SEIB Search for a Star at Royal Lancashire Show
For the first time, the prestigious Royal Lancashire Show hosted SEIB Insurance Brokers’ Search for a Star qualifiers including the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifier on Sunday 5th July.
SEIB Search for a Star Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifying classes included Show Hunters, Riding Horse / Hacks, Cobs, Traditional Gypsy Cobs and Racehorse to Riding Horses. Two ridden Your Horse Live (YHL) qualifiers also took place including the Open Still a Star Veteran class and ridden Mountain and Moorland.
HOYS Qualifying Classes
Class One Irish Draught mare, Castleview Grosvenor Lady won the Show Hunter class with her rider Lorraine Trafford. On earning her HOYS ticket Lorraine said: “What a great result, I couldn’t believe it, she went brilliantly. I’ve had Lacey as we call her for six years now having bought her unseen from Ireland to show – when I first saw her picture it melted my heart. We started off slowly together and have both got more confident as we’ve gone along. We started Search for a Star qualifiers this year with the aim of qualifying next so this is great! I work as a Director of a Self-Catering Company and the horses fit in around this. We will do some more shows and hacking and a bit of dressage in the lead up to HOYS – we’ll be keeping her used to busy environments.”
The Riding Horse Hack class at Lancashire went to Sarah Clucas and her stunning gelding, Cardsdale Graceful Affair, known at home as Alfie. Sarah said: “When they read out the placings in reverse order, I thought, could it be me, I looked round and it was me! Alfie was foot perfect on the day and it is that bit extra special as Royal Lancs is our local show. I’ve been going since I was a kid when I didn’t have a pony and always wanted to win here. I finally begged my parents and got a pony when I was about fourteen. I’ve had Alfie for five-years and planned to showjump him when I got him but I lost my bottle for it and he excels in the show ring so we’ve done showing instead. This was our first attempt at Search for a Star and we’ll keep busy over the summer – he’s a clever boy and likes to be doing things. We’ll do some dressage tests, hacking and shows in the run up to HOYS. I work for the North West Ambulance Service and Alfie gets squeezed in around this.”
The Show and Maxi Cob Search for a Star qualifier went Chesters Town, owned by Lisa Hine and ridden by Shirley Bennett. Known as General at home, Chesters Town was never aimed at the show ring. Lisa explained: “I met Shirley out on a Riding Club ride last year. Shirley took one look at General and said she loves him and that he would be a HOYS horse. I said, I don’t compete but if you would like to then off you go! I got General to hack out and never thought he would do showing!
Shirley suffered a life-threatening fall last October, she said: “A few weeks after I met General last Autumn, I had a freak accident and fell off completely shattering my spleen and ribs. I had five operations and was in intensive care for four days and then two more weeks in hospital. The fall meant I had to have six-months off work as well. The first horse I got back on after the accident was General which was around March this year. We slowly started going to some local shows and we won every time out! We just clicked together. A bit later on we decided to give Search for a Star a bash, I’m 69 now and we assumed it would be for young people!” Lisa added: “I bought General unseen about four years ago, he’s not the type of horse I normally go for but he’s such a great confidence giver.”
The SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifier at Royal Lancashire went to Imperial Ruby owned by Sar Cassidy-Hill and ridden by Sarah Llewellyn. The day was a very successful one for this pair as they also took the Overall Supreme of Show title at Royal Lancashire. Sarah said: “The day you qualify is always so memorable”. Imperial Ruby and Sarah are no strangers to success in the show ring having taken several National Supreme Racehorse titles and many on the County Show circuit. Sarah and Impy have been to HOYS several times before with their best result to date 3rd place in the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse championship in 2022.
In the Traditional Gypsy Cob HOYS Search for a Star qualifier at Royal Lancashire, Springhills Queen of Hearts and Fiona Macpherson took top spot. Fiona has had Bonnie as this mare is known since she was born. Fiona explained: “We took on Bonnie’s mum knowing she was in foal and the very next day Bonnie was born! We qualified at our first show of the year, I wasn’t sure how it would go on the day but she was great! I’ve been showing Bonnie since she was two and we did well in-hand before progressing on to ridden classes. We knew she is very nice and it’s taken time to get her on side I’m very excited to be riding at HOYS for the first time! I work as a groom on a livery yard and am looking forward to doing some more shows and hacking with Bonnie in the run up to HOYS.”
Your Horse Live Qualifying Classes
Maxi Cob, Pairc An Faoi Diamond, (aka Parky) and his rider, Alicia Houlihan won the Your Horse Live qualifying Still a Star Open Ridden Veteran Class at Royal Lancashire. Alicia said “Parky is 17 now and went super on the day, I think Search for a Star suits him as he loves a gallop. I’ve owned Parky for 18 months. In his old home he was produced and took 2nd place at HOYS in 2023 in the heavyweight cobs and retired on a high. He was then bored out in the field and so went to a 70-year-old lady to do some dressage but was sadly a bit too much for her and so was re-advertised.
