The Spring Festival and Summer Champs had passed by in a blur but it was third time lucky for me at the National Pony Society Great British In Hand Show, and I was able to get the camera out and capture some images of the ponies and people that contributed to what was a fun, friendly and enjoyable day.

I should mention that this is not a report or a comprehensive overview of the show, it’s just a few words and some nice images captured throughout the day when time allowed. Consequently some people and ponies feature more than others, and some don’t feature at all, but if I missed you then I’ll try and get you next time!

I joined the the National Pony Society office team at the beginning of January 2023 after seven years working with thoroughbred racehorses (amongst other things), so the switch to the world of ponies would be a doddle, wouldn’t it?

Not quite, and if anyone had mentioned an M&M to me at the beginning of January I would probably have assumed they meant the chocolate covered sweets! Hence why there was was a reluctance on my part to write anything or share any pics for the first few months.

However, things have moved on at pace and my photos and words (I promise not to waffle) will become a regular feature of my life at the National Pony Society (aka ‘The Friendly Society’). With that in mind I have recently shared the images from the 2023 NPS President’s Ball which took place way back in February, and they can be viewed here.

Anyway, back to the pics from the GBIH Show…

The excellent Oakridge Arena near Newark was a new venue for this show (which is now in it’s third year) and there was a nice vibe around the place, helped by the beautiful September sunshine.

It’s great to have an opportunity to put faces to names at shows and to meet some of the people that we deal with on a daily basis. It’s also pretty cool to get up close and personal with the ponies and to be able to take a look ‘behind the scenes’.

Everyone wants to win but the camaraderie between the competitors, and also their support teams was very noticeable. This contributed to the wonderful atmosphere which was evident throughout the whole day.

The judges and stewards deserve a huge shout out too, they just keep going – some of them well into the evening.

We couldn’t run any show without the support of our amazing sponsors, and if you delve into the archives of this blog you will soon understand why sponsorship is so important to me. It was my ‘thing’ for a good number of years and remains close to my heart. The National Pony Society have a number of sponsorship packages available so please call the office on 01420 88333 if this has piqued your interest, we’d love to have a chat with you!

The sun was shining and I was soon back outside to make the most of the fantastic conditions, shiny ponies and sunshine = great photos!

Shiny happy ponies everywhere…

Poetry in motion…

Click on the individual images to enlarge them…

All of our breeds are fantastic but I do have a soft spot for Fells – can you tell? I was particularly taken with the Adult Fell Winner, Boutime Esther (above and below).

I have already mentioned the camaraderie and wonderful atmosphere but there was also a feeling of positivity throughout the day. Many competitors have expressed their love for the show, both in conversation with the office team and via social media. There have been plenty of positive posts and comments, and also some constructive feedback – which is great to see.

The fell foal having a little nibble is possibly the cutest photo I took all day, thanks to Megan Edgar for her patience while I snapped away!

Heather Mawrey with Reserve Fell Champion, Greenholme Lady Hawk.

Midtown Joker (above) was another Fell to catch my eye, just look at that forelock! There are more Fells below, plus some strategically placed Topspec banners!

Where else would you bump into a Fell mare and foal casually strolling across the car park…

Billy Moran had a busy and productive show and he can be seen in the selection of images below with the grey mare, Corkeeran Willow who booked her HOYS ticket in the Price Family Semi-Final.

The next selection of images features everything from lunging in the lorry park to picnicking at the back of the car. We also had a steady stream of visitors to the office throughout the day and plenty had their photo taken as they popped their head through the hatch (above).

Holly (above) is the NPS Stud Book guru, although she also does lots of other things in our busy office. Like me, this was her third major show of the year – we’re getting the hang of it now!

I love the camera and I’m happy behind or in front of the lens (cheesy grin in place). Not everyone is comfortable with a camera being pointed at them (I get that) and I was politely told to clear off a couple of times, although as you can see, there were plenty of smiles as well!

One of the ‘smilers’ above is Sue Palmer, and her sterling fund raising efforts can’t go unmentioned. Every ticket purchased contributed to the success of the show and all of the prize winners were delighted with their prizes. A special mention must also go to all of those people who donated the fabulous prizes.

Volatis Flamenca (aka Flame – first four pics below) is owned and bred by the boss, Sacha Shaw. It was Flame’s first show and she had a great time, with lots of credit going to Sophie Clohessy (in the tweed, below) and Lindsey Hewitt (the smiley lass in the NPS cap, below). The boss (green dress, below) is not a big fan of the camera when it’s being pointed in her direction, but I have managed to sneak one in, and I think I’ll just about get away with it!

I was snapping away in the lorry park (above) when I was spotted by the Bell-Heather team, the smile suggests they were pleased to see me.

I didn’t get the chance to do much filming or take many pics during the evening performance as I was on music duty. I was really pleased with my playlist for the day (10 hours 53 minutes of top tunes), but not so pleased with my evening technical performance. Like so many school reports it would probably contain the words “could do better”, and there’s a few tweaks to be made for next year.

This is not the best photograph I have ever taken but it’s got to be shared as our Supreme In Hand Pony of the Year, Aniar Cashel enjoyed the run out under the spotlight, and as you can see, he is rather pleased with himself!

If you’ve made it to this point then I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you, and I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at the images – please share the link if you know anyone who hasn’t seen them yet.

Full show results are available here, and the official images from 1st Class Images are available here.

The cheeky Highland is Strathmore Jasper and the cheeky north-east lad is me! The pic was taken on Sunday morning after we had packed everything away and checked that all of the stables had been mucked out. I was back home before midday and enjoyed a boozy Sunday lunch in The House in Leamington Spa (very good it was, too), a nice way to end a cracking weekend.