Class 1A Working Pony
1st Caitlin Gill riding San Bernadino
2nd Rebecca Giles riding Lochan Beag Rogaire
3rd Kacey Clunn riding Sir Moody Blue
4th Jessica Warner riding Dancing Daisy
5th Olivia Stansfield riding Porterhouse Sweet Rhapael
6th Emma Sayer riding Owain Brecon Boy
Class 1B Working Horse
1st Shane Carter riding Grantstown Sandman
2nd Katie Dyer riding Perthog sparky
3rd Jackie Worby riding Pennys Gift
4th Caroline Airey riding Urswickl Rock Solio
5th Emma-Jane Houghton riding KEC Safia
6th Isabel Southworth riding Ballintava Teal
Class 2 Riding Horse Hack
1st Megan Barlow riding Castors Son
2nd Annie McAndrew riding Sky
3rd Tamzlin Smith riding Cupid
4th Baren Major riding Emlyn
5th Christine Bowdler riding Orlando Envoy
6th Diane Cooper riding Eastern Mr Turpin
Class 3 Show Hunter
1st Jackie Worby riding Penny’s Gift
2nd Caroline Airey riding Urswick Rock Solio
3rd Baren Major riding Emlyn
4th Lily Warburton riding Avanti Gutsy Gordon
5th Natalie Astle riding Kellythorpes Romany Luck
6th Harriet Johnson riding Mein Rebel
Class 4 M and Ms
1st Rebecca Giles riding Lochan Beag Rogaire
2nd Molly Broadley riding Dexter of rocklea
3rd Karen Badrick riding Sheir Whisky
4th Emma Berry riding Ballylee Nightcruise
5th Emma Sayer riding Owain Brecon Boy
6th Mandy Mason riding Belchford Amlodd
Class 6 Cobs
1st Kayleigh Brown riding Sir Podge
2nd Lucy Turner riding Quenot 4
3rd Nichola Mountain riding Great Expectations
4th James rooks riding Chantily Lace X
5th Rachelle Spencer riding White Wood Boy
6th Jasmyn Stone riding Gorey Boy
Vale View SEIB Search for a Star and Racehorse to Riding Horse
The final SEIB Search for a Star qualifier of 2018 took place at Vale View Equestrian Centre in Leicestershire on the 5th August. Several delighted riders made the most of this last opportunity to qualify for the 2018 Search for a Star HOYS championships and the new Search for a Star M&M final at Your Horse Live.
Working Pony
A win in the working pony class came as a complete surprise for 13-year-old Caitlin Gill from Darlington. Caitlin’s pony, San Bernadino was foot perfect on the day to land the top spot. Caitlin’s mum, Lisa Gill said: “It is unbelievable, we didn’t even think they would be placed. We bought Iris as she is known at home to compete in showjumping and working hunter pony classes. She had done nothing when we bought her around eighteen months ago and my little girl is now over the moon with her.” Caitlin attends St Frances Xavier School in Richmond, Lisa continued: “Caitlin is into her sport and the school really encourage the children to do well in everything so they will also be delighted that Caitlin is off to HOYS.”
Working Horse
Pony club instructor Shane Carter won the working horse class at Vale View with her dun gelding, Grantstown Sandman who is known as Ambrose at home. Shane said: “We have had quite a weekend! Ambrose and I left East Sussex first thing on Friday morning to go to the dressage area festival at Wellington and from there we carried on up to Vale View for Search for a Star on Sunday. For each year I have had Ambrose we have had a different goal. In 2016 we competed in British Eventing and finished the season as South East Eventers League winners, in 2017 we aimed at British Dressage competitions and finished up by being placed at the festival and this year HOYS was our aim!” Shane and Ambrose attended the Search for a Star qualifier at Bury Farm where they just missed out on their HOYS ticket so Vale View was the last chance for them to achieve their goal of HOYS in 2018. Shane added: “Ambrose is such a good horse, he is so versatile. I have been thinking about our goal for 2019 and it definitely has to be to take part in a team chase!” Shane teaches children in the Romney Marsh and the Ashford Valley Pony Clubs.
