Reflecting on a successful summer season with our sponsored riders!
As the summer season draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to look back on the incredible achievements of the Horse Bit Bank’s team of sponsored riders. From taking part in top-flight competitions to achieving personal milestones, our sponsored riders have certainly made the most of the summer months, and there’s no better way to celebrate them than by sharing their latest highlights with you. Not only have the riders been busy in the dressage arena, cross-country course and showjumping ring, but our very own Jodie has also been celebrating fantastic results with her horse Papavier Dior at CHAPS last month!
Holly Richardson
Our sponsored rider Holly Richardson has been busy competing her string all summer long, but she’s also been working hard at home getting ready for Burghley Horse Trials. Holly made her 5* debut at Burghley last year and did brilliantly, and one year on she and Bally Louis looked pure class! They achieved a respectable 35.9 dressage score and stormed around the huge cross-country course, but sadly ‘Louis’ wasn’t feeling quite himself on show jumping day. As always, Holly put her horse first and withdrew him before the trot up, but we’re so excited to see what this exciting duo go on to do next season!
Since the excitement of Burghley, Holly has been in action at Cornbury House International Horse Trials with Madame Revolution competing in the CCI-S 3* 7-year-old class, where they finished in 24th place in a very strong field. She’s all set to take on the CCI-S 4* 8/9-year-old class at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials with Ballyneety Silver Service, so we’ll be watching with great excitement to see how she gets on!
Mel Chapman
September was all about The Le Mieux National Dressage Championships for Mel (though of course, she’s also been juggling competing, teaching, coaching and more at the same time!), and we were so excited to see her in action at Somerford Park in Cheshire. First up was Mel’s beloved Jubilant Al Sno, AKA Romeo, owned along with her father and such an exciting prospect for the future. They were competing in the Inter-1 and completed a sparkling test. After delivering Romeo home for a well-earned holiday, Mel turned around and went back to Somerford with Ling Yao, a talented 8year-old gelding owned by Angela Sykes Brown, who is low mileage but his potential is so exciting! Mel’s been riding Ling alongside Angela over the summer, and they competed in the Elementary.
We know Mel’s enjoying a break in sunny Marbella now, and she definitely deserves it after such a busy summer! We’ll keep you in the loop when she’s back and in the saddle again.
Sara Bowe
You might remember that Sara’s year was rather disrupted by a nasty knee injury just before the eventing season kicked off, but she came back in style to record some great results! Sara was in action at the last ever Blair Horse Trials in August - a bittersweet weekend for everyone who loved this iconic Scottish event! Sara had MHS Global Cooley (Junior) and Rinwood MJ (Max) in the 2* long, and both did super dressage tests to score 27.9 and 31 respectively. Sadly, a lot of rain fell on cross-country day and Junior was a tired horse near the end of the course, so Sara decided to pull him up. Max’s turn was later in the day when the ground was in even worse shape and this brave horse dug deep to go clear, picking up just time penalties. Unfortunately, he was feeling his effort the next day, so Sara withdrew him before the showjumping - it just wasn’t meant to be! Since then, Sara’s picked up a win at Penrith in the BE100 with Captain Morgan GZ, so we’re keeping an eye on her as she takes three to Allerton Park this month.
Jodie’s horse Papaver Dior
Our founder Jodie owns coloured showing mare Papaver Dior (stable name Poppy), but you might not know that she racked up two huge wins at CHAPS 2024 last month!
Partnered by showing superstar James Knight, who produces her to perfection for Jodie, Poppy won Champion Ridden Horse and was the reserve Supreme! This is such a fantastic result for a mare who had a tricky start to her ridden career, but as always shown so much promise. Huge well done to James and Poppy and we can’t wait to see how they get on in the future.
Now that autumn has arrived, and darker evenings and chillier weather, we’re excited to see how our sponsored riders progress, whether they’re gearing up for winter competitions or taking a well-earned break. We’ll be supporting them on every step of the way with bit advice and trials, and keeping you updated as they navigate the autumn and winter ahead.