The new Young Horse series kicked off this weekend with the first of the 6-year-old classes at Cirencester Park (2). A great way to expose promising event horses to bigger atmospheres, while benchmarking them against others of the same age, the Young Horse classes offer 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.
It was a stunning 21 dressage and clear cross country that set Ros Canter and Silvesters Finesse on their way to victory, and despite a fence down in the showjumping, they still managed to hold the lead, 2.3 points ahead of runner up Michael Jackson and One Fine Day (27.3) and third-placed Jack Pinkney and Monbeg Stone Town (27.5).
“I rode ‘Nessie’ last year and she was third at Burghley in the young event horse class,” said Ros of the mare by Silvester out of Findon Findipendance, and owned by Deborah and Fergus Langstaff. “She is a beautiful mare to ride, and she has lovely owners who are really supportive and excited to be owning her.
“Nessie was great today. It was only her second novice and she did a super settled test, and tried really hard in the jumping. She is quite a big mare and at the moment her showjumping is her weakest phase as she has a lot of scope and can’t always balance, but she is brave and a lovely horse to ride cross country.”
The Young Horse classes take place throughout the spring and summer with the 6-year-old classes running at novice level, while the 7-year-old classes 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 Hannah Cole Photography
