On the first day of the Royal International Horse Show in 2023, a massive day of judging took place at the Roger Stack Arena. Only one combination was able to win the RIHS supreme skewbald ridden championship and the Indian Trail trophy.
Stars of the show were last year’s reserve supreme champions, Janay Atherden and her own and her mother Lisha Leeman’s supercob Red Rock III, who kept their cool to win their class, the horse championship and the overall title. Janay and home-produced 11-year-old Red, reserve coloured champions at last year’s Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) final, have been the pair to beat this year; in May they made history by becoming dual coloured and cob champions at Royal Windsor, and they’re already booked in to return to the NEC in a few months in both cob and coloured ranks.
Reserve for the supreme title was Stephanie Fitt’s home-bred mare Castra ridden by Rhianon Loader. The pair had topped a highly competitive pony championship ahead of Pippa Kirby’s home-bred traditional mare Monivea and the reserve, Rhianon Loader.
