The Catplant Group of Companies Ltd hunter championship at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) is one of the most coveted titles in showing. So Will Morton was speechless when he and Amanda French’s lightly shown Shanaghan Velvet ran through their card to stand lightweight hunter of the year, then 2025 HOYS hunter champion.
“This is unreal,” said Will. “He’s only a novice in his first season. He’s done a handful of classes.”
The six-year-old by OBOS Quality out of Shanagan Charlotte had been jumping with Will while he matured. But Will — who is now based on fellow producer Justine Armstrong-Small’s yard – entered flat ranks with Justine’s encouragement.
“We bought him as a potential worker,” said Will. “Amanda had seen him on Horsequest and I’d seen him there too. She said it was too far to drive, but I said ‘No, we’re going,’ and drove to Nottingham to see him. I rang her on the way home and we discussed it and bought him. Justine saw him in the stable at my old yard, and said ‘He will be a top lightweight,’. I always thought he was a nice horse, and he might make a cracking worker, but I tried some weights and here we are.”
The pair gained an early Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) ticket before standing champion at Herts County to book his place at HOYS. This is Amanda’s first taste of exhibiting at HOYS.
“I’d had a previous horse with Will, who, unfortunately is no longer here, but he’s my first real show horse,” said Amanda. “It’s quite unbelievable.”
Will went on to explain that that they’ll go back to showjumping over the winter, and we may see the pair enter both the workers and flat classes next year.
Reserve 2025 hunter champion
In reserve were the winners of the heavyweights: Robert Walker and Jill Day’s IJ Countryman an Irish bred Lionswood Kinsales Lad six-year-old.
“I spotted him in the collecting ring at Dublin as a four-year-old,” said Robert. “He was a raw frame – he won the four-year-old heavyweight class the next day – but he was immature. I bought him there and then.”
Robert and his wife Sarah Walker went head to head in the overall hunter weights championship, after Sarah won the middleweight class with Jill Day’s former HOYS reserve overall champion, Crystal Cove II (Fish).
In the lightweights, Hannah Horton took second place with Lucinda Freedman and Isobel Cliford-Kingsmill’s 2024 winner, Tigbourne, and it was a case of seconditis for Katie Jerram-Hunnable in the middles and heavies. She finished runner-up in the former with Ruth Flack’s Langaller Starring Role six-year-old Starring Louis, and Ingrid Shervington’s Irish Draught Goosey Gander in the latter.
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