TROTTING down the centre line after securing one of the supreme horse or pony sashes during Sunday night's closing evening performance at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) is an ambition many riders strive to achieve over their careers. That position under the spotlights is the ultimate aspiration on many producers and breeders' bucket lists, too, but with only one horse and one pony of the year crowned each season, it's a dream that will never be a reality for the majority of people.
Sophie Staveley had been riding at HOYS for 21 years before she joined the elite few who have their name etched onto the Timberwolf Trophy awarded to the overall pony of the year winner. Her victory in the 2023 Supreme Products supreme pony championship was something of a surprise as her ride was a novice five-year-old making her debut in Birmingham.
Swan Lake (Can Can), an elegant bay mare bred by Jerome Harforth and David Dixon, had clinched the part-bred tricolour earlier in the week, which had marked Sophie's first-ever HOYS win.
"I still can't believe it happened," says Sophie, 33, two weeks after the win. "A friend recently asked what it was actually like to ride under the spotlight in the supreme with all the clapping and cheering from the crowd, but to be honest I didn't even realise what was going on. I had complete tunnel vision and in the moment I was just focused on the job at hand."
SOPHIE is no stranger to the major championship shows, having qualified for both HOYS and the Royal International (RIHS) on many occasions in various classes. Her first HOYS ride came in 2002, with Pippa Kirby's home-bred coloured pony Monivea Magic Rainbow.
Showing has always been somewhat of a secondary passion for Sophie, who has successfully worked as a rider in the racing industry for many years. On leaving school she went to work for Pippa's husband, racehorse trainer Philip Kirby.
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