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5 minute read
Young horses show great promise at Kelsall Hill International
Promising young event horses made their mark in The Howden Way Young horse classes this weekend at Kelsall Hill International.
The six-year-old The Howden Way young horse title was claimed by Nina de Haas on her own Javas London. The gelding by Vittorio out of Lady Clover Kilkenny, finished on his dressage score of 26. The partnership has been together since the start of 2023 when Nina rode ‘Mole’ for Andy Heffernan, but as Nina said, “after I did the Burghley young horse champs for four-year-olds in 2023 with him, I bought him off Andy as the plan for Andy was to sell him on but I liked him so much so didn’t want to see him go.”
Nina went on to praise her horse’s performance at Kelsall Hill, “he is a very talented horse who finds everything quite easy and has a super temperament so I’m really excited for his future. Mole did a really nice test this weekend with still a lot more to come. In the showjumping we had a nice flowing round and he felt really great round the cross-country, making everything feel really easy!”
Nina’s plan is to “get him ready for his first 2* not too far from now and I think he could potentially be a super horse for the six-year-old championships at Lion d’Anger, so lots of exciting things coming!”
Nina also claimed third place on Martin and Kerry Richard’s, The Mail Lady. Hayden Hankey snuck between her two rides on Poynstown Alf to take second place (27.8).
Seven-year-old
In The Howden Way seven-year-old ranks, Bubby Upton and Sancerre de Tiji were victors, finishing on a score of 35.2. The Dutch gelding by Urano de Cartigny out of Java Touch Hero was described by Bubby as “the little pocket rocket of all stables because he's absolutely tiny but definitely doesn't think he's tiny. He just has an abundance of talent and is a little power ball and I think the absolute world of him.”
Bubby was thrilled with his performance at Kelsall Hill, “I was so pleased with him at Kelsall. It was his first ever intermediate and it’s a very tough intermediate at Kelsall Hill and I guess you really kind of know you've got after it. I was really impressed with how he performed but also not surprised. Ever since I got him as a young horse, he’s just improved week by week, month by month. He’s a really exciting horse for the future, a very cheeky little chappie, incredibly sharp but I guess you need that for those top talented horses. He was a little cheeky in his dressage test but the good bits were very good. He felt phenomenal show jumping and cross-country and he felt like a really experienced horse going round there for his first time at the level.”
They aim for the seven-year-old championships at Cornbury and Bubby would love to compete him at Le Lion in the young horse world championships, but her main aim is to continue to develop him for the future.
Runner up went to Tim Cheffings riding Hearsay Lark Rising on a score of 35.7, and in third was Hazel Tower on Helen Tower’s Torpex (52.8).
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