“We’d been on the veteran circuit for about 10 years with my mare, she’s now 26 and semi-retired so I was looking for something else having not ridden for six years and me and Parky have really bonded, he’s a true schoolmaster and now has a forever home.” Alicia works as a Trading Executive at TUI.
Olivia Kohl and Valerock Maverick qualified in the ridden Mountain and Moorland class. A delighted Olivia said: “Mav is such a good boy, he just wants to please and takes it all in his stride. He’s still only 5-years-old and performs beyond his years! We’ve had him since he was a yearling and have done in-hand showing with Mav too. We qualified for YHL last year and came 2nd in the final. This year he’s been going great and he also took the Reserve Champion Novice title at Lancashire and then just last week we qualified for HOYS in the Highlands too. I’ve just finished my A Levels and am about to start a Land Buyer Apprenticeship University Course for Miller Homes Gloucestershire. Mum is kindly going to be doing lots with the horses in the run up to HOYS and YHL and I’m going to be doing a lot of driving!”
Search for a Star Organiser, Nicolina MacKenzie of the Absolutely Genuine Company said: “Our thanks go to the organisers at Royal Lancashire for hosting the Search for a Star classes at this prestigious show. There were plenty of great entries today and it’s great to see so many lovely horses qualifying for the Search for a Star finals at HOYS and Your Horse Live.”
Leading equine Insurance brokers, SEIB Insurance Brokers set up Search for a Star nearly 30 years ago and the company is renowned for ‘putting something back’ by supporting many equestrian events and activities in addition to Search for a Star.
Please see www.seib.co.uk/competitions or the SEIB Search for a Star facebook page for updates. To enter please use links from the SEIB Search for a Star Facebook page. Each qualifying show has a specific Search for a Star Facebook Event set up to include all information for that event.
SEIB have been providing expert insurance services for over 60 years. Renowned for their specialist equestrian insurance, SEIB offers tailored cover for horses, horseboxes, trailers, riders, and equestrian businesses, ensuring comprehensive protection and peace of mind. For more information on their range of services and to explore their bespoke insurance solutions, please visit seib.co.uk.
Results SEIB Search for a Star and Racehorse to Riding Horse North of England Summer Show
HOYS Qualifying classes:
Show Hunter – Castleview Grosvenor Lady owned and ridden by Lorraine Trafford from Cumbria
Riding Horse Hack – Carnsdale Graceful Affair owned and ridden by Sarah Clucas from Lancashire
Show and Maxi Cob – Chesters Town owned by Lisa Hine and ridden by Shirley Bennett from Cumbria
Racehorse to Riding Horse – Imperial Ruby owned by Sar Cassidy-Hill and ridden by Sarah Llewellyn from Hampshire
Traditional Gypsy Cob – Springhills Queen of Hearts owned and ridden by Fiona Macphereson from Cheshire
Your Horse Live Qualifying Classes:
Mountain and Moorland Ridden – Valerock Maverick owned by Louise Kohl and ridden by Olivia Kohl from Leicestershire
Open Ridden Veteran Still a Star Horse or Pony – Pairc An Faoi Diamond owned and ridden by Alicia Houlihan from Lancashire
Further SEIB Search for a Star and SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse qualifiers 2026:
National Hunter Supreme Championship, Tuesday 11th to Wednesday 12th August, Addington EC, MK18 2JR. R2R ONLY.
Pony Club Championships, Sunday 22nd August, Offchurch Bury, CV33 9AW. Classes: Pony Club Members Only.
Greenlands Arena, Sunday 30th August, Carlisle, CA4 0RR. Classes: All HOYS and YHL SFAS and R2R classes.
The Showing Register, Saturday 5th September, NAEC Stoneleigh, CV8 2LA. Classes: All HOYS SFAS and R2R classes only. No YHL classes.
Defender Burghley, Sunday 6th September, Stamford, PE9 3JY. Classes: R2R Only.
BSHA National Championship, Thursday 10th to Saturday 12th September, Addington EC, MK18 2JR. Classes: R2R Only.
LIHS BSHA Rising Stars Show, Sunday 13th September, Addington EC, MK18 2JR. Classes: YHL Still a Star and Ridden M and M Only.
HOYS SEIB Search for a Star Championship, Wednesday 7th to Sunday 11th October, Birmingham NEC.
YHL SEIB Search for a Star Championship, Friday 6th to Saturday 7th November, NAEC Stoneleigh.
