It's the worst season to prepare a show horse for a supreme finale, so how do the senior and native finalists heading to London International in December navigate winter's challenges? Alex Robinson finds out
WHILE the majority of the showing world hang up their boots and show jackets over winter, those select-few competitors who have mounts qualified for the coveted British Show Pony Society (BSPS) mountain and moorland (M&M) supreme ridden and Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) finals held at The London International Horse Show in December soldier on.
Shorter days, excessive rainfall and plummeting temperatures, sometimes teamed with snow, are less than ideal for preparing show horses for prestigious championship finals, but many of the circuit's riders have been working around these barriers for years.
Leading show producer Sarah Parker has five ponies through to this year's final, including a Dartmoor, a Welsh section B and three Dales ponies. She made her first appearance
