The great and the good of British Breeding gathered together in London recently for the annual British Breeding Breeders’ Awards Dinner, organised by the Supporters of British Breeding.
Joanna MacInnes was shocked to receive the Merial Meritoire award, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the breeding industry. MacInnes has been breeding horses and ponies of the highest quality for some 40 years, including standing the leading sport horse sire Java Tiger until his death in 2001.
“I’m speechless,” she said. “I didn’t recognise myself at all from [Desi Dillingham’s] description.”
The Dodson & Horrell Young Horse Awards for the mare or stallion aged seven years or less who have been most successful in their sport during 2005 were won by:
- Dressage: Wolke Sieben, owned by Sarah Pidgeley
- Show jumping: Romanov II, owned by Tracy Forrest
- Eventing: Kings Fancy, bred by Mary King
The British Eventing young horse award winners were: four-year-old Ideal Rock, by Rock King and bred by Edith Rutherford; five-year-old Epic, by Magic Story and bred by Carolyn Bates of the Grafham Stud; and six-year-old Skylight, by Jumbo and bred by Christian Landolt. Mary Guinness’ Tamarillo won the Dodson &Horrell Ltd award for the top British-bred horse at the European Championships.
The South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB)/British Breeding Young Horse Evaluation Awards went to Mezzanine, bred by Jonathan Crapp (dressage); Ulster, bred by the Solland Stud (show jumping); and Trescothick, bred by Preci Spark Stud (eventing)
The former racehorses that have gone on to become successful competition horses were recognised in the popular SEIB Retraining of Racehorses Awards. The award winners were:
- Affiliated dressage – Kings Piper, ridden by Liz Harcombe
- Affiliated eventing – Fosse Hill, ridden by Caroline Powell
- Affiliated endurance – Rostreamer, ridden by Linda Burrows
- Affiliated showing – Millimeter, ridden by Emily Curtis
- Affiliated show jumping – Swift Alliance, ridden by Jonathan Martin
- Unaffiliated competition – Handsome Badsha, ridden by Fiona Avagnano
The dinner included awards for ponies for the first time this year, thanks to support from Ponies Association (UK) and the Sports Pony Studbook Society (SPSS). The Ponies (UK) dressage pony performance award went to The Importance of Being Ernest, bred by Ruth Thacker and Jane Flavell; the jumping award went to Echo Wold, bred by Mrs A Sowerby; and the eventing award to Bletchenden Fanfare, bred by Sandra Ide. The SPSS award for the top native pony sire of performance ponies was awarded to Carregcoch Bleddyn of Machno Stud.
