Posted: 2nd October 2015 | Back to news feed
Hartpury-bred horse, Hartpury Sky is the Limit, continued its run of good form with a fourth place finish at the Blenheim Horse Trials.
Rider Ian Willis went clear in the showjumping and the cross country to secure fourth place overall aboard Hartpury Sky is the Limit after a score of 49.0 in the dressage had left the pair further down the order.
After being bred at Hartpury Home Farm Stud in 2007, the gelding was raised at the college and then backed by students (they were the first to sit on the horse to get it accustomed to being ridden) as they gained valuable hands-on experience.
He was then evaluated in 2010 at the BEF Futurity Series, which aims to identify British bred young potential sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, show-jumping or endurance, and Sky is the Limit was rated as the best three-year-old show-jumper in the UK.
The horse was then bought by Diana Brodie with event rider Ian Wills taking the reins and the duo showed their promise with a strong showing at Hartpury’s International Horse Trials CCI** class as they finished in sixth place, with a particularly impressive penalty-free performance in the cross-country section.
The result maintains their purple patch of form which had seen the pair also secure top honours in their two events before Hartpury, at Tweseldown and Aston-le-Walls respectively.
French rider, Astier Nicolas – a former student at Hartpury – finished the same event aboard Spes Addit’Or two places ahead of Hartpury Sky is the Limit and Ian Willis in second spot. Despite a five point penalty in the showjumping, their overall score of 44.4 was enough to take second place ahead of Ireland’s Jonty Evans.
The event was won by New Zealand rider, Jonelle Price, who finished on a score of 42, just seven points ahead of Hartpury Sky is the Limit.
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