Home-produced Welsh pony Ryehill Artizan made his nine-year-old rider’s dreams come true when he jumped to a first Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) ticket at Royal Bath and West in the 122cm mountain and moorland (M&M) working hunter pony qualifier.
Veritey Ascioglu, who is just nine years old, and Ryehill Artizan – who is known at home as Golden Balls – will make their debut at Hickstead next week, despite only having contested a handful of qualifiers.
Veritey’s mother Jenna Williams says there wasn’t a dry eye at the ringside after they bagged their RIHS pass.
“It was a big, scary course, but Veritey was in the zone, even when jumping through the huge bullfinch,” Jenna says. “She jumped one of few clears, and when she came out of the ring after her round, she knew she’d done enough to qualify. She’s so young and she’s only tiny, so she does amazingly well jumping against all the adults. It’s definitely a challenge for her, but she’s such a determined little rider and she loves her jumping.”
Golden Balls was bought as a five-year-old a few years ago, in the hopes that he’d make Veritey’s future working hunter pony.
“We always knew he was going to jump,” said Jenna. “At the time, Veritey had a former Pony Club games pony, who didn’t like jumping. Golden Balls is her first jumping pony and we’ve developed their partnership through hunting with the Avon Vale. They’ve started contesting some HOYS qualifiers this year, too.”
Ahead of Hickstead, Veritey and her pony have been working hard with their trainer, Ricky Johnson.
“We’ve been getting lots of lessons in and we’ve been practising over a bullfinch in preparation for the test at the RIHS,” said Jenna. “Veritey adores her pony and while he can be cheeky and throw her off course sometimes, she’s always chuffed with him and gives him the biggest pats.”
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