Riding Horse Hack
Megan Barlow riding Charlotte Dilworth’s bay gelding, Castors Son, won the riding horse hack class. Megan has been riding Castor for the past year whilst Charlotte’s daughter Libby has been at university. Megan said: “I have wanted to go to HOYS for quite a while, but just haven’t had the horse until Castor came along. This was just our third proper show and I am delighted. We missed out on qualifying for Search for a Star at Osbaldeston in the spring and I think that Castor has improved loads since then, he is a really quick learner.” Megan is assistant manager at Naylor’s Equestrian in Nantwich, she added: “It sounds as though several of the team at work are going to come to HOYS to cheer us on! I am going to fit in as much training as possible between now and HOYS. We finish work at 6pm and then it is straight over to the horses.”
Annie McAndrew took the runner up spot in the riding horse hack class with her lovely homebred mare, Sky. Annie said: “Qualifying for HOYS has literally been my dream since I was three-years-old when I began going to shows on the lead-rein. To do it on a homebred is even more special. Sky has only been broken in for a year and this is about her fifth show. The more she has done, the more she is enjoying the experience of getting out to shows and is going better and better.” Sky is by the top showjumping stallion, Don VHP Z and Annie who is currently studying law, plans to compete her in both showjumping and working hunter classes. Annie added: “Search for a Star is a great way for the horses to get acclimatised to shows and what will be expected of them. Sky has a great jump and I think it is really important that we spend time concentrating on the way she goes on the flat as well.”
Hunter
The hunter winner at Vale View, Jackie Worby, has a very compelling reason for wanting to qualify for HOYS. Her great friend Penny Podmore, who was the previous owner of her horse, Pennys Gift, wanted to see the horse compete in the working hunters at HOYS. Penny was a previous winner of the working hunters at HOYS back in her youth. Jackie said: “Following a serious stroke, Penny went on the hunt to find a horse that she could place with another rider and follow around the shows. It was to be her last horse and provide her with some entertainment. Penny watched plenty of videos of horses in Ireland and Pennys Gift was the horse she chose to buy. Very sadly, after the horse arrived, Penny was diagnosed with cancer and died. As I child I had spent a lot of time with Penny and her husband Martin and after Penny’s death I mentioned to Martin that I was on the lookout for a new horse. Martin suggested I buy PJ who arrived with me as an unnamed five-year-old. PJ and I have done plenty of eventing and then as Penny had never got to see PJ going out to shows, I decided to see if we could get to HOYS in Search for a Star for Penny. We came 3rd in the working horse class at Bury Farm and then this year we have gone better and are now qualified in the hunters.” PJ lives at home with Jackie who works as a chartered financial planner.
Taking runner up spot in the hunter class was Caroline Airey’s homebred five-year-old, Urswick Rock Solid. This horse is the third generation that Caroline has bred, she said: “I can’t believe we have gone and qualified for HOYS, it is pretty much a lifelong dream for anyone that is into horses to one day have the chance to ride there. Everyone in Urswick Rock Solid’s family has the best temperament, they all hack around the farm and go to the local shows. This result – and the really positive comments from the judges at Search for a Star – has inspired me to think about getting out to some county shows with him next year.” Caroline and her husband have a small-holding and also breed pedigree Suffolk sheep. She added: “We take the sheep that we have bred to the county shows, and it is great to be off to HOYS with a horse we have bred.” Caroline works as a postman.
Mountain and Moorland
There were some great entries in the new SEIB Search for a Star Mountain and Moorland qualifier at Alnwick which was judged by Paul Cook and Louise Gaunt. This class is brand new this year and the final will be held at Your Horse Live at Stoneleigh in November. Paul Cook said: “It was fascinating to see this new Search for a Star class. It is such a great way of encouraging people to start showing their native ponies. We are looking for ponies to perform to the breed standard and to be of the correct type for the breed standard. The BSPS website has a very helpful – and downloadable – section on native breed types and trimming requirements. I would also suggest for anyone that is unsure, that watching what the professional M&M producers do at a show is always time well spent when it comes to turnout.”
