Continuing on from her victory at Le Lion Young Horse Championships last year as a six-year-old, Johnny Hornby’s grey mare Barrington Alice once again showed her prowess when winning The Howden Way seven-year-old Young Horse class at Cirencester Park.
Partnered with Izzy Taylor, the mare added just 3.2 time penalties cross-country to her 29.6 dressage to finish in the lead on 32.8.
“She is incredible and such a classy mare. She show jumped beautifully – it did feel big but she was very classy, and in the cross-country she just cruised round and handled the ground like a pro. The Howden Way Young Horses are great for giving young horses something to aim for while gaining invaluable experience.
“She is a lovely mare and you really can’t fault her. She is a very easy mare with a great brain and is made for the job. Her record is beautiful too – she won her first intermediate last season, then she won Le Lion, won her intermediate this season and just had one fence at Tweseldown in the open intermediate.
“She is a very exciting horse which is great for her breeder Susie Holroyd and her owner Johnny Hornby who can really get behind her and enjoy the journey. Her long-term plan is to go back to Le Lion for the seven-year-old championship, and short-term is to take her to do a 3* short.”
Michael Jackson finished second riding his own, Heather Bell and Gwen Meacham’s Girls Gamble, while Jack Pinkney landed third with his own, The Duchess of Norfolk and Lady Catherine Carleton-Smith’s Monbeg Stone Town.
The series, supported by The Howden Way, is an ideal opportunity for riders to expose their up-and-coming eventers to the atmosphere of bigger venues, while competing against other horses of the same age. The classes offer recognition for the highest performing horses in these classes.
The Young Horse classes take place throughout the spring and summer in some of BE’s most stunning venues with the 6-year-old classes running at novice level, and the 7-year-old classes running at intermediate level.
The top three in each class receive an additional £250, £150, £100 respectively on top of the prize money already generated and awarded by the prize money calculator.
For dates of the young horse classes this year, please click here
Alongside these classes, the performance of young horses competing with British Eventing is acknowledged within The Howden Way Young Horse Leagues which can be found here. There are four leagues which cover the ages of 5 years, 6 years, 7 years and then the ages of 8 & 9 combined. The leagues display the average of a horse’s three best finishing scores via a Power Based Average score which highlights the ability to repeatedly finish on a low score.
The 2024 Young Horse Championships take place at Cornbury House Horse Trials in Oxfordshire between 12-15 September. The classes will also benefit those aiming their young horses at the FEI World Breeding Championships at Le Lion d’Angers, which hosts a CCI2*-L World Championship for six-year-olds and a CCI3*-L World Championship for seven-year-olds.
Image courtesy of Hannah Cole Photography
