Success for Oakley Hunt West at HOYS Pony Club Mounted Games
A firm favourite at Horse of the Year Show, the Virbac 3D Worming Pony Club Mounted Games highlights the sheer athleticism and team work displayed by these young riders and their ponies. This is the seventh consecutive year that Virbac 3D Worming have sponsored the event, a competition which is extremely hard to qualify for, with 250 teams competing for one of six elusive spots.
This year’s qualifying teams include Oakley Hunt West, Romney Marsh, Banwen & District, West Hants, Eglinton Hunt and in their Horse of the Year Show debut, North Hereford.
After narrowly missing out on the title to the team from East Kent Hunt in last year’s Virbac 3D Worming Pony Club Mounted Games Cup Final, the team from Oakley Hunt West came out fighting for the title this year. In their 25th appearance at Horse of the Year Show, Oakley, trained by Steve Garrett, dominated the competition early on. The team consisting of Charlie Yates (14), Sophie Grimshaw (14), Jamie Medcalf (14), Jaimsye Bailey (14), Charlotte Sabatier (14) and Luke Grimshaw (12) showed that the experience from last year’s show only served to strengthen their performance.
Coming into the third and final round of the Virbac 3D Worming Pony Club Mounted Games Cup, Oakley Hunt West had a crucial three point lead against their nearest competitors, Romney Marsh. They put on a commanding display to increase their lead, finishing on a total of 37 with Eglinton moving up to second (27 points), and Romney Marsh finishing third (26 points).
The teams had spectators in the Andrews Bowen International Arena on the edge of their seats as they completed the stack, tyre, balloon race and not forgetting the ever humorous worm competition.
Rosie Naylor from Virbac 3D Worming commented: “I was very impressed by the skill and team work displayed by all the riders. The worm race was a definite favourite. Virbac are delighted to continue our support of the Pony Club Mounted Games for the seventh year; the Pony Club is a fantastic organisation that shapes the next generation of equestrians and we are proud to work with them closely.”
Steve Garrett trainer of Oakley Hunt West commented: “We are delighted with our team’s performance here today and to win the Virbac 3D Worming Pony Club Mounted Games Cup is great. The majority of our team were competing here last year and are still eligible to compete in this event next year.”
Tonight the scores will be reset as the first round of the Prince Philip Cup gets underway. With two performances per day, they are a true HOYs favourite.
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.