An amateur horse rider from Westbury has qualified for this year’s prestigious Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
Danielle McDowell and her horse, Ceide Finn, earned their place at the event after winning a Search for a Star qualifier at Hartpury University near Gloucester recently.
They will now go on to compete under the bright lights of the HOYS arena at the NEC in Birmingham in early October.
The pair won the Working Horse class under top judges Nicola Taylor and Emma Jackson to secure their HOYS qualification.
Danielle said, “We’ve done plenty of Working Hunter classes, but this is the first time we’ve entered Search for a Star!
“I bought Finn four years ago for myself and my 13-year-old daughter Isabel to share. Her dream is to do Working Hunter Ponies at HOYS.
“Finn really enjoys his showing and knows what he’s doing – we took fourth place last year in the Working Show Horse class at the National Championships.”
SEIB Search for a Star organiser Nicolina MacKenzie said, “What a start to the season. There was such a positive atmosphere at Hartpury and the standard of horses and ponies coming forward was fabulous to see.”
SEIB’s Search for a Star was launched in 1996 and has since provided thousands of opportunities for amateur riders to compete at HOYS.
Each qualifier offers a range of show horses the chance to earn a place at the series championships at Horse of the Year Show and Your Horse Live.
Pictured: Danielle McDowell and Ceide Finn receive their qualification prize
