Horse of the Year Show Qualifying Story 💜
“From a Scrawny Little Pony to HOYS… 🤍
“A year before Albert came into my life, I lost my heart horse. After losing him, horses just weren’t the same. I still loved them, but something was missing. I never thought I would feel that same excitement, connection or passion again.
“Then, in March, I met Albert. He was skinny, hairy and far from the pony he is today. But the second I saw him, I saw something underneath it all. I saw potential.
“So I brought him home and decided I was going to do everything myself. I spent months getting him healthy, building his strength, earning his trust and giving him the time he needed. The early morning, the every day training.
“Then I backed him myself. Our first show was at the end of April, and he was incredible. Another show followed, where he was exceptional again, then came the gallops, the training and everything that led us towards our biggest dream.
“Equifest. Our HOYS qualifier. Search for a star traditional gypsy cob. If someone had told me in March that just five months after backing this little cob, I would be standing there with a HOYS-qualified pony, I genuinely would never have believed them.
“Because HOYS isn’t just another show to me. It has been a dream for as long as I can remember. The kind of dream you almost don’t dare say out loud because it feels so far away. To actually know that I’m going to walk through those gates, onto that stage, with a pony I backed myself… I honestly cannot put into words what that means to me.
“I never imagined my HOYS dream would happen this way. I never imagined it would be with a skinny, hairy cob that I found in March. But somehow, he was the one.
“I didn’t buy the finished pony. I believed in him, put the work in, and built something together.”
Lillie Stokes riding Nicola Stokes’ Albert qualifieed for the SEIB Search for a Star Traditional Cob of the Year at Equifest