Stuart Hollings: ‘Shows will definitely need your support even more this term’

Successful pony producer turned well-known and respected judge, Stuart Hollings, looks back on a Horse & Hound show guide from 2000 and reminds us of showing’s influence on the careers of brilliant riders

I recently came across the Horse & Hound show guide dated 24 February 2000, with 192 pages to explore and containing articles on Team Jago, Lizzie Briant and judge Anne Hawkins. It was a bargain read at £1.65! Particularly fascinating was the fact that many of the topics therein have some relevance today.

The report that immediately caught my attention mentioned that the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) boycott was all but over. Thirteen county shows had opted out of HOYS qualifiers in 1998 following the introduction of a £4 levy fee. Hit by subsequent disastrous entry figures, five fixtures reapplied the following year and four more, including the Royal and Great Yorkshire shows, returned to the fold in 2000 when the contribution increased to £6.

This season, the levy fee stands at £20 per entry. The success of a show these days is seemingly judged by its entry numbers, particularly at HOYS qualifying events. Many competitors are unaware that the show organisers are responsible for any financial shortfalls should they not meet their entry number/ contribution fee targets. Consequently, these shows will definitely need your support even more this term!

Pretty Polly Puzzling

Another news story informed us of the inaugural Pretty Polly finals to be held at the Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) at Hickstead with four plaited classes – two for mini show ponies together with a mixed height open show pony and show hunter pony class. Not surprisingly, Heritage classes were added some years later for mountain and moorland (M&M) ponies due to their popularity. But I’m puzzled – why were the mini plaited classes taken off the menu, particularly when these classes produced the overall Pretty Polly champion on many occasions?

If it was due to lack of support back then, surely it would do no harm to give the plaited mini section another chance given that a brand new class for first ridden show hunter ponies has been added to the open British Show Pony Society/RIHS portfolio this time? May I boldly suggest holding just two mini classes to begin with: a combined lead-rein show pony/show hunter pony class and a first ridden equivalent, possibly without an obstacle course for compatibility that could run alongside the M&M mini?

The then Horse & Hound editor Arnold Garvey also offered some sound advice for the start of the 2000 season: showing is about opinion and not hard facts nor first past the post. Whatever your discipline, do your damnedest to win but take it on the chin if you don’t. The last thing we need is competitors who go whinging to judges like football players.

The important role of showing

I feel immense pride when telling non-showing equestrians about the important role showing has played in forging the careers of some of our most brilliant horsemen and women in dressage, eventing, showjumping and racing. Two Olympians even informed me how their pony showing careers taught them to cope with the pressure of competing in front of large crowds.

My ace card is when I boast that five winning HOYS show pony riders, three of whom also secured the coveted championship title at Wembley, went on to win Burghley!

The latest BSPS rider who is on a trajectory to follow suit and was presented with a BSPS award last month for outstanding achievement is 10-year-old Anya Dewey Clark. Her earliest showing victories include the 2021 HOYS mini plaited championship and a first ridden win there the following year. Still competing in working hunter pony (WHP) classes, it is her cross-discipline success at the highest level that has been phenomenal. As a prime example, she won both the 143cm WHP title as well as the 128cm showjumping championship at HOYS last season. Be inspired!

Showing buffs, can you name the five show pony riders who went on to win at Burghley? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your views published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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