Calver rider fulfils her Horse of the Year Show dream

A rider from the village of Calver in Hope Valley is looking forward to fulfilling a lifelong ambition of competing at the Horse of the Year Show.
Calver rider Jessica Williams on her seven-year-old pony, Oscar. (PHOTO BY: Emma Gann)Calver rider Jessica Williams on her seven-year-old pony, Oscar. (PHOTO BY: Emma Gann)
Calver rider Jessica Williams on her seven-year-old pony, Oscar. (PHOTO BY: Emma Gann)

Jessica Williams, 31, has been riding “for so long that I can’t remember the first time I sat on a horse”. So she admitted to “crying bucketloads of tears” with her mum when she found out she had qualified with her pony, Oscar, for the show, which is to be held at the NEC in Birmingham in October.

Williams said: “Qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show is everyone’s dream in the horse world, and it takes so much hard work and self-belief to get there.

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“Most of those who make it are professionals who make a living from competing horses, but I’m just a local girl who’s worked hard to chase after my dream.”

Williams and Oscar qualified at the Midlands Coloured Horse and Pony Show, winning their class and the overall championship. They will be among 20 regional finalists competing in their category in Birmingham.

This is their first season together. Oscar, whose ring name is Supernova, is a seven-year-old piebald gelding, who was bought to replace Williams’s previous pony, Teddy, after he got injured.

She added: “Oscare is the kind of pony who tries his heart out for you, and he gave it all he’s got to qualify.”

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