Horse & Hound – 22 August 2019

6 Horse& Hound22 August 2019

Picture

by

Peter

Nixon

NEWSInsider

ADEBATEonwhetheradults

shouldbeallowedtowarm-up

smallponies,particularlyfor

lead-reinandfirst-riddenclasses,

continuestodivideshowing.

WritinginherH&Hcolumn

(8August),producerJulie

Templetonsaidshesupported

addressingthe“adultsonponies

weightissue”,butobjectedto

adultsbeingaskedtodismount

whentheywereofanappropriate

weightjustbecausetheywere“too

oldforthepony’srespectiveclass”.

RoyalWindsorHorseShow

(RWHS)thisyearpioneereda rule

thatonlychildrenunder 16 could

ride-inponies122cmorsmaller.

RWHSchiefshowingsteward

NigelHollingssaidheandchief

stewardSebGarnerhadput

forwardthemeasureinresponse

toseeing“littleponiesworkedin

fora longtime”,which“wasn’t

niceforthepublictowitness”.

“Wedidn’twanttobegoingup

toyoungpeoplesayingtheywere

tooheavytoride,”Nigelsaid.

“Wefeltthefairestwaywas

tosayanybodyovertheageof

16 shouldn’tbeworkinginthese

littleponiesandthat12hhwasthe

correctheighttoenforceit.”

Nigelarguedthatponies

aresupposedtobejudgedon

suitabilityforpurposeand

questioned“whatwearesaying

if thejudgehastopickthebest

ponyworkedinbyanadult,not

theponywhois bestgoingtolook

aftera childgoingsolo,or into the

ring for the first time”.

Producersaresplitoverwhetherit’sacceptableforsmall

adults to warm-up lead-rein and first-ridden ponies

“Howwilla childlearnand

growasa riderif it’splonkedona

ponythat’shalfdead[frombeing

heavilyworkedin]?”hesaid.

Ontheothersideofthe

debate,Juliesaidthatshowing

was“intrinsicallya beauty

competition”determined“by

whethera judgethinksa quality

ponyis betterthansomething

plainerandmorefitforpurpose”.

“Trueshowponieshave

beenbredinthiscountryfor

generationsfromthebest

bloodlines, often with quality

thoroughbredinfluence,andare

renownedworldwideforbeing

athleticandcharismatic,”shesaid.

“Theskillofgettingthisquality

animaltoperformfora young

childandwinintheshowring

is anart,andit willbea sadday

if ourshowringsarefilledwith

20-year-old,safe,plainponies.”

Shearguedthatanadult

“establishingcorrectwayofgoing

intheseponies”would“teachthe

childrentohavea goodfeel”.

ForproducerSharnLinney,

whohasa rangeofclients

competing in lead-rein and first-

riddenclasses,it is simplymore

practicaltohaveanadultwork-in

incertainsituations.

“Wehavea ladyrideforuswho

is 38yearsoldbut6½stone—we

oftentakehertoshowslikeHOYS

andRWHSbecausewehavea lot

ofyoungandnewponies.

“Whilewedoourbestto

preparetheponiesathome,there

is a lotofatmosphereforthemto

takein,”shesaid.

Sheaddedthatwhilethey

wouldnotcompeteananimalthey

feltcouldn’tcope,attimesworkis

neededto“taketheedge”offthem.

“Ifagerulesaregoingtobe

put in place then you need ample

lungeingareas,asoftenyou’re

tryingtolungeina lorryparkwith

vehiclesflyingabout,”shesaid.

BritishShowPonySociety

chairmanPatPattinsontoldH&H

thesocietywas“mindful”ofthe

issueofadultridersonponies.

“Itneedstobeaddressed

properlyandinconjunctionwith

theShowingCouncilandAnimal

HealthTrust;weareconducting

researchintothistopic,”shesaid.

“Meanwhile,weremindour

memberstoactresponsiblywith

regardtotheappropriateweight

ratio for the height of the pony.”

BySARAHRADFORD

Debate over show ring

warm-up rages on

IN BRIEF

TEAMGBRSCORES

ENDURANCEFINISH

GREATBRITAIN’Ssenior

enduranceteamfinished

fifthof 11 countriesinthe

FEIEuropeanEndurance

ChampionshipsatEuston

Park,Suffolkon 17 August.

ThiswasBritain’sfirst

successfulteamfinishsince

2010.Spaintookgold,France

silverandGermanybronze.

RachaelAtkinson(23rd;

TannasgPsychesRealm)and

AnnetteMasterson(24th;

Shoshana)werethefirst

Britishridershome.Rachael’s

daughterKate(DNS

Ronaldo)was26th,while

SarahRogerson(Warrens

HillRubyn)alsocompleted

the160kmdistance.Nicola

Thorne(LMBolena)was

eliminatedatvetgatethree.

Chefd’equipeLizFinney

said:“Thiswasa fantastic

teameffortwithridersand

crewsworkingtogether.”

●FullreportH&H 29 August

NOMINATEFOR

BURGHLEYHONOUR

TWOtopeventerswillbe

welcomedintotheBurghley

HorseTrialshalloffame

bytheEventingRiders

Association(ERA)atthis

year’sevent(4-9September).

Currentmembersinclude

SirMarkTodd,Andrew

Nicholson,PippaFunnell,

AveburyandLenamore.

Nomineescanbeput

forwardbythepublicand

musthaveproduceda stand-

outperformanceatthehorse

trialsinpreviousyears.

TheERAcommitteeand

currenthalloffamemembers

willchosethewinners,

whowillbenamedon 4

September.Nominations

closeonFriday 23 August.

●Visit:horseandhound.

co.uk/burghleyhalloffame

MEDALSFORUK

ICELANDICRIDERS

BRITISHridersclaimedfour

silvermedalsattheWorld

ChampionshipsforIcelandic

HorsesinBerlin,Germany,on

4-11August.CharlotteCook

rodeSælaFráÞóreyjarnúpi

intosecondinboththeP

(pacerace)andP2(speed-

pass)classes,whileAidan

Carson,20,pilotedBritish-

bredÓðinnFromInchreeinto

silvermedalpositionsinthe

equivalentclassesfor16-to

21-year-old competitors.

Debate centres on whether adults riding-in small ponies affects the types shown, or encourages quality

‘Itwillbea saddayif ourrings

are filled withsafe,plain ponies’

JULIE TEMPLETON