Tom Jackson had a dazzling time at Farley Hall with a whopping nine horses, claiming four wins, a second and a tenth place. Riding Hugh and Pam Jarvis’s Midnight Endeavour, he added just 0.8 cross country time penalties to his 27.5 dressage score to finish on a total of 28.3 and land The Howden Way-supported 7-year-old class.
Tom has had the mare since a four-year-old and backed her himself. The pair have since had numerous top five placings, including an open novice win at Poplar Park and third place in an intermediate at Tweseldown this season.
“Her nickname on the yard is ‘Little Miss Perfect’ because she is always very good,” said Tom. “It wasn’t her best dressage test, although she didn’t do anything wrong, and she felt great in the show jumping because it’s a big arena and there are long gaps between the fences, but she coped really well. And she was great cross country – she lived up to her name.
“The ground was good at Farley Hall and although the courses aren’t always the biggest, they are educational, and I enjoyed giving all of mine a spin around there.”
Tom hopes to take Midnight Endeavour back to Le Lion this year, having finished fourth in the six-year-old class there last year. She will also contest her first 3* shorts.
“The young horse classes are great, especially for the seven-year-olds and horses like her who have done well in their career and are in advanced points already – she’d have to do an OI, and then you’re competing against the advanced, experienced horses, whereas the age classes put them all on a level playing field.”
In second was Jack Pinkney and Sara Brown’s Carpo Vivendi who added nothing to their 29.1 dressage. Carpo Vivendi is on The Howden Way Young Horse Academy, a pathway programme giving valuable support to the development and recognition of young horses competing within British Eventing.
Third place was awarded to Laura Collett and Killossery Kaptain who added 2.8 cross country time penalties to their 27.3 dressage to finish on 30.1. The horse is owned by Fiona Rutland, Laura Glynn and Margaret Silver.
For full results, click here.
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, and 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.
Photo by Matt Nuttall Photography
