SPILLERS fed Leo’s journey to Olympia 2015: Part 2!

Leo, winning HOYS in 1998. Photo credits Real Time Imaging

Following his triumphant performance at Arena UK in July 2015, 24 YO coloured stallion Lostock Huntsman (Leo) and his handler, Bethany, are now preparing for their showing debut at the prestigious Olympia Horse Show in December 2015. Before I recap on where we all are now, let’s pick up where my last blog finished just after Leo had qualified for Olympia.

Back To Reality… For Now

Once Leo returned home after Arena UK, he settled back into his normal routine, enjoying his SPILLERS® Senior Conditioning Mix feed alongside summer turnout. Leo was also kept busy as a total of 6 mares were covered and in foal by him over the summer.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn!

As autumn approached our thoughts turned towards preparing Leo for his Olympia performance. Leo’s skin and coat condition had improved immensely since changing his diet to SPILLERS® Senior Conditioning Mix, and it was time to decide whether to clip him. Of course, we wanted Leo to look his best at Olympia and as his new and improved coat was so healthy and glossy, we decided to not have him clipped. Unfortunately for us, Leo enjoys nothing more than a mud bath which meant that we were leading in a brown horse from the field rather than a coloured!

Beth and Leo out on
one of their hacks.

Operation: Keep Leo Fit For Olympia

As the fields became continually wetter, Leo’s turnout had to be cut down. In order to keep him in shape for Olympia, Bethany and I had decided that Leo would benefit from some gentle exercise and hacking seemed like the ideal workout. Both Beth and Leo really enjoy their hacks and it is lovely to see Leo’s ears pricked forward every time they leave the yard. Even after being out of ridden work for more than 2 years, Leo still has the same enthusiasm as he did when he hunted! The new riding jacket provided by SPILLERS® has also come in handy as Beth looks very smart when out hacking!

Leo’s Leading Weeks Until Olympia

Leo’s recipe for success now involves a daily routine of the following exercises:

·        A leg stretch in the field.

·        A gentle hack round the lanes with Bethany.

·        Some in hand showing practice. Trotting a figure of 8 seems to be Leo’s strong point, although Beth sometimes struggles to keep up with his strides!

 Of course, Leo does not go without a daily pamper session which includes:

·        A 20 minute groom.

·        A hot oil rub down for his coat.

·        Moisturising spray on his mane and tail before being rugged up ready for bed.  

To ensure that Leo is always as snug as a bug in a rug, our friend Maralyn had kindly made him an under blanket made of double thickness moleskin fleece which we always use under his rugs.

 The Countdown Begins
 

Beth, 6 months old at HOYS 1998.

Our countdown has finally begun with only a couple of days left until Bethany and Leo compete at the Olympia Horse Show in London. We’re all feeling very excited now as the hotel is booked, tickets are purchased and checklists are being made. This will be the first time that Leo has been back to London since he competed at the Horse of The Year Show in 1998 at Wembley. It all feels quite surreal to me as Beth was only 6 months old when we took her and Leo to Wembley, and now 17 years later she will be leading him herself. I will be very proud of them both whatever the outcome.

SPILLERS fed Leo’s journey to Olympia 2015: Part 1!

By Caroline Hamilton

First and foremost, let’s introduce the team behind this Olympia showing adventure

Leo with handler, Bethany

Lostock Huntsman (Leo): 24YO coloured stallion.
Bethany Driver: Leo’s 17 year old handler.
Caroline Hamilton: Bethany’s mother and breeder of Leo.

Leo’s fact file!

−        Sired by Lostock Blue and out of Daisy May. I am also the past owner of Lostock Blue.

−       Leo is an ex intermediate eventer.

−       He had an extremely successful showing career, both in hand and ridden. He notably won the Coloured Horse and Pony Championship at Horse of the Year Show in 1998.

−       He hunted for a total of 15 seasons, rarely missing a day.

−       Leo is still a working stallion who has sired numerous foals who have gone on to compete in similar disciplines to himself.

 

SPILLERS feed supports the senior, showing, stallion!

Leo before the trial

In the autumn of 2014, we had discussions with our feed supplier, Mole Valley, to seek their expertise about how to help maintain or improve Leo’s condition. It just so happens that Mole Valley were conducting a field trial for SPILLERS® Senior Conditioning Mix at that time. We duly entered the trial and sent pictures of Leo to SPILLERS and were extremely pleased to be chosen as one of the lucky participants.

The SPILLERS nutritionists provided us with a feeding plan for Leo which we consistently followed for the trials three month period. To say that the results were amazing is an understatement. Leo has thrived on the SPILLERS® Senior Conditioning Mix and his improvement is clearly visible in the pictures we took of him at the following intervals, Oct’14, April’15 and July’15.

 

If Leo’s got it, flaunt it!

We were all in agreement that Leo looked so well that he deserved to be taken out to a show. We joined the Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd and shortly after started looking at veteran, in-hand showing classes.

 

Leo after his bath!

There’s always a hiccup on show day!

Our first outing to test the waters of a veteran showing class didn’t quite go to plan. We had spent hours ensuring that Leo looked show ready which had included everything from grooming, bathing, tail washing to trimming and plaiting up. Just after we had loaded Leo up in the early hours of the morning, we discovered that the radio in the horsebox had been left on resulting in a very flat battery. Unfortunately on this occasion, we were a no-show.

Show day… Take 2!

Leo at the SSADL Show

Thankfully, our second outing on 12^th July proved to be a much more successful trip. Having completed our show day preparation making Leo look as smart as can be, we safely travelled to Arena UK for the SSADL Show. Coincidentally, this was the same show where the second round Olympia qualifiers was being held.

Leo was very much on his toes in the first class, failing to settle and finding the atmosphere of this pony party quite exciting. We had forgotten, of course, that is was some 12 years since Leo had been in a competitive showing environment. Although Leo was penalised for his manners, he managed to score high enough to win the Senior Plus Section which qualified him for the second round.

 



Leo's lap of honour after qualifying for Olympia!

The pressure was on!

The Second Round Section was much later in the schedule which gave Leo time to settle back at the horsebox. Once the second class had commenced, Leo found his composure and totally shone.

His paces were solid, he was well-mannered and obedient with Bethany’s expert handling. Leo went on to win the class AND the championship which in turn qualified us for the Olympia grand finale.

It was a very great moment for us as a family to watch Bethany and Leo’s partnership achieve such success. Keep an eye out for us at the Olympia International Horse Show 2015 and stay tuned for our next blog!