PIPPA FUNNELL, BOB ELLIS AND JOE STOCKDALE AMONG WINNERS AT THE HORSE & HOUND AWARDS IN PARTNERHIP WITH NAF
Thursday 05 December 2019
Top riders, star equines and a much-loved course-builder were among those honoured in a star-studded ceremony at Cheltenham racecourse last night (Wednesday 4 December), as the winners of the Horse & Hound Awards in partnership with NAF were revealed.
Showjumping course-builder Bob Ellis — who was responsible for the tracks at the 2012 Olympics in London and who has announced his retirement from designing this year — received the Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I’ve known Bob for over 40 years and this award could not go to a nicer, more genuine, honest person,” said Olympic champion Nick Skelton, who was the first recipient of H&H’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, in a video played at the ceremony.
Hickstead showground’s Edward Bunn added: “Bob’s sympathetic to the horses, the riders and the organisers and produces very good entertainment for the crowd.”
Other winners last night included Joe Stockdale (Absorbine Inspiration of the Year), who put his flourishing cricket career on hold to take on his Olympian father’s horses after Tim’s death last year. Badminton winner Piggy French was named Ceris Burns Equestrian Professional Rider of the Year, while Pippa Funnell took the Horserail Moment of the Year for her victory at Burghley, 16 years after her only previous win there.
Pippa said: “It’s been so long since my first victory and it was special to have the chance to win another big one. Hopefully it meant something to people because of my age and the gap between wins. The road is not always straightforward and I hope the achievement will inspire others to keep persevering and following their dreams and goals.”
Winners at the 2019 Horse & Hound Awards in partnership with NAF:
• Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement Award: Bob Ellis
• Ceris Burns Equestrian Professional Rider of the Year: Piggy French
• Horseware Horse of the Year: Vanir Kamira
• Balanced Horse Feeds Pony of the Year: Smurf
• Horserail Moment of the Year: Pippa Funnell’s Burghley victory
• Absorbine Inspiration of the Year: Joe Stockdale
• NAF Five Star Groom of the Year: Amy Phillips
• Pikeur Amateur Rider of the Year: Adam Harvey
• Saracen Young Rider of the Year: Finn Healy
• Prime Stables Volunteer of the Year: Olivia Robertson
• Horse Dialog Club of the Year: Royal Artillery Equestrian Centre Thorney Island
