A thrilling three days of British Breeding events completed at British Showjumping’s National Training Centre
Thursday 01 December 2022
A thrilling three days of British Breeding events were held, at British Showjumping’s National Training Centre (NTC) in Leicestershire, from 28-30 November 2022.
The three days of activities saw a group of young talented showjumpers shine at the British Breeding Baileys Horse Feeds Equine Bridge on the 28-29 Nov, plus a gorgeous group of youngsters and foals, future potential Star Horses for showjumping and eventing, displayed at the British Breeding 2002 FUTURITY ELITE AUCTION.
The Equine Bridge involved a two-day ‘performance test’ style programme for some of the best British Breeding Futurity showjumping graduates. Held at the British Showjumping National Training Centre from the 28 - 29 Nov, the Bridge identifies talented British bred young horses and ponies and supports them on their journey into the sport.
Among the four-year-olds, the stand-out candidate was the horse It’s the Warrior (by Noble Warrior, out of Skydancer III, by It’s the Business). Owned, bred and ridden by Jessica Hayes Hough, It’s the Warrior came forward for Futurity evaluation under saddle in September this year and received a Gold Premium score of 8.45 with a dream mark of 9 for his canter during his performance test.
The highest scoring horse, in the six to seven-year-old category, was Mel Gravell-Barnes’s own bred horse, Kosutta’s Korolevski Tsar (by Mel’s stallion Rasputin out of Beauty by Undercover). He completed numerous Futurity evaluations, consistently scoring in the Gold category each time and was able to match that record at the Equine Bridge with a Gold Premium of 8.31. His highlight score was a 9 for his frame.
Among the five-year-olds, the top scorer was Murchacko Quatro (by Goodyear VDL out of Newmiln Elite). This highly impressive five-year-old gelding was bred by Sandra Kinnear and is owned by Nicola Wood. He came forward for Futurity evaluation this summer and was ridden by David Harland who successfully competes him. His exceptional jumping ability was rewarded with a perfect score of 10.
The top scorers in each age group received a year’s free membership with British Showjumping, a special British Showjumping and British Breeding branded numnah, feed vouchers from Baileys and an electronic voucher from Farm and Stable.
The overall top scoring horse across all ages was Quatro. He received a training bursary of £1000 from British Breeding. The purpose of the bursary is to support the horse’s journey into the sport by paying for training and development.
Each Equine Bridge entry also received a Baileys Horse Feeds voucher and a bucket with prizes generously donated by Farm & Stable.
On Day 1, all the horses were evaluated by leading vet Ed Lyall from Sussex Equine Hospital and a team of professionals (including Master Saddler Helen Reader, Master Farrier Stephen Hill and Baileys Nutritionist Lorna Edgar). The purpose of the veterinary assessment is to support the long-term soundness and longevity of the horses by looking at correctness of limbs, foot balance, and overall management.
Sarah Chantrell of Baileys Horse Feeds said:
“At Baileys, we have been committed supporters of the British Breeding Futurity and Equine Bridge over many years. The correct nutrition of young horses is vital in supporting limb and muscle development, giving our horses what they need to embark on a successful and fulfilled competition career.”
Before the Equine Bridge took place, all the participating horses received a 45-minute training and evaluation session with international Grand Prix rider and long-standing Futurity evaluator Carron Nicol.
The training session forms a key part of the assessment process and it gives the evaluators a highly useful insight into each candidate’s trainability and rideability. During the training session, each horse can be stretched to show its individual potential, and the assessors can see how they respond to different inputs and new challenges.
On the final day of the Bridge, each horse underwent a 30-minute assessment, which was split into a presentation with the own rider and with the British Breeding test rider Leo Lamb.
Equine Bridge Evaluator, Carron Nicol, commented:
“By working with a test rider, we can create a level playing field for all our candidates. This helps us in comparing between the different entries and talking to the test rider also gives us an idea how each horse feels to ride. It is often very interesting to see how the horses respond to having a different rider on their back.”
British Breeding Director Eva-Maria Broomer, stated:
“We would like to thank British Showjumping for their invaluable support of the event and for their generosity towards our breeders, owners and their horses. The Bridge dates were particularly chosen to tie in with our Futurity Elite Auction, which took place at the same venue a day later, on 30 Nov 2022. The auction is an important initiative in connecting breeding with the sport by finding great homes for some of our best British bred foals and young horses.”
British Breeding congratulates all Showjumping Bridge candidates on a highly successful event with excellent results.
On Day 3, after the Equine Bridge finished, the British Breeding 2022 FUTURITY ELITE AUCTION took place. This introduced a world class collection of foals and youngsters for sale, future poential Star Horses for showjumping and eventing, selected from the very best Gold Premium scoring British Breeding Baileys Horse Feeds Futurity candidates.
An exceptional selection of Future Stars featured, with a strong focus on showjumping provence.
For those who couldn’t attend in person, the auction was also live-streamed on clipmyhorse.tv giving people the opportunity to see each auction lot in the arena from the comfort of their own home.
To see the horses featured in the British Breeding 2022 FUTURITY ELITE AUCTION, plus the top bids that each horse received, go to:
https://britishbreeding.weauction.nl/auctions/9ab5ac48-64d6-4da3-dd46-08dab7420420
All Futurity entries went through a rigorous veterinary assessment and evaluation of conformation and movement traits with a team of independent experts of international standing. Only those who achieved a Gold Premium were considered for the auction.
From this Gold Standard pool, candidates were distilled down to those who had the most interesting pedigrees, focusing on proven performance and breeding achievements on the motherline. All auction lots also passed a pre-sale vetting prior to the sale, which was available to bidders. Older auction lots had x-rays available on request.
For further details on British Breeders Equine Bridge and the Futurity Elite Auction visit british-breeding.com
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