A young gelding triumphed on his first appearance at the Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) in the British Miniature Horse Society RIHS miniature horse supreme championship.
The showman in question was Rosaphia Royal Secret (Roy), a four-year-old by Ujeniks Extasy Dark out of Redstone Bint Royale.
The miniature classes were held during the morning in the Roger Stack Arena on day five of the show, with the championship contenders gracing the Longines International Arena.
Roy was bred by Samantha Wheatley and was shown to RIHS glory by Neville Stamford, who was also performing on Hickstead turf for the very first time.
Neville has only been involved with miniature horses for three years.
“This is our biggest win to date,” said a shocked Neville. “Roy is a true showman. He’s excited when he first comes out but as soon as he calms down he settles into the job. He is a great pony to have at home. This result is just unbelievable.”
Roy is also heading to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) later in the year after taking champion at Stoneleigh Horse Show in May. He was also a winner at Hertfordshire County this year.
Reserve for the RIHS miniature horse supreme championship title went to Neville’s team mate Freddie Watts, who was handling his own home-bred two-year-old Windrush Trademark.
Freddie and Neville are good friends and Freddie is the owner of Roy’s sire, Ujeniks Extasy Dark, a successful show horse and former RIHS finalist himself.
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