38 Horse&Hound1 August 2019
Pictures by Lucy
Merrell,
Margaret Shaw
and
Peter
Nixon
wheretheycertainlyputona
supremedisplay.
Startingoutwitha floatingtrot
acrossthearena,thefollowing
canterserpentine,extensionsand
freewalkwereperfectlyexecuted
bythepair.
IndiakeptclosetoAnn
Brickell,BobEllisandHolly
Smithateverypaceandher
rewardwasninemarks from each
of those judges.
“Alfie hasfourgoodpaces
andfora showponyhecan
reallygallop.WhenI saygoon,
offhegoes,andhewasonsong
alltheway,”saidIndia,who
is inhersecondseasonwith
Alfie andplannedhershowwith
producerKatyCarter.
“Itworkedperfectly,”shesaid.
KatyboughtAlfie unbroken
andherdaughter,Poppy,
firstcompetedtheTurberryTop
Catsix-year-oldbeforeIndia
tookover.
India and Alfi e certainly
SPORTINGoneofthebroadest
smilesoftheweek,IndiaTill
clinchedtheDeLaHeyFamily
supremeponytitleridingher
motherHenrietta’s138cm
reigningshowponyoftheyear,
DrakemyrePuttinOnTheRitz
(Alfie),toclaimthecovetedDick
Saunderstrophy.
Just 24 hoursbefore,Indiaand
Alfie hadopenedtheiraccount
bytakingthepart-bredArab
tricolour,andtheyaddedtheshow
ponychampionshipjustbefore
contesting the supreme ride-off ,
SHOWING
LONGINESROYAL
INTERNATIONAL
Ponies
A 138cmshowponyis unstoppable,theworkinghuntertrackproves
challenging and one rider becomes a Hickstead champion onherdebut
Ritz provides the glitz
ByMARGARETSHAW camehereingoodform,having
recentlytakentheshowponytitles
atMidlandCountiesandGreat
Yorkshire,andtheytopped
thatoffbyclaimingtheNorth
ofEngland£1,000supreme
Arabchampionship.
Alfie wastheonlyponyinthree
showponysectionstobepulled
topandstaythere.
“Thechampionwasa very
mannerlyponywhosatupand
hadthatlook-at-mepresence
rightfromthewordgo,andhe
ticked every box for me,” said
IndiaTillandreigningshow
ponyoftheyearDrakemyre
PuttinOnTheRitz,who
continueshisrunofgood
form, secure pony supreme