‘The bond we have is unbelievable’: 19-year-old traditional is top ridden senior in London

A traditional coloured pony returned to London International Horse Show to lift the coveted 2022 SSADL ridden championship accolade after standing reserve three years ago.

Amy Hunter had her 19-year-old “horse of a lifetime” Pillgrim right on song to impress the two judges Penny Clifford and Jackie Webb.

“It was our time,” said estate agent Amy, who last rode Pillgrim at Olympia in 2019 when he took the reserve supreme sash. “He went mega today and he turned it on for me, as always; he just loves the job and he always puts a big smile on my face, win or lose.”

Amy has owned Pillgrim for eight years and together they’re enjoyed a dream run of results while also having fun in other disciplines:

“He’s done a bit of everything, from showing to dressage, and he’s taken me to all the ‘biggies’, including Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and the Royal International (RIHS),” said Amy. “He can only be described as a bit of a troublesome one, but the bond we have is unbelievable. I think I could ride him down the M6, but he’d only do it with me. If I tell him ‘it’s alright mate, we’ve got this’, he listens, which is why I never get nervous ahead of a show.”

“He’ll never, ever go anywhere and he owes me absolutely nothing,” Amy added. “He’s a once in a lifetime horse and I wouldn’t want to walk into that arena on anything else.”

Amy’s London preparation has been juggled around her work as an estate agent, and she’s back in the office on Monday ahead of the Christmas break.

“In the run up to the show, I was getting home from work at 7pm each night and going to the yard to ride,” she explained. “We had no water yesterday so someone from the yard had to go and fetch me some so I could give Pillgrim a bath. It took eight hours to get here, too, but it was so worth it for this experience.

“I’ll be back at work on Monday; I sent a video to the work group chat, though my colleagues aren’t horsey. They’ve been cheering us on, though they’re not quite sure what we’ve achieved!”

Reserve in the 2022 SSADL ridden championship was the ultra-consistent combination of Georgia Kirby and her mother Susan Kirby’s 19-year-old chestnut gelding Woodview Fiocco.

The show hunter pony and Georgia, 15, were making their debuts at London International after a superb season which includes winning the SSADL ridden supreme at the RIHS back in July and lifting the overall supreme title at the Veteran Horse Society championships in October.

Standing third was the only lead rein combination forward, Millie Rackham-Cobb riding her 18-year-old mare Overley Gamebird, handled by Millie’s mother, Heidi Rackham.

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