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4 minute read
Young talent shines in The Howden Way Young Horse classes at Barbury
The Howden Way Young Horse classes kicked off with a bang over the weekend with two titles on offer at Barbury Horse Trials (21-23 March). These encouraging age classes give riders a platform in which to showcase their talented six- and seven-year-old event horses.
Max Warburton and Nicky Salmon’s Irish gelding Earl Dorado (Diarado x The Kings Lady) picked up top honours in The Howden Way six-year-old class, finishing on their dressage score of 27.8. The pair enjoyed a brilliant season last year, culminating in winning the five-year-old class at Cornbury House International & Young Horse Championships.
Max also took the runner-up spot on Karla Wheatcroft’s Monbeg Condor (Condios x Little Diamond) who also finished on their dressage score of 30.3.
Max said: “I’m thrilled to have these two very nice six-year-olds in the class that is kindly supported by The Howden Way. The whole idea of the young horse classes is brilliant as it allows us to highlight the nice six-year-olds that we’ve got. The course was super and rode really well. Earl Dorado will do a two-star short at Kelsall Hill next and then aim for Cornbury and hopefully Le Lion.”
Owner Nicky said of the winning horse: “We have owned him since a four-year-old after Max found him in Ireland and said I needed to buy him – he’s been a very good boy.”
Lucy Robinson took third place riding Theodore Mail (Jaguar Mail x Belinda) owned by Andrew and Heather Headley. They finished on their dressage score of 31.3. Theodore Mail is a 2025 cohort member of The Howden Way Young Horse Academy.
In the seven-year-old ranks, Jemima Stratton and Jennifer Stratton’s Warrenstown V De Muse were victors, finishing on a score of 44.8. The Irish-bred gelding by I’m Special De Muse out of Deelside Delux, finished 10th at Cornbury last season and was fourth in the CCI-S2* at Wellington International.
Jemima said: “We are so proud of Crunchie (Warrenstown V De Muse), this was his first intermediate and he came out feeling so grown up and rideable in all three phases so I'm very pleased with how he's progressed from his six-year-old year.
“We bought him as a very green five-year-old from Laurence Hunt and have produced him very slowly and carefully, but he has been an absolute dream and has an incredibly trainable brain. We had a great six-year-old season finishing 10th at Cornbury six-year-old championships and were on the reserve list for Le Lion. I'm hoping to build on this and get him there this year if all goes to plan. We are planning a trip to Millstreet later in the spring for his 2* long qualification and then he will step up to 3* in the summer.”
Runner up went to Tim Cheffings riding Hearsay Lark Rising on a score of 46.3, and in third was Ellie Fredericks and Upper Class Brit on 47.6.
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 by Topshots Photography.