The crème de la crème of coloured horses and ponies flocked to The All England Jumping Course at Hickstead to compete on the first day of the 2021 Royal International Horse Show. But who took home the supreme title, as well as top amateur and junior accolades?
The highly anticipated 2021 Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) kicked off with coloured horses and ponies taking to the Science Supplements Ring 5 in the hope of taking home a top placing in one of the seven ultra-competitive Oyster Wealth Planning BSPA Skewbald and Piebald classes.
Ensuring they will have the opportunity to defend the supreme accolade they won here in 2019 was Allister Hood and his trusty partner Our Cashel Blue who were crowned overall Indian Trail ridden champions after heading the horse championship.
The legendary lightweight, now 12, enjoyed a spin on the show ground he has dominated for the past few seasons as a show cob. Although Blue is no stranger to success at Hickstead, it was his first time landing the coloured title. His win was even more poignant for the Hood Show Team as Blue’s long-standing owner Caroline Tyrrell sadly passed away last year.
“He loves Hickstead,” Allister said after their triumph. “But this is actually the first time he’s won the coloured championship. Getting into the Winston Churchill is an enormous achievement.”
Blue was supreme horse at Horse of the Year Show in 2016 and as well as winning the supreme at the RIHS in 2019 – he was also cob champion in both 2016 and 2017.
The pair hit the headlines with their win in 2019 after both making remarkable comebacks; Allister suffered a heart attack and Blue underwent treatment for a rare form of cancer.
Following their win today, the Hood Team posted that they were “thinking of Caroline, who would have been absolutely thrilled”.
Reserve overall supreme was Vicky Smith riding her own and her partner Alan Marnie’s 11-year-old plaited horse Bart. Vicky had two choices for the final reckoning as she also stood at the top of the very first class of the day, the lightweight horses aboard Karen Sankey’s nine-year-old Freckleton High Flyer.
Top amateur combination was Jessica Williams and Supernova, while the junior championship was scooped by Eloise Van Praagh with Spot On Noilly Prat. Sophia Chambers and her own Roquefort Papillon triumphed in the supreme pony.
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