Rebecca Giles and her own Connemara pony, seven-year-old, Lochan Beag Rogaire won the class. Rebecca said: “This is the first flat class that Finn and I have done, he went brilliantly! It is great to have qualified for this new final. I bought Finn from Ireland as a three-year-old to bring on and sell, but I totally fell in love with him and so he is here to stay. We have done lots of M&M working hunter pony classes and have competed in British Eventing classes up to novice level. I am going to spend some time on really concentrating on Finn. My absolute aim is to qualify him for HOYS in the M&M working hunter pony classes.” Rebecca works as a Class 1 HGV driver, transporting livestock for her father’s livestock business, she is also a part-time swimming instructor. She added: “Finn is a proper allrounder and after the Search for a Star finals at Your Horse Live will spend the winter out hunting.”
Molly Broadley from Wolverhampton took 2nd place with her own Highland gelding, Dexter of Rocklea. Molly has owned Dexter for just six months, she said: “Heartbreakingly, I lost my traditional gypsy cob two days before Christmas 2017. We had been to Search for a Star twice for the working pony class. This made it a potentially very difficult day to take Dexter to the qualifier at the same venue I’d taken my old boy to. Dexter is just 6 and I’ve worked very hard with him in the 6 months of owning him. We only went to Vale View for some experience so I was totally overwhelmed and shocked when we were pulled in second. I cannot wait for Your Horse Live, it is a massive dream come true.”
In third place in the M&Ms was Karen Badrick and her Welsh Section D gelding, Sheir Whisky. Karen said: “I am really pleased with our result at Search for a Star, it is the first time we have gone and we went along for the experience. To have qualified is just great. The feedback from the judges was lovely, they commented that he was a really good weight and a nice horse.” Karen has owned Sheir Whisky for two and a half years, she continued: “I bought him unbroken to get going and sell on, but he has turned out to be an absolute superstar – he definitely has a home for life! We have been out showing at county level and Sheir Whisky just gets better every time out. He will definitely be wrapped up in cotton wool between now and the Search for a Star championships.”
Cobs
The cob class winners, Kayleigh Brown and her own, Sir Podge had travelled from Newquay to Vale View to compete. Ride judge, Jane Hubbard said of this Irish grey gelding: “He was a nice stamp of a horse that was true to type and both I and the conformation judge, Richard Ramsay really liked him.” It was a last-minute plan for Kayleigh to enter Search for a Star. She said: “We went to the New Forest Show at the end of July and came 3rd in the Open HOYS cob qualifier. So we decided that Search for a Star was a must!” Kayleigh managed to combine travelling up to Vale View with attending Equifest. She continued: “I bought Sir Podge three years ago with the aim of competing him in showing, he is very versatile and also hacks and hunts through the winter. I have been away at university and just been home at weekends – my sister Jemma has been great at keeping him going in the weeks.” Kayleigh finished university this summer and starts a job as a PE teacher at Penrice School in St Austell in September, she added: “I have been thinking of ways to explain what a big deal HOYS is to horse people when I ask for the time off school to go to the show. I think I’m going with it being the world cup of showing!”
Lucy Turner took the runner up spot in the cob class with Sandra Hunter’s, Quenot 4. Lucy said: “I am shocked that we are off to HOYS, it was totally unexpected to qualify. We were pulled in bottom having not had the best go round. Quenot definitely made the marks up in his conformation and the ride he gave the judge. I have been riding him for the last year and a half and we decided to affiliate at the beginning of this year and have had a great season so far being placed at both county and local shows. It is great to have qualified as Quenot will be 15 next year and so the plan is to semi-retire him. Sandra, his owner lives in France.” Lucy works as a shop assistant in Compstall post office which is a family owned business. She added: “My mum has been telling everyone that comes into the shop that we are off to HOYS!”
