Five days of competition reached a thrilling conclusion with the top four teams from the week contesting a final set of fast and furious races in the Thistledown Development Pony Club Mounted Games Prince Philip Cup to decide who would be victorious. 150 teams start out to try and qualify each year for this prestigious championship with only six getting to HOYS, so just to be here competing is a huge achievement.
Defending Champions, the West Hampshire, rode their hearts out to claim victory for the third time running, having won in 2018, 2019 and now in 2021.
The year out in 2020 did mean four new team members coming on board since their last win at HOYS, including two younger members. Making up the winning team were: Megan Pink, Katie Upshall, Bella O’Hara, Henry Chick, Layla Conrath and Phoebe Chick.
Trainer Jo Morris is retiring from coaching the team this year, so she described this as “the best present” she could have been given and said the team’s performance out there tonight was just “phenomenol”.
The team won by a big margin in 2019 and this year they kept pulling away from the other contenders throughout the evening to finish five points ahead of joint runners-up the North Warwickshire and the Monmouthshire, the latter of whom had lead for much of the week and won the Pony Club Cup on Thursday afternoon.
The Eglington Hunt also rode in the final tonight to finish fourth, while Blackburn & District finished fifth and Poole & District in sixth.
ENDS
For more information on Horse of the Year Show 2019, please contact Horse of the Year Show Press Office, Grandstand Media Ltd. Tel: 02476 858205. Email: press@hoys.co.uk
