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3 minute read
Rising stars excel at Tweseldown in The Howden Way Young Horse Classes
Promising young event horses showcased their potential in style during The Howden Way Young Horse classes at Tweseldown this weekend.
Seven-year-old
Izzy Taylor’s Barrington Boy continued his impressive 2025 season with a commanding win in the seven-year-old The Howden Way Young Horse class.
The talented gelding owned by Johnny Hornby, posted a polished dressage score of 27.1, adding just 1.2 cross-country time penalties to finish on a winning total of 28.3 — securing another victory in what is shaping up to be a standout year.
By Sligo Candy Boy out of a Watermill Swatch mare, last year’s six-year-old champion at the Cornbury House Horse Trials Young Horse Championships, Barrington Boy, is no stranger to the top of the leader board. He’s now won four of his six starts this season, including strong performances in international company: second in the CCI2*-L at Ballindenisk and sixth in his CCI3*-S debut at Thoresby.
“Barrington Boy is a hugely exciting horse with a brilliant record — one that has been in the Barrington Sport Horses team since a foal, so a great testament to them,” said Izzy, who has guided the striking seven-year-old up the levels with trademark precision.
Edie Campbell and NPS Luke were runners-up with a score of 62.2, while Francois Heyns and LS Top Boy were third with 67.4.
Six-year-old
Hector Payne and the talented Bueno claimed top honours in the six-year-old The Howden Way Young Horse class marking their third victory of the 2025 season.
The eye-catching gelding, by Dantes Junior out of Florina and owned by Caroline Primrose, has shown impressive consistency throughout the year. Alongside this latest win, Bueno has also notched up two BE100 victories and finished seventh in the competitive six-year-old class at Cirencester recently.
Hector commented: “It’s Bueno’s third win of the season, which is really exciting. He’s showing so much promise, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year holds for him.”
In second was Paolo Belvederesi who finished on 35.7, while Torie Sleep and Oxford were third on 38.9.
The series, supported by The Howden Way, is an ideal opportunity for riders to expose their up-and-coming eventers to the atmosphere of bigger venues, while competing against other horses of the same age. The classes offer recognition for the highest performing horses in these classes.
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, and the 7-year-old classes running at intermediate level. 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.
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 2025 Young Horse Championships take place at Cornbury House Horse Trials in Oxfordshire between 11-14 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. Horses identified at the Cornbury House Young Horse Championships are invited to The Howden Way Development Days, and if selected, invited to join The Howden Way Young Horse Academy for the following year.
More details of which can be found here: www.thehowdenway.com/yha
Images courtesy of Spidge Photography.
Thank you to Young Horse Academy partners Dodson & Horrell, Enduro Equine and Unibed Bedding for their support.