WHEN Vicky Smith first took the reins on a gangly four-year-old coloured hunt horse named Bart, she instantly knew she was riding a potential champion.
“Even when he was green he had three unbelievable paces,” says Vicky of the 16.1hh skewbald horse she owns with partner Alan Marnie. “He’s always stood four square with his ears forward and I’ve always loved his limbs; he has proper Irish bone.”
Despite now having two Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) titles to his name, Bart wasn’t always destined for a career in the show ring. Of unknown breeding, the gelding was found in Ireland by Shane O’Grady who hunted him as a four-year-old. He was then bought by Gillian Hickford who approached Vicky about taking the ride in a few showing classes.
“I rode Gillian’s coloured horse LWS Artful for a few seasons,” continues Vicky. “I showed Bart as a five-year-old and he was fourth at the Royal International [RIHS] before he was turned out to grow on. The following year he went to eventer Harry Horgan’s yard and competed up to BE100, but due to circumstances he came back to Gillian and I started showing him again.
“He was quite weedy at this point but we decided to enter the HOYS qualifier at North of England summer show. To our surprise, he won, got his ticket and went champion. He really burst on to the scene there. He beat all the top coloureds of the season; everyone wanted to know who he was and where he’d come from.”
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