The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Horse of the Year show awaits for Mya and her Shetland pony
Kirriemuir youngster Mya Duncan-Walker and her 17-year-old Shetland pony Harvestoun Romanov are Birmingham-bound after qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show.
Selection for the Birmingham NEC event is the culmination of many achievements for 10-year-old Mya and her mount, including success at the weekend’s Scotland Shetland Pony Group’s breed show in Fife.
Mya and Romanov won a string of awards including the overall ridden supreme champion prize.
Romanov has been in the family for 12 years and has been passed down the Kirriemuir family’s three girls, winning multiple classes and championships along the way.
Romanov began his training career with Mya’s mum, Karen, jogging around Kirriemuir and the pony trotting alongside Mya in her pram. Karen said: “We are very proud of Mya and Romanov. “We have had him 12 years now and I always said he deserved to go to HOYS, especially after all he’s taught all three girls, but never did we think it would actually happen.
“He’s a big part of the family and we are very lucky and delighted to have had this success.”
The Horse of the Year Show in October is the finale to the showing year and the climax to the domestic showjumping year.
Horse owners and riders aspire to compete there and winning at HOYS is widely regarded as the pinnacle of an equestrian career.
The show has been running since 1949 making it one of the longest standing horse shows in history.