Riders from Banburyshire, Northants and Warwickshire are among hundreds heading for the country’s top horse show this week.

For these horsewomen, competing at the five-day Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at the National Exhibition Centre, it is the culmination of years of hard work and training in ridden showing and show jumping - with the prospect of a coveted Championship at the end of the exciting process.

For our picture gallery see here

Among the lucky qualifiers is Loti Innes-Parry, a farrier originally from Cardiff but who has lived in Banbury for the last decade.

Her ride is a 12-y-o Thoroughbred ex-racehorse called As I See It – named Jeffrey at home – who Loti has owned for three years. The pair has qualified for the Racehorse to Riding Horse championship which takes place tomorrow (Wednesay).

“Jeffrey raced until he was nine and was then gifted to me when he decided racing wasn’t for him anymore. He had kissing spine surgery in 2018, so when I got him, I spent the first year doing ground work to strengthen him up slowly,” said Loti.

“It was a very rocky road for the first two years but he has come on in leaps and bounds this year. He is the kindest little horse and tries his hardest for me. HOYS was always the ultimate goal with him and I can’t believe he qualified in his first proper season of showing. He is a lovely little horse and I love him dearly,” she said.

Loti and Jeffrey qualified at the TSR Show at Stoneleigh in May for the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship. The pair’s class is at 11.50am tomorrow (Wednesday).

Arabella Henderson, aged 15, of Gaydon has qualified for HOYS in the Pony Newcomers showjumping championship for the first time. Arabella qualified Our Billy Eile (stable name Mabel) in May at SouthView on her first attempt. Her class is on Thursday.

Mum Hannah said: “The pony was produced from a five-year-old to this point by the family and Arabella. It’s the first time in history a pony has done dual disciplines at this level as she represented Great Britain at the European Championships in Germany this year in eventing and was the highest placed Brit (6th). The team won a bronze medal.”

Oxfordshire showjumping specialist Michaela Scott from Foxhill Sport Horses, Wantage has qualified her fantastic athlete, Eddie G Z for the Talent Seekers and Foxhunter Championships. See her Facebook film on this page to watch this talented horse in action.

Nikki Reeder of Potterspury, west Northants, gave us a fascinating before-and-after story of her cob Double Denim (Levi to his friends) – a lad who has gone from rags to riches with a lot of work and dedication. The pair has qualified for Search for a Star and this Championship can be seen on Thursday afternoon at HOYS.

“It’s always been a dream to ride him at HOYS and it’s been a very bumpy journey which has taken nine years,” she said.

"He was very sharp to break as a four-year-old but lots are - so we thought with time he’d improve - wrong! Over the next couple of years, despite a lot of help from some very good people, his ridden behaviour became worse and worse to the point where he was dangerous to ride. He would bolt with no concern for himself or his rider.

"There was lots of head scratching, soul searching and crying (from me). Trying to re-home him as a non-ridden horse was considered but I was worried that he would be passed on and someone would try and ride him. Having him put to sleep was also discussed.

“As an absolute last resort I decided to have him scoped and it turned out he had chronic grade 4 ulcers and would have been in a lot of pain. Notwithstanding his ridden behaviour, he showed absolutely no other outward signs of ulcers,” said Nikki – a flooring company proprietor.

“He started treatment immediately and gradually began to improve. It’s been a long job; he can still be anxious and he’s a proper scaredy cat but he now enjoys his work and we’re having great fun together.”

The pair qualified at Vale View in March. Levi has also qualified for the London International Show in December, having been champion at Herts County.

Kristie Short, of Thorpe Malsor near Kettering qualified her riding horse, Carrhouse Deal Me In, at Hartpury in August. On Thursday they compete in the SEIB Riding Horse/Hack championship at HOYS.

Kristie’s mum Kim said: “We bought him as an unbroken five-year-old. Kristie has mainly done all the work herself with help of good instructors. They were 7th at London International last year and qualified again this year,” she said.