family under-18 championship, which was headed by Claudia Moore and Dis Moi Tout De Clairbois. Last-to-go Claudia snatched the lead from Patrick Thurston and the seven-year-old Chaplin De Leau, who had led throughout the jump-off, while Phoebe Farman and Diara Sue collected third.
There were no double clears in the under-25 class, which was dominated by Olli Fletcher who secured first and third with BP Pocahontas and Garande, while Jake Myers collected the runnerup spot with Sam W.