Helen Barton-Smith of Pippin Equestrian wins BHS Instructor’s Challenge at Royal Windsor
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Helen Barton-Smith of Pippin Equestrian Ltd, Dorset, took the honours in a prestigious national final for British Horse Society Registered Riding Instructors at Royal Windsor Horse Show yesterday.
The Carey Arms ‘Instructors Challenge’ is a combined training competition open to all BHS Registered Instructors. Finalists earned their place in the final at a series of regional qualifiers held across the UK.
The competition is run according to British Dressage Combined Training rules at Novice Level. Competitors cannot have ridden internationally within the last ten years and must be listed on the BHS Register of Instructors.
Helen, who has built up the extremely successful Pippin Equestrian riding centre in Dorset along with her parents, received a cheque for £1,000 as part of her prize. However, for Helen the real thrill was competing at Royal Windsor.
She said: “It was particularly significant for me as when I was a child my grandmother lived in Eton and every year she would take me to the show on the Saturday night. She always used to say to me one day you will ride here and to have actually done it and won is just fantastic. My father was in floods of tears!
“For people like me who fit competing in when they can around their business, the opportunity to compete at a big show was amazing. It was fantastic for the children we teach as well – I had a string of children with me yesterday and they have come back buzzing about riding which is great.”
Helen rode Pippin Jazz, an eleven-year-old Shire X Thoroughbred owned by her mother. She explains that he hasn’t always been the easiest: “When we bought him he was literally wild, he used to throw me off nearly every day – it was the nearest I’ve come to giving up!
“I thought he might play up with the environment at Royal Windsor, but he was an angel. I think he was so overawed with it all that he listened to me!”
Johanna Burnage rode Scarlett Leigh's Skippers Plan into second place, while Tim Downes and Dennis Too came third.
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