British eventing has so far enjoyed an uninterrupted spring, blessed with good weather, and the human and equine heroes of last year’s Cornbury House International Horse Trials have blossomed.
The Howden Way Youth classes at Cornbury House are every under-21 rider’s end-of-season destination, and rising star Oscar Fitzgerald, 17, followed up his 2024 Cornbury House CCI2*-J victory on Super Cillious with a win in the CCI2*-S at Osberton recently.
“He was a superstar from start to finish,” said Oscar. “He jumped two really nice rounds. The ground was perfect, so he had a nice competitive run, which was brilliant. Hopefully we’ll now head to Belsay for the Junior Championships.”
Anna Price, 20, and Blakeney Surprise, winners of the 2024 CCI3*-YR at Cornbury House, has had a good beginning to the season with placings in the under-21 Open Intermediates at Barbury, Burnham Market and Thoresby, and the pair successfully completed their first Advanced class at Cirencester recently.
The 2024 Cornbury House Pony Trial victors, Maisie Greening and Kilnaspic Lily, have made a strong start with victory at Epworth and Forgandenny and third place in the CCIP2*-S at Osberton behind Florence Drewitt and Alice Fraser.
The Howden Way Power Average Leagues for March and April have been published, and two of the 2024 Cornbury House winners top their respective age groups.
Barrington Boy, ridden by Izzy Taylor, won the British Eventing Young Horse Championships for six-year-olds at Cornbury House in 2024, and are going from strength to strength in 2025. Their seven-year-old Power Average is currently an outstanding 27.1. They recently took second place in the CCI2*-L at Ballindenisk in Ireland, and since then have also won the seven-year-old class at Tweseldown.
“Barrington Boy is a hugely exciting horse with a brilliant record — one that has been in the Barrington Sport Horses team since he was a foal, so is a great testament to them,” said Izzy.
Earl Dorado and Max Warburton – five-year-old champions at Cornbury House last year – top The Howden Way Power Averages for six-year-olds.
It’s not just the 2024 Cornbury House champions who have made excellent starts to 2025; those who made the top-10 in each class are looking good.
Mike Jackson and Oscar, eighth in