Futurity Winners Shine Through
Superbly presented, quality youngstock, all British bred, from foals to three year olds, were on display on the day, many having travelled from as far afield as Scotland and Cornwall. No one can underestimate the amount of work taken to present these horses to the evaluators and it is a testament to British breeders that they are willing to invest the time and resource into supporting and helping to develop this Futurity programme.
The Futurity scheme exists to identify top quality young sport horses and ponies at an early stage so that they may be produced with care for long term competitive careers and also to reward owners and breeders for their considered breeding decisions. The scheme underpins the development of the sport horse industry in the UK, supporting the requirements of the Strategy for the Horse Industry and populating the forthcoming National Equine Database (NED) with valuable breeding and performance data, the highest overall scores for each horse being recorded on NED.
“We are very pleased to have the highly proactive support of Baileys Horse Feeds in this integral part of the development of long-called-for industry initiatives. Careful feeding is paramount to optimal growth, and Baileys show great foresight as well as being a super team to work with,” stated British Equestrian Federation Head of Equine Development, Jan Rogers. “Not only that but every one of these horses here today is of a superb standard and by the end of the series their horses will have been seen by 5 evaluators over a two to three month period. It’s an innovative scheme which is constantly developing and we have great feedback from participants as to how they see it shaping up. It’s great to have that rapport”.
Equally represented were some of the larger studs, as well of some of the smaller studs and the one or two horse owner/ breeders. “It is quite clear” said British Equestrian Federation Director of Equine Development, Graham Suggett, “that a good deal of considered breeding has resulted in such a quality turnout. This is evident from the point of view of both the studs and the small breeders. I am confident that the breeding industry is really coming together”.
For full results, click here. In a new development this year, owners of the top scoring horses, from foals to three year olds, will be presented with trophies at the British Breeding Breeders' Dinner on 13 January 2007 at the Grange City Hotel in London. For information and tickets, click here.