SEIB Racehorse To Riding Horse Show Championship

Our first Racehorse to Riding Horse Show Championship got off to a fantastic start in 2006 with the finals held in the atmospheric International Arena at the Horse of the Year Show. The impeccably bred and equally well mannered, Gosh, owned by Dell Park Stud and ridden by Natelie Lintott, was unfazed by the occasion and took the title in fine style in front of a capacity crowd.

The competition, supported by the charity, Retraining of Racehorses, is open to thoroughbred racehorses only, and although they need not have raced, they must have been in training with a recognised trainer. The class may include hack, riding horse or hunter types and the standard is high, with the best of type being judged the winner. The five qualifying events, held throughout the country, were extremely popular with approximately 120 horses competing for the 10 coveted HOYS places.

Gosh has all the credentials of a fully-fledged racehorse, being registered at Weatherbys as Taj Mahal and having run 8 times while in training with C W Thornton. But, despite being related to 5 Derby winners including his great grandsire, the famous Mill Reef, Gosh did not excel on the racecourse. His talents have since established themselves in a new career as a riding horse and he has won many accolades during the 3 years that he has been competing. “He really loved it”, said Natalie. “This is a brilliant idea, there are some fabulous horses that don’t do well racing and they make fantastic show horses”, said owner, Alan Lintott. “A lot of work has gone into preparing these horses and they looked the part. We are very grateful to SEIB for running this class and really hope that it continues”, he said.

Second place in the final went to Guar-Du-Luc, owned by Mrs Lisa Farquhar and ridden by Juliet O’Brien of Chelmsford. He is a half brother to Mackeson Gold Cup winner, Challenger-Du-Luc and, while he was in training with Martin Pipe, ran in a NH Bumper and then over hurdles at Cheltenham ridden by A P McCoy. After a short and inauspicious racing career, Guar-Du-Luc joined Mrs Farquhar and after some hacking and a little dressage it was suggested that they have a go at the Racehorse to Riding Horses class. “He was such a super star”, said Juliet. “He is a lovely horse and so beautifully light. Bringing him to HOYS for Lisa is a dream come true.”

Milliemeter delighted her owner/rider, Emily Curtis of Crawley, West Sussex, by finishing third in the Championship final. Milliemeter was raced as a 2 and 3 year old and was then purchased at the Ascot Sales in 2002. Since then she has proved herself in her new showing career with several successes at county shows and won the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse points series in 2005.

One horse that is used to the limelight is Fergal, owned by Peter Richmond of Ripon, and ridden by Elizabeth Richmond, who features in the interval credits of every episode of Emmerdale, ridden by Elizabeth. Fergal was in training with Peter, but since his change of career he has proved himself very adaptable. As well as hunting regularly, Fergal is frequently involved in filming for Emmerdale, ridden on occasions by Patsy Kensit (Sadie King) and has been used for various stunts. The Richmonds have been very successful in producing thoroughbred horses for the showring and Fergal will be doing his best to catch the judge’s eye at HOYS.

Another Statesman, owned by Mr Garry Ross of Easingwold, York, and ridden by Mr Paul Langrick, finished sixth. Having been in training with Peter Beaumont, he embarked on his showing career with a win on his first outing in April this year, and also competes in dressage.

The Racehorse to Riding Horse Show Championship was instigated by SEIB to support the retraining of racehorses and to provide a platform to show how a correctly re-schooled racehorse can become a top class show horse.

One or two horses at the final took a little time to settle but gave no problems to ride judge, Ann Hooley. “This class is something new, but I was really happy with all of them. They held it together in a fantastic atmosphere and I really enjoyed it”, she said.

Vivien Appell judged conformation and was impressed with the quality of the horses presented. “The stamp and condition was really good. There are a lot of ex-racehorses that could do this job – they have the quality and conformation and they can cope, having been used to a disciplined environment”, she said.

SEIB Marketing Manager, Nicolina Mackenzie, who has been instrumental in getting the competition off the ground, is delighted with the response to this new series. “With thousands of horses coming out of training each year, the class shows how their future can be assured and with time and patience these horses can go on to compete successfully in many different disciplines”, she said.