‘Good to see showjumping remains to be related’

Ronnie-Lee Jones shares his ideas on Hickstead’s upgrades and has some recommendation for aspiring riders

It was nice to see very giant numbers of horses and riders competing at Hickstead, certainly one of our greatest reveals within the nation. The enhancements they’ve made are excellent and the brand new worldwide barn was faultless.

My accomplice Alex had his prime horse within the CSI4* lessons and though we had some extremely popular days, the worldwide stables have been at the very least 10°C cooler than exterior. The thought that has gone into the format and structure, similar to muck heaps and home windows for horses, was admirable.

The stands have been packed – it was good to see that showjumping remains to be related and attracting folks for a time out. The footfall added to the environment, which is significant for younger horses to expertise.

Even the VIP catering, which we have been fortunate sufficient to take pleasure in from the personal viewing bins, was incredible. Each effort was made.

We had some nice outcomes over the week from prime placings in a 1.45m to British novice and age lessons, so we have been in a position to take each horse within the yard and got here residence feeling well-accomplished.

Shaping up for an thrilling HOYS

I’ve seen an enormous change this 12 months in the usual of horses in our sport and the Horse of the Yr Present (HOYS) qualifiers are positively busier. In earlier years I’ve competed in grade Cs with as few as 12 entries plus newcomers and Foxhunter regionals with a most of 40, however this 12 months numbers have been large.

Sturdy however thoughtful course-building has meant there have been 10-plus within the third spherical and each qualifier we’ve attended has been super-competitive. It’s shaping as much as be a really thrilling HOYS for 2025, showcasing the up-and-coming expertise the UK has to supply.

Rowland Fernyhough’s column challenged the relevance of the present HOYS finals and equity of the qualifying system. He made some legitimate factors.

My emotions are that the system is the system and has been this manner for years – though it wouldn’t damage to have a shake-up of the principles to exclude older horses.

Horses have to be high quality to be aggressive over three rounds and the present format doesn’t detract from that. If something, it highlights the gifted youthful horses which might be nonetheless in a position to rise to the highest of these lessons.

Younger and upcoming riders wanting a profession in our business can aspire to a number of the outcomes our prime riders have achieved on this 12 months’s qualifiers.

Laura Renwick has secured a number of tickets on home-breds whereas Holly Smith has virtually 10 tickets to the assorted HOYS finals.

This type of consistency is one thing the youthful era ought to look as much as, because it solely occurs with large quantities of arduous work, information and expertise.

Thrilling qualifiers with aggressive jump-offs additionally make for excellent watching and are what we have to entice future buyers to our sport.

TV protection is a optimistic step

Protection of the London Longines International Champions Tour (LGCT) in August on ITVX will hopefully elevate the profile of our nice sport, highlighting each the approach to life and top-class sportsmanship. It’s a optimistic step ahead this 12 months and I hope it continues.

● Did you attend this 12 months’s Hickstead Derby Assembly? Tell us about your expertise at hhletters@futurenet.com, together with your identify, nearest city and county, for the possibility to your letter to seem in a forthcoming problem of the journal

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