Horsemart at HOYS

Well its day three and I am on location at HOYS! Sorry it’s taken me a few days to get all the news up on the site but we have been so busy! Firstly a huge thank you to all of you that have dropped by to see us on the stand and we hope you enjoy your free copy of National Horsemart, October edition. The stand has been buzzing and I have lots to share with you. For those of you that are hard at work and haven’t had the opportunity to get up here I will do my best to keep you posted. I have taken lots of photos and some video footage that we will post up on the sight.
The atmosphere is absolutely amazing and anyone who says the credit crunch is upon us and no one is spending needs to come here and see all the shopping bags being carried around! We have placed over 100 adverts on line from passers by for horses for sale and anything equestrian.
Dressage Masterclass with Katie Price and Andrew GouldI have just watched Katie Price this afternoon doing her dressage to music with Andrew Gould and Henry Boswell. The crowd went wild as she entered the arena to her own husbands famous track Mysterious girl which came booming from the sound system. She did an amazing job – hats off to you Katie that must have been terrifying! Katie’s horse Jordan’s Glamour Girl is stunning, and together they made a very glamorous picture. She had a tough ride as Glamour Girl was very tense and looked ready to explode at any minute! She held her nerve and really wowed the crowd with one and two time flying changes, half pass and some great extended trots! She has clearly been working hard and practicing under the watchful eye of Andrew Gould. Well done, it was a great show and we appreciate your support with helping to raise the profile of our much loved sport. It was very clear that the crowd adored you!

The trade stands are buzzing with all the hottest and new products – watch out for December issue of Horsemart and we will cover a nice selection of the must haves for Christmas.
For those of you who are planning to come to HOYS don’t forget to come and say hello and grab your free copy and maybe some others goodies! We have our stand in the new Caldene arena Hall, stand Y5F. So you must come and see us.

Results
The world’s most famous horse show kicked off to a flying start with an exciting programme packed with gripping showing and show jumping competition and spectacular equestrian entertainment.

The opening show jumping final at Horse of the Year Show, the new BSJA Amateur Classic class, saw a gripping battle between riders from all around the country. This Championship excludes the top 150 riders on the BSJA ranking list in order to focus on the amateur riders and proved a massive hit with the crowds at the Show. It was a super result for the female contingent - with the top five places all going to women riders. Gemma Hallet scooped first place with Wake Up, 2nd place went to Zoe Wilson on Rimilithius and Laura Johnson took third with Kool Kaiser.
Steph Gunn from Lincolnshire and her mare Funfair were next to take home first prize in the Squibb & Davies Junior Foxhunter Championship, beating last year’s Champion, Emily West and Scharonie, with the only two double clear’s in the class. The fight for 3rd place went to Stephanie Babes and Cassandra Van Het Roechof who beat fourth placed Amelia Green and Up-to-Trix by a quarter of a second.

The second day commenced with the first International show jumping class. The Sylvia Barnes Memorial Cup was won by Ireland’s Billy Twomey on Carron Nicol’s chestnut mare, Fantasia. With ten riders through to the jump-off, wildcard qualifier, Andrew Davies, followed closely taking second place riding Sir Graditz. The class was held in memory of Sylvia Rose Barnes MBE who severed as an official at the Show for 50 years and who passed away on Wednesday 28th May 2008 aged 96.
Today also saw a field of top riders battling it out in the Thomas Bates and Son Classic, a two phase in which riders who go clear in the first part of the course then immediately jump the second stage against the clock. Guy Williams and Torinto Vd Middelstede, on outstanding form in this class, had the fastest double clear with a speedy time of 32.23 seconds, preventing runner-up Tim Stockdale from snatching the top spot with Lou Lou. Third place went to Belgian rider Harrie Smolders riding Exquis Powerfee.

Scott Brash and Sauron M.L were crowned 2008 Horse & Hound Senior Foxhunter Champions, taking the top spot with an impressive time of 35.10 seconds. The Horse & Hound Foxhunter series annually attracts around 25,000 starters but only a line-up of 22 promising young horses qualified for tonight’s final. 16 horses made it through to the jump-off, with Ireland’s Billy Twomey narrowly missing out on second place on Blue Thunder in 35.27 seconds. Robert Whitaker took the 3rd spot with Rooney IV in 37.22 seconds.

The last show jumping class of the day was the Vinopolis Trophy with a prize fund of £13,000 as well as world ranking points on offer. It was all about accuracy and speed in this class and tonight it was Sweden’s Linda Heed who rode a fantastic round on Touch in a time of 56.93 seconds – more than two seconds faster than Graham Lovegrove’s ride on Pandur who followed in second place. Robert Whitaker and Lacroix took third place.

One of the BBC Sport’s profiled hopefuls for London 2012, eighteen year-old Daniel Neilson from Essex, scoped the Tri-Zone Senior Newcomers National Championship on Mrs. Celia Mason’s Chauvanist jumping a double-clear in 49.89 seconds. Junior European Team Gold Medallist, Daniel, looks set to continue his route to the top jumping impressively at the NEC today. Second place went to Nicky Boulter riding Super Trooper De Ness who had a quick time of 46.16 but one fence down in the jump-off. Bruce Menzies took third place riding Sultan V. The order list for the 7-Year-Old Championship read like a who’s who of the elite British Show Jumping Circuit. 22-year-old Scott Brash from Peebles in Scotland won the class with Beaujolais after two faultless rounds and a time of 37.2 seconds. The combination fought off stiff competition, including Nicole Pavitt who also jumped a double clear on Gemmaire Precious to achieve second place and David McPherson riding Maxim Trijol who took third.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will be back to update you with the weekends events and some behind the scenes gossip!
Take care