Now in its second year, the two-day showing event at the Scone Palace International Horse Trials last month lived up to all expectations, culminating in Friday’s Supreme Championship, presided over by guest judge and famous event rider Oliver Townend MBE.
It came as no surprise, and was a popular decision, when he selected Birchill Silver Star, ridden by Nikkita Guy from Cumbria, to stand Supreme. From the minute he stepped into the Mountain and Moorland Working Hunter Pony arena for the NPS Scotland/Kingfisher Building Products Finals, Silver impressed with an exemplary clear round of jumping and looked every inch a champion from start to finish.
It was no wonder that Townend described him as an ‘athlete’, and the fact that he said he wouldn’t mind riding the gelding himself was praise enough from this gold medallist at European and Olympic level.
It proved to be a brilliant start for Irish breeders, who later in the week claimed five of the six CCI events, culminating in Piggy March’s win in the CCI4 with Cooley Anything You Like. Her mount was bred in Galway, just like Birchill Silver Star, who is a pure-bred Connemara bred by Cyril and Maeve Carty. Their Birchill Stables specialise in performance horses and ponies for all disciplines.
When advertising him in 2021 as a three-year-old, they described this son of the legendary jumping sire Silver Shadow as ‘a bit special’, and that he has proved to be. Unbeaten in 12 outings in 2025, Silver has already notched up many championships this season, including, arguably, the hardest of them all, the Royal Highland in June. There they qualified for HOYS, so all eyes will be on the gelding when he competes in the Birmingham arena.
With entries for the Scone Palace Horse Trials/NPS Scotland Finals standing at a remarkable 430 on the second day of the event, competition proved fierce, with huge numbers forward in some classes.
The largest, for the youngest riders, had to be split to accommodate them in the large Lynedoch Arena situated in front of Scone Palace. There were few missing from the entry of 38 in the lead rein class, where the grey Welsh Mountain pony Nantfforchog Blue Rococco, ridden by Ada Stephenson, headed a very competitive class.
The pair had to settle for reserve in the championship, which was headed by Ianna Grant with her seasoned first-ridden winner, Ceulan Steph, a bay Welsh Mountain gelding who carried her to HOYS last year.
All the way from Fortrose in the far north, they were among many who had made the long trip south to compete at the event following qualification at shows around Scotland; many consider Scone to be their end-of-season ‘HOYS’.
One exhibitor only too familiar with long distances travelled is David Shand, whose Achilty Stud near Strathpeffer has taken many championships in the south during the season, including a ticket for the Price In Hand Final at HOYS gained at Flint & Denbigh.
Despite suffering a defeat in this event’s Pony In-Hand Finals, when the judge’s preference lay with Claire Chisman’s Tylo Maud MacIntosh, it was Achilty Defender that caught Oliver Townend’s eye in the Supreme, where he stood runner-up. A fully registered Trakehner, like the rest of the Achilty horses, this one is bound for a future under saddle.
The stud enjoyed a double when their dark bay middleweight hunter, Achilty Top Gun, took the championship in the hunter section, ridden and produced by Richard Telford. He demonstrated his promise on his debut performance at Blair Horse Trials three years ago, when he also stood champion.
His judge that day, Michelle Underwood, saw his potential as an event horse, a career he may well take up in the future if his reserve championship in the Working Hunter section here is anything to go by. In the meantime, he heads to HOYS.
The working hunters once more were dominated by Amy Ogilvie from her family’s Champfleurie Stables in West Lothian. Owned jointly with her mother Lisa, her big, impressive grey Warmblood gelding, Ashton Noah, has matured since his novice win at Scone last year, which also led to championship victory.
More News
-
Collessie Caroline crowned supreme champion at Aberdeen Clydesdale show
-
Mike and Jacqueline's mare Gersa Lady Lauren rides to success at Scone
-
Sunside Kist leaves her mark at Lochaber Show taking home supreme champion
A year on, he took two classes, including the Perth Equine Vets/BHS Scotland Working Hunter Final, before impressing later to stand champion. With two seconds recorded in HOYS qualifiers this season, he has just missed out on returning to the NEC Arena this year. Keeping it in the family, Noah’s half-brother, Ashton Orbit, led a small field in the open class.
Regularly competing in British Showjumping competitions, both horses were bred in Fife by the Turnbull family, who successfully specialise in breeding performance horses.
On the first day there were good classes of both Retrained Racehorses and Coloureds. Caitlin Fletcher’s Bollingerandkrug and Lauren Meek’s So They Say headed their classes in the former, while Caithness-based Nicola Manson, with her Mr Fox II, headed the championship in the latter. While the horse sections enjoyed good ringside support in the Lynedoch Arena, the Murray Arena attracted large, enthusiastic crowds all day for the Scottish native breeds, Highland ponies in hand and under saddle, as well as a huge class of Clydesdales under saddle (reported previously).
Coming before Andrew Baird, whose family’s Whitefield Stud is world-renowned, there was a strong challenge among Highland Pony exhibitors. Staying true to his own breed type, it came as no surprise that his champion had bone and substance to spare, while remaining true in pony type.
Having led an impressive class of yeld mares that filled the arena, his champion was the little-shown Brodie of Foreglen, owned by Gordon and Ann Towns and produced and shown by an overjoyed Brian McMahon.
As we have come to expect, ridden Highland Pony exhibitors were out in force for a wide range of classes, which began the afternoon session with the prestigious HOYS qualifier. Qualifying with top marks was Chris Grant from Northumberland with his well-known, much-garlanded 10-year-old stallion Dunedin Iolare, a former champion at the Breed Show, Blair and the Royal Highland. Iolare’s luck held up the following day when he claimed the NPS Scotland/Nipna Stud M&M Ridden Silver Medal Championship Final.
Runner-up to him in the HOYS qualifier, and also claiming a qualifying ticket, was Dunedin Mascot, owned and ridden by Katie Common from Inverness. Another Highlander of repute, this will be his remarkable seventh trip to HOYS.
Looking better than ever this year, it is little wonder that he impressed the judges to stand Overall Ridden Highland Pony Champion ahead of the novice winner, Trailtrow Teviot, ridden by Fiona Menzies. Interestingly, it was another from the same stud, Trailtrow Tianavaig, ridden by Sophie Trotter, who stood reserve in the NPS Scotland/Maggie May M&M Junior Ridden Finals, which were headed by Valerie Renwick’s Welsh Section A, Maxwelltown McGuigan, ridden by Jenny Jardine.
Staying with the ridden natives, the NPS Scotland/Kilmannan Stud M&M Novice Ridden Championship went to the furthest travelled, Townend Gideon, a 10-year-old Fell pony ridden and produced by Keiva Robertson from Shetland. They did well to head off stiff opposition, including Kirsty Aird riding Cheryl Mackintosh’s Welsh Section C stallion, Corstan Royal Addition, who took the reserve ticket.
Within the well-supported NPS Scotland/Townhead Pet n Pony M&M In-Hand Championship, Fells and Highlands were again in the reckoning when, for a second year running, the Smith family’s grey Fell mare, Bracklinn Beth, came to the fore with a very attractive colt foal at foot.
She fairly catches the eye with her active movement, as did the reserve, Alan and Carolyn Munro’s home-bred Highland three-year-old colt Loandu Lachlan, who was also Youngstock Champion, ahead of the Welsh Section B filly Waxwing Money’s Worth for Aimee Ray. Both youngsters have been prominent winners around the Scottish show circuit this season.
Finally, Chris Grant and Iolare didn’t have it all their own way at a show which appeared to be their own. Kirsty Aird pulled out all the stops to prevent a hat-trick of championships for the pair when she rode Greenholm Emblem to victory in the NPS Scotland/Harbro M&M Open Ridden Championship.
Stewart Rae’s 16-year-old Fell stallion has been rejuvenated this season, beginning with an early showing at Ayr Show in May, where he was judged champion. That was his first appearance in the ring since securing the M&M Working Hunter Championship at HOYS in 2018.
Share