Alfie Diaper Delivers in Style with STX UK Pony Foxhunter Win Aboard PJV Bella
Wednesday 21 May 2025
1d4uw6apxk7ej.jpg "Alfie Diaper Delivers in Style with STX UK Pony Foxhunter Win Aboard PJV Bella")
The first Summer Pony Premier kicked off at Arena UK this weekend where they hosted the first STX-UK Pony Foxhunter Second Round Class of the 2025 season.
Forty-two qualified ponies took to the ring to take on the challenging first round course; their sights set on qualification for the STX-UK Pony Foxhunter Championship Final at the Horse of the Year Show. Fifteen combinations successfully navigated their way into the first jump off, where it was evident how much this qualification means to these riders, with 10 advancing to the final jump-off.
First out of the starting block, Alfie Diaper left nothing to chance with Helen Diaper’s PJV Bella, the pair skilfully navigating their way around the shortened course to set a time of 40.88 seconds which could not be caught by those who followed.
Hollie Gerken, who had three winners in this class in 2024, gave a good account of herself once again and chased Alfie’s time hard, but couldn’t quite match the winning pace, ultimately finishing second and third place with Jade Gerken’s Livewire VI and Clare Whitaker’s No Limit X. Ella Spener slotted Emma Spender’s Rouet Rouge into fourth place to collect her ticket to the final.
“It was nice to go clear in the first couple of rounds; I thought they were fair courses, but the last round was definitely up to height,” commented Alfie. “Mark [Kyle, who has been training Alfie for almost nine years] said to land and turn after the double and go inside to the oxer. I wasn’t sure we could do it, but I knew it would put pressure on the others who followed if I could set the standard. I watched the rest of the jump-off to see who else tried to do the turns but just couldn’t pull off the turn.
“The mare can be a bit opinionated sometimes, she just likes to get on with her job, but she is so genuine to have gone off the stride and jumped very well. I’ll hopefully qualify her for the Newcomers and Pony Showjumper final too over the next few weeks. We also have the Winter JC final at Hickstead to look forward too and should be quite competitive in it. It will be nice to train on grass and open her up a bit before we wrap her up in bubble wrap until HOYS,” added Alfie.
Arena UK – Saturday, 17 May 2025
STX-UK Pony Foxhunter Second Round
1st – Alfie Diaper & PJV Bella – 0/0/0 40.88 seconds
2nd – Hollie Gerken & Livewire VI – 0/0/0 41.49 seconds
3rd – Hollie Gerken & No Limit X – 0/0/0 42.00 seconds
4th – Ella Spencer & Rouet Rouge – 0/0/0 42.20 seconds
NB: Results pending official grading.
Image: ATG Photography
