NAF Five Star Bronze & Silver League Champions Crowned

The 72nd Horse of the Year Show opened in thrilling fashion this morning with the week’s first showjumping champions crowned.

The NAF Five Star Silver League Championship and NAF Five Star Bronze League Championship took centre-stage as riders from across the country battled for places on the HOYS roll of honour.

And leaving her Taunton base at three o’clock on Wednesday morning proved completely worth it for Gemma Hallet, who landed the Silver Championship title aboard 13-year-old chestnut mare Billy Jive.

They have enjoyed a prolific partnership, once claiming more than 20 victories in one year, and that quality was underlined at the NEC, Birmingham.

Nine combinations made it through to the jump-off, with Stephanie Gunn and Jagerbomb setting a scorching pace, going clear in 30.23 seconds, but Gemma clipped 62 hundredths of a second off that time, while Imogen Yule and Blonde Ambition IV finishing third.

“There are not many things I get up at 3am for, but this was well worth it,” Gemma said. “To be at HOYS is what everyone dreams of when they’re little. It’s the cherry on the cake for her [Billy Jive] because she has been so consistent, but to win here finally, it feels like we’ve achieved our goal”.

“I saw Stephanie go first, and she went quick, so the concensus was to have a go and if we had a pole down, we had a pole down.

“I am lucky with the horse in that I completely trust her, and we very rarely have a pole unless I completely mess something up. She tries so hard."

The Bronze Championship crown went to Buckingham’s Katie Robinson, and it proved a comprehensive victory on the bay mare Mervs Thanks a Million II.

Third to go among five in the jump-off, Katie’s time of 29.80 seconds was almost eight seconds clear of the field, as Jake Jones guided White Well Augusta Rio into the runner-up position, with Louise McDonald and Fanta-astic in third.

Katie said: “It is a dream come true. I had never got the chance to compete here before. so I was nervous, but I felt like a winner just getting here.

“I just went for it in the jump-off, and it is an amazing feeling to win."

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Thank you NAF
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu/uk/index.jsp.  


Photo Credit: Gemma Hallet with Billy Jive courtesy of 1st Class Images