South Canterbury riders 'up there'

South Canterbury horse riders are proving they're up there with the best after some great results at the Canterbury Royal Show.

After two years of trying, the Hewson family's Welsh Pony Burlington Taffy Jones is a supreme champion.

Among the titles claimed by Taffy at the Royal Show last week was Champion Purebred Welsh Stallion and Supreme Champion Welsh.

The Hewson family, of Seadown, took six horses to the show, and out of the four championships for which they qualified they won three.

Racheal Hewson said the family was very happy with the results.

In the Hunter class Kelly Evans with her horses Three Swallows and Highway 35 successfully defended a number of the titles won last year. For the second year running, Highway 35 was named Champion Working Hunter and Three Swallows took home the Renown Cup and the Renown Challenge Cup. Three Swallows was also named Reserve Champion Hunter.

Another South Canterbury winner, Claremont rider Debbie Craig, is an experienced horsewoman – she rode for the Lord of the Rings trilogy – but when it came to event showjumping, last year she was a novice.

Now, for the second year running her horse D'Archiac's Kingdom (Kody for short) has won Champion Ridden Appaloosa.

"He knows when he's in a show," she said. "He's quite a showy little thing."

Mrs Craig said she was the oldest one in the ring: "The next one must have been in her mid-20s."

She said many South Canterbury riders had done well in the show.

- © Fairfax NZ News