2024
Anya’s 2024 season has already started off on the right foot. By the end of February Anya had qualified 3 ponies for the Winter 128 Finals at the Agria Royal International Horse Show, winning the class at both the Onley Grounds and Arena UK Small Pony Premiers as well as taking Leading 128 Rider of the Weekend at the Aintree Small Pony Premier. She also picked up wins in the Under 10 Style and Performance at both Onley and Aintree.
After her successful run in the Winter Pony Premiers Anya then secured an impressive win and 3rd place in the 128cm Grand Prix at Pony of the Year Show Youth Festival, as well as more qualifications achieved for the Agria Royal International with wins in the 133 Working Hunter Pony Class and the 133 Working Hunter Pony Nursery Stakes Class at the UK Ponies & Horses Spring Classic. Further qualifications followed for the BSPS TopSpec Gold Cup Sports Pony Final at Burghley Horse Trials from her 2nd place at the Winter Championships and for novice pony Kitty in the STX-UK Pony British Novice Finals at the National Championships from their solid performance at the Golden Valley second round.
She continued to go from strength to strength bringing her Royal International qualifications to an astounding 8 as she took the win and Champion in the First Ridden section and a win and Reserve Champion in the 123cm Show Hunter Pony stakes at the Cheshire Premier Spring Show, and qualified novice pony Rhydypandy Tom Jones in the 133cm M&M Working Hunter Pony section at the Camden Equestrian Spring Show.
Then followed the British Showjumping Winter Pony Championships at Southview where Anya & Kilcreene Snapdragon stormed the jump off by 4 seconds to take the 128cm Spring Champion title as well as 3rd place with Jim. She placed in every class she entered in this competition with a 1st Place in the Handicap, 2nd and 4th place in the Handicap Special and 3rd place in the 11 & Under Finals.
2023
Into 2023 Anya’s hard work continued to pay off and she was thrilled to qualify for the 128cm Championships at the Royal International Horse Show; a first for Anya and pony Mini Mouse and a huge achievement. Sadly Mini was unwell and wasn’t able to compete in the final but a it was a huge accomplishment nonetheless. At the same show Anya placed 3rd & 4th respectively in the 122cm Show Hunter Pony Class and the Nursery Stakes Working Hunter Class. This was followed later in the year by 4th & 7th placings at HOYS in the 133cm Working Hunter Pony and 122cm Show Hunter Pony classes, and most impressively the following week Anya qualified for the London International Horse Show in the 128cm Championship and the Mini Major.
2022
2022 culminated in Anya’s biggest showjumping success to date – taking a one-two, plus 7th place in the Springboard Winter Final, and becoming the youngest competitor to ever hold the title as well as the only rider to qualify three ponies. At the same show she also secured a further runner up position in the U10 Style & Performance class and at the Great Yorkshire Show, despite having qualified two ponies the rules would only allow one and she secured 2nd in the Mini Major, again proving her dedication and work ethic by achieving success in multiple classes on multiple ponies. This hard work was recognised in 2022 as Anya featured in Horse & Hound who described her as a ‘superstar’ and she was also awarded the NAF Shining Star award through British Showjumping’s Nottinghamshire Junior Academy. What a year!
The Start
Anya began riding at 3 years old and, after demonstrating a natural talent on horseback, she then began her competitive career in the show ring. At just 4 years old she competed in her first Horse of the Year show, placing an impressive 4th.
Fast forward 3 years to 2021, in her first event since lockdowns began in 2020, Anya won Horse of the Year Show; was Champion in the Lead Rein Show Pony class and, at only 6 years old and the youngest competitor in the class, placed 6th in the First Ridden.
As eventing began to pick up pace after a difficult couple of years 2022 became the turning point in Anya’s journey. She won the First Ridden class at both the Royal International Horse Show and Horse of the Year show as well as placing 4th and 5th respectively in the 133cm Working Hunter Pony Class and the Lead Rein class.
The Future
Heading into 2024 Anya’s team of ponies has grown and she is looking forward to learning and growing her skills as she continues to qualify and compete in the big shows. She dreams one day of joining Team GB’s equestrian team and is dedicated to putting the hard work in to get her there. Her vlog was started to keep all her memories of her showjumping journey in one place and has turned into a wonderful documentation of her progress which we continue to add to along the way so that she can see how far she has come and how much fun she had doing it.
