Young stars shine at Hartpury

Harry Horgan and Sirius, BYEH 4yo winner

Day one of the NAF Five Star Hartpury International Horse Trials showcased the stars of the future in the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier.

A cool breeze and light cloud cover on an otherwise blue sky was the perfect climate for riders to showcase the eventing stars of the future. 

Harry Horgan and Sara Brown’s Sirius were clear winners of the four-year-old class, winning by a 10-point margin from runners up Ginnie Turnbull and Geoffrey Burton’s A Bootlegger Black who scored 78, followed by third-placed Emily Young Jamieson and Sarah Cowley’s Joanna N.O who scored 77. All three have now qualified for the final, which takes place at Burghley Horse Trials in September.

Harry and Sirius (Scuderia x Contendro I) pulled off a mature and flowing dressage test for 28 points (out of 30) followed by a foot-perfect clear round for 35 points (out of 40) in the showjumping. He then scored 11 out of 12 for his conformation and 7 out of 8 for his type, finishing on a total score of 88. 

Harry also had another ride in the top 10 — his and Mr and Mrs Lawrence’s Noble Knight who finished fourth with a score of 75. 

“Both horses are from Brightwells auction,” said Harry. “Noble Knight was a surprise as this was his first outing. Sirius has already qualified for the BYEH finals, but we wanted to bring him here to experience the atmosphere and develop his education. I’m delighted with them. They’ve been with us since three-year-olds so to come out and perform well makes it all worthwhile. I love producing the four and five-year-olds.”

The five-year-old qualifier got underway in the afternoon and was won by last-to-go Austin O’Connor and the beautiful chestnut stallion Silver Don, owned by Tina Figenschall. A fluent dressage test earned them 27, while their clear showjumping round scored 37. For his conformation, Silver Don earned 11 and 8 for his type, finishing on a total score of 92, a whole 9 points clear of second-placed Bernie Wharfe and Stonehavens Penhills Cobra (83 points). Third place was awarded to Kitty King and Hazelbergs Faraono who scored 81. 

“We broke him as a four-year-old and did these young horses classes last year and then gave him plenty of time to mature,” said Austin of the Silvio I x Donna Rosa stallion. “He’s done one BE90 event and the five-year-old BYEH class at Gatcombe last week, so this was only his third outing this year. He’s unbelievably well behaved and has so much ability. He’s a very exciting prospect for the future as both a stallion and event horse.”

The NAF Five Star International Hartpury Horse Trials runs from 8th to 12th August, offering world-class eventing up close and personal with the stars of the eventing world. 

Admission on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th is free of charge. Saturday 11th entry is £10 and Sunday 12th tickets are £5 per person with free entry for under 16s. Parking is free across the whole event.

To stay up to date with the latest news and results, visit www.hartpuryhorsetrials.co.uk  or Facebook @hartpuryhorsetrials