As we all get prepared for another mammoth season of showing, H&H takes some time to reminisce on the stars of the 2018 term, of which there were plenty.
Here are 11 hunters who impressed on the show circuit last year:
1. Chadwicks Spartanwood
Barbara Beercock’s middleweight and Leon King made their debut outing together a winning one, when they landed the section title at Lincolnshire county. The eight-year-old was a former Great Yorkshire Show novice champion and is produced by Robert Shaw.
2. View Point
Arguably the pair to beat last season in the hunter ranks, Robert Walker and Jill Day’s legendary lightweight gelding did the ‘big three’ in 2018, claiming victories at Royal Windsor, where they were also supreme of show, the Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
3. Seabourne Silent Valley
This Team Hood-produced lightweight has been a big winner in both the ladies and open hunter ranks for owner Francois Babington, who trotted him to a HOYS ticket and the overall tricolours at Royal Norfolk.
4. Paxford Venture
Malcolm Rosser rode his own upstanding chestnut to claim the heavyweight spoils and net a HOYS qualification at Royal Cheshire County in July.
5. Glenkeeran Dance In The Deep
The five-year-old previous Dublin winner and Camilla Davies took amateur honours at both the RIHS and the BSHA hunter championships, to name just a few of their 2018 successes.
6. Dragons Den
Helen Cowley rode her own home produced gelding to book his return visit to HOYS in the heavyweights at Royal Norfolk. The pair were SEIB Search for a Star finalists in 2016 and made their NEC open debuts in 2017.
7. Lucky Jack
The hunter supreme at the Royal Highland Show went to Martin Skelton aboard this promising five-year-old, who is owned by Vanessa Ramm and won the novice hunter class en-route to the overall sash.
8. Honour N Glory
Andrew German gained his first show ring win and championship when he rode John Minoprio’s heavyweight at Warrington. The Cheshire Forest huntsman was only asked to take the ride 10 minutes before the class as ‘Shadow’s’ producer Caroline Basnett arrived too late to make it into the ring.
9. Somerville
Despite standing reserve in the lightweight section, Patrice Dorney’s four-year-old Somerville, ridden by PJ Casey, performed a blistering gallop to take the hunter supreme at Dublin.
10. Temple Ogue
Kay Cambell’s Moreton-in-Marsh hunter champion was crowned supreme horse with producer Jayne Ross under the eye of Carl Hester.
11. Bowland Dynamo
This charismatic horse and Magnus Nicholson were crowned small hunter of the year champions at HOYS in October for owner Ros Croft.
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