HOYS announce new opportunities for members, and the reintroduction of an established qualifier
HOYS have announced that in a bid to reflect the current climate, the upcoming season will see an opening up of the membership requirements for some Horse of the Year Show classes, providing competitors greater choice to meet their needs. The upcoming year will see the HOYS Hunter Weights, Small Hunters, Working Hunter Horse and the Ladies Side Saddle qualifiers opened to members of The Showing Register and/or Sport Horse Breeding in addition to the existing British Show Horse Association. It is hoped that this will allow competitors to make their membership as cost effective as possible.
Jemima Walker, Equestrian Showing Manager for HOYS said: “We are working to provide increased choice for competitors that may compete across multiple classes and therefore currently have a requirement to join multiple showing societies. TSR in the past has been a showing society offering membership for HOYS M&M, plaited pony classes and Coloureds, however with the new opportunities at Horse of the Year Show through The Showing Register, it seemed like a natural progression to extend this to the hunter classes too.”
It has been extensively discussed with the relevant showing societies, over some years, about the concern in numbers of the plaited pony classes. It is the ambition of HOYS that we continue to support these classes, however, as organisers we are mindful that they must reflect the current numbers so that we can provide increased opportunities to classes that are growing. It is for this reason that the Intermediate Show Riding Type will now be combined at HOYS to see the 153cm small intermediate and the 158cm large intermediate classes as one Championship. To maintain the identity of the classes, classes for both height sections will remain at the qualifying shows along with a subsequent championship to allocate the qualification ticket for HOYS 2023. The total number of qualifiers for the Intermediate Show Riding Type has increased to 18 to reflect this change.
Both the Intermediate Show Riding Type and the Intermediate Show Hunter will welcome the introduction of a new award at Horse of the Year Show 2023, which will see a competitor in both Championships acknowledged for their presence, etiquette, and ringcraft.
Grandstand Media also confirmed that the Scottish Horse Show will return as part of the 2023 qualifying calendar, following the disappointment for competitors in this area due to its cancellation in 2022. It is a calendar favourite among Scottish and northern competitors, and its reinstatement also underpins HOYS’ commitement to ensuring qualifying opportunities to all. In the upcoming season, the Scottish Horse Show will welcome HOYS qualifiers for all Working Hunters, the Price Family In-Hand, Coloured Horse/Pony alongside many others for plaited ponies and M&Ms.
