The SEIB Search for a Star Your Horse Live Championships will take place in the main arena at Your Horse Live at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on the 11th and 12th November 2022.
The SEIB Search for a Star Your Horse Live championship is set to be bigger and more exciting than ever this year with a total of eleven championship finals on the Friday of the show. For the first time ever, a Search for a Star Supreme Championship will be held for all the amateur finals winners on the Saturday of Your Horse Live in the main SEIB Arena. Ten of the Search for a Star Your Horse Live finals are for amateur riders and the Friday championship finale will be the Search for a Star Open Veteran Championship. Arguably, Search for a Star set the precedent for the many amateur and grassroots championships that we see across the equestrian disciplines today. Search for a Star began back in 1996 as a photo competition and has adapted and grown ever since.
The first Your Horse Live Search for a Star championship took place in 2018 for Mountain and Moorlands, and now for 2022 this has grown to include Pony Club, Veteran and In-hand horse and pony championships too. Founder of Search for a Star, SEIB’s Marketing Manager, Nicolina MacKenzie said: “We knew it would take a little time for our Search for a Star Your Horse Live championship to grow. This year we have doubled from five to ten championship classes. We are delighted to welcome The Pony Club to Search for a Star and are looking forward to the first-ever Pony Club Search for Star championships. Our competitors have worked so hard to secure their qualifications, we wish everyone the best of luck at Your Horse Live.”
Following a rigorous qualifying process, over sixty riders from as far a-field as Aberdeenshire and Northern Ireland are through to the Search for a Star Your Horse Live championships. Search for a Star 2022 kicked off with its first qualifying show at Vale View Equestrian Centre back in April and qualifiers followed at Bury Farm, Netherton Equestrian Centre in Perthshire, Laurel View in Northern Ireland (Pony Club only) Stoneleigh Park and Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre. All finalists have either won, or been placed runner-up at one of these qualifying shows. Travelling to Stoneleigh from Northern Ireland is Paige Erwin and her pony Ballyhill Boy for the Search for a Star Pony Club championship. Paige’s mother, Stacey Erwin said: “Its only this year we began giving first ridden classes a go, we saw Search for a Star and off we went! We are so excited to be going to the championship, four of us are coming over – myself, my mum and my two daughters – we’ll head over on the Thursday until the Saturday. We’ve begged and borrowed the gear and will give it a go!”
Search for a Star is unique owing to the support provided to amateur riders and their horses and ponies. Qualifying shows are headed up by senior judge, Mr Richard Ramsay who has a lifetime of experience producing, judging and mentoring showing competitors. Other series judges include Nicola Taylor, Hannah Horton, Samantha DeCaprio and former Search for a Star competitor, Louise Gaunt. All competitors are supported and encouraged by the team of Search for a Star judges and stewards who also give up their time for two Search for a Star ‘Weekender’ events throughout the season – where a training workshop is offered the day before the qualifying show and the Search for a Star training day held in September for all riders that have qualified for a Search for a Star final.
Competitors at the Search for a Star Your Horse Live championships are lucky to go under top producers, Katie Jerram-Hunnable and Chris Hunnable and Matthew Lawrence for their final. As each class is underway, the judges will voice their thoughts over a microphone. This has proved very popular with the audience.
Many riders subsequently become hooked on showing, having first “had a go” in Search for a Star. Many well-known horses also started out in this competition, where their talent was first recognised.
Your Horse Live Event Director, Emma Bedford said: “We are thrilled to welcome and host more SEIB Search for a Star championship classes than ever before. The Search for a Star schedule is packed and will run back-to-back all morning on the opening Friday of the show with for the first time ever, the Search for a Star supreme championship to follow in the SEIB Arena at prime time on the Saturday lunchtime!”
The SEIB Search for a Star Your Horse Live Championship 2022 will begin at 8.20am in the main SEIB Arena with the in-hand finals. This final includes in-hand plaited horse and hogged show cob. In-hand plaited pony, in-hand native and traditional, in-hand veteran and in-hand mountain and moorland. At 9.40 the first of the new Search for a Star Pony Club finals gets underway with first-ridden and lead rein. At 10.25, the Pony Club Open final will take place, going on at 10.50 to the Search for a Star ridden part-bred traditional final. The biggest championship class of the day follows with the Search for a Star-ridden mountain and moorland final at 11.15am and the action-packed morning will have its finale at midday with the SEIB Search for a Star open veteran championship.
Each winner of the ten Search for a Star amateur sections on the Friday will be invited forward to the Search for a Star Your Horse Live Supreme Championship at 1pm on Saturday in the main SEIB Arena at Your Horse Live.
Leading equine Insurance brokers, SEIB Insurance Brokers, who provide cover for horses, horse boxes, yards and much more, set up Search for a Star nearly 30 years ago. 2022 SEIB Search for a Star Championship offers a unique competition opportunity to many of their amateur rider customers. SEIB has a long association with the showing world and is renowned for ‘putting something back’ by supporting many equestrian events and activities in addition to Search for a Star.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.