Caithness riders set to take part at the Horse of the Year Show
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CAITHNESS will be well represented at this year's Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) with three local riders taking part.
On Monday, young Emily Campbell set off on the long journey down to the NEC in Birmingham, which will involve an overnight stop at Greenlands Equestrian Centre, Carlisle, with the other local competitors.
For 11-year-old Emily Campbell it is a dream come true and she was delighted when she secured her HOYS ticket with her working hunter pony Annandale New Approach, known as Roachy.
Her class – the Thor Atkinson Steel Fabrications Ltd Mountain & Moorland 122cm Working Hunter Pony of the Year – will take place on Thursday this week.
Also setting off on Monday and competing on the same day at HOYS is Isla Miller, who will be taking part at this prestigious event for the second time.
Last year Isla and her seven-year-old Clydesdale, Stobilee Zac came second in the British ridden heavy horse championships.
She said: "I definitely feel a bit more relaxed this year. You go and you want to win, but I'm just delighted that we managed to get there again."
Isla arrived at Carlisle for her overnight stop within 10 minutes of Emily and her family. She said they would give their horses a good rest before setting off early in the morning in the hope of getting a front row parking space at the NEC.
Also booking a return ticket to HOYS was Ebony King (Jack), who won the small hunter qualifier class at the Royal Highland Show earlier this year, ridden by James Munro of Team Skelton.
In 2017, as a five-year-old, Ebony King took first place in the Small Show Hunter of the Year Championship at HOYS. This year the championship will be held on Thursday.
Ebony King, owned by Freda Newton, will also take part in the intermediate show hunter championship at Birmingham on Saturday, this time ridden by Lucy Stewart.
Team Skelton have a contender in the light weight hunter championship at the show on Friday with Sydney Poirier, a more recent addition to their stable.
It will be a busy show for the local team as Dublins Streetfighter has also qualified for the heavy weight show hunter championship on Friday.
James and Ebony King recently won £1000 after winning the Elite Championship at the Ingliston Grand Slam 2019, held on September 20-21.
HOYS, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday this week, is hailed as the biggest week of the year for equestrian entertainment, with something for every member of the family to enjoy.
