It was a busy event for Max Warburton at Nunney International with six different horses to compete, but it was United 36 who pulled off a victory when landing The Howden Way-supported 7-year-old class.
The gelding by Ucello out of Hauptstutbuch Erinea, is owned by Michael Stenning, and has been with Max since a four-year-old. He has already shown plenty of talent, finishing eighth in the CCI2*-L World Championship for six-year-olds last year, and not finishing out of the top 10 in his three runs this season.
“He’s a lovely horse and went to Le Lion with me last year which was really exciting; he’s been a really great performer,” said Max. “He came to me as a four-year-old and was quite sharp – it wasn’t until he was six that he really bucked his ideas up – and now he’s a machine.
“Hopefully we can get back to Le Lion again. It’s great that The Howden Way has put these classes on, and we have something to aim these young horses at, because it can be difficult finding something to campaign them at from a producing side.”
Millie Juleff and CFH Dakar Hill were second on a score of 45.6, while third place went to Rupert Batting and Coombeland Talisman who scored 54.9.
The Young Horse leagues are a great way to expose promising event horses to bigger atmospheres, while benchmarking them against others of the same age, while offering recognition for the highest performing horses in these classes.
Supported by The Howden Way, 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.
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, while the 7-year-old classes is run at intermediate level.
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.
Image courtesy of Ultimate Images
