24 July, 2021 21:55 After being brought out of retirement, Lauren Moore-Williams coloured pony Longdon Blackjack now heads to Royal International to contest veteran in-hand final
LAUREN MOORE WILLIAMS’ coloured gelding Longdon Blackjack is making a return to the Royal International Horse Show for the first time since he won the coloured class there in 2017, but this time as an in-hand pony in the Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) classes.
The 15-year-old was last at Hickstead in 2017 when he won the coloured pony final.
“He was then semi-retired from the showring, which he didn’t enjoy, so we decided to bring him back and with him being a veteran this year, we thought we’d give the veterans a bash,” said Lauren. “We took him Royal Bath & West and he took the in-hand and ridden qualifiers and went champion in both classes, so it didn’t take him long to qualify.”
The following dates and the winners who will qualify for the final have been confirmed.
SSADL qualifiers 2021
Wiltshire Show (28 March) 1 x in-hand champion and 1 x ridden champion
NPS Area 15 (2 April) 1 x in-hand champion, 1 x reserve in-hand champion, 1 x ridden pony and 1 x ridden horse
North of England Spring Show (11 April) 1 x in-hand champion and 1 x ridden champion
South of England Spring Show (15 April) 1 x in-hand champion and 1 x ridden champion
BSPS Area 1A (24 April) 1 x in-hand champion, 1 x reserve in-hand champion, 1 x ridden champion and 1 x reserve ridden champion
BSPS Area 14 (25 April) 1 x in-hand champion and 1 x ridden champion
BSPS Area 6 (2 May) 1 x in-hand champion, 1 x reserve in-hand champion, 1 x ridden champion and 1 x reserve ridden champion
Horse & Hound
Trending: Credit: Craig Payne
A prestigious veterans’ championship is to move to the Longines Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) after more than two decades at Olympia.
The Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) grand final will take place at the Hickstead July show, it has been confirmed. SSADL had announced that the event would not be held at Olympia, as it had since 2007, owing to the ongoing development of the site.
“It is fantastic news for SSADL and our members that our grand finals will be held at such a prestigious event’, said Clare Frost, who ran the SSADL Olympia events.
By Tom Best Watching horse racing over the festive period has been all the more enjoyable as temperatures dropped – albeit sadly at the cost to some fixtures, like Ayr, at a time when they could least afford it. There s nothing better during the winter than getting the outside jobs done by lunch time and settling down to some serious relaxation in front of the television in the afternoon. I suspect that non-racing enthusiasts and those who don t fit into the punter category, are equally drawn in and this year there were some treats in store as Scottish interests were captured on the silver screen in winning form.
Horse & Hound
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The oldest pony to ever compete and win at Olympia has died aged 33.
At 32 years old, Hot Fuss (Charlie) was crowned Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) in-hand supreme champion at Olympia. The New Forest/thoroughbred was 17 years older than the required age of a veteran contender.
His owner, Laura Oughton-Auker, led him to victory where the pair stormed the field by 10 marks. Charlie had qualified for Olympia at Suffolk County where he also stood supreme of show.
Laura originally bought Charlie after he was branded as an unsuitable riding school pony by the centre she used to ride at.