EMOTIONS RUN HIGH AS HOYS 2010 DRAWS TO A CLOSE

The climax to the 2010 Horse of the Year Show saw the twenty two leading riders jumping with their hearts on their sleeves. After a week of intense competition at the LG Arena at the NEC, Birmingham, Laura Renwick was crowned HOYS Leading Show Jumper of the Year after producing a superb double clear on Oz de Breve. The class was a true representation of a Grand Prix, tough and posed a real test to the world class field with each and every competitor riding with determination and really pushing to take the prestigious title. Taking risks didn't pay off for many including last year’s leading show jumper, Ellen Whitaker, who crashed through the last fence in round one. After a shaky start to the week, wildcard Jo Pay and Goodman for Fun II jumped an impressive double clear to finish in third place. Tim Stockdale and Fresh Direct Kalico Bay made the 1m 60cm course look easy but were pipped to the post by Laura who was last to jump at the 2010 Show.

 

Feeling the need for speed? Dan Neilson was this afternoon, when he stormed round the twisty track in the Vinopolis Speed Horse of the Year to steal the title from Paul Barker who had taken the lead with a fast time earlier in the class. It seemed certain that Paul's time of 57.93 seconds could not be beaten particularly when the likes of speed merchants, Laura Renwick and Ellen Whitaker couldn't produce the goods. Daniel was last to go with Chauvanist and they had nothing to lose so Dan with his foot to the floor and with Chauvanist up for the challenge; they produced a masterful round negotiating the twists and turns perfectly. Apparently Daniel's father had his sights set on him being a footballer in the early days, luckily for the sport of equestrianism, Dan stuck with show jumping!

 

To kick off the afternoon performance, the very best young riders took centre stage in the Andrews Bowen International Arena for the Leading Pony Show Jumper of the Year class. Jessica Mendoza has been consistently achieving top results all season and was no stranger to the limelight when she won the class on the fantastic Tixylix. Of the 22 strong field only four made through to the jump off, Laura Prichard on her second ride Bob Justice couldn’t manage to beat Jessica and finished with a double clear in a time of 37.93 seconds. Timothy Wilks finished in third place, he was first to go in both rounds, but was unfortunate to have a fence down in the jump off, this proved costly as his round was half a second faster than Jessica’s.

 

As ever the HOYS Grade C is a hotly contested competition showcasing our up and coming horses and is great platform for these horses to progress from. Having finished 9th in this class last year, Nicky Boulter and Super Trooper de Ness jumped a superb double clear to take the title against a very strong field. Super Trooper de Ness is becoming a bit of a HOYS specialist having won the 7 & 8 Yr Old Championship here in 2009 and finished 2nd in the Tri-Zone Senior Newcomers in 2008. A lovely prospect for the future, Nicky is bringing this horse up through the ranks and giving him the best possible chance of future international success. There were in fact four double clears but Nicky's time of 32.79 seconds was just too quick for the rest of the field. Second place went to Mark Armstrong and Tenor F.M and third went to Jane Annett and Coco Loco.