Nottinghamshire-based former Team GB Young Rider Lizzie Baugh, topped the 6-year-old InXpress Tyne & Wear section at Belsay with her own beautiful grey mare Calida Spice.
The pair led the section from start to end, pulling off a stunning double clear to finish on their dressage score of 27.5.
“She’s really lovely, and has such a good brain – she moves, she jumps and is careful, but is proving to be bold enough,” said Lizzie of the mare she bought as a four-year-old. “I was worried she’d be too careful, but at Belsay, the course was a good, bold course. I thought it was going to be a big ask for her, but she absolutely took it on. She used to be a bit ‘ditchy’, but she flew the big trakehners, and I was really pleased with her.”
Lizzie plans to producer her up the levels.
“I’ve had interest in her already, but I’m keeping hold of this one,” she smiled. “She goes to Catton Park now for another novice run, but her main aim is the young horse championships at Cornbury.”
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.
Yorkshire’s Katie Magee finished second riding Lady Sharon Parnaby’s Cushlas Indigo, while Wills Oakden landed third with his wife Stephanie’s Almond Rockstar. Hayden Hankey came up from Cheshire to take fourth in this class on Ramiro Red.
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 2023 Young Horse Championships take place at Cornbury House Horse Trials in Oxfordshire between 7-10 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.
Photo courtesy of www.athalens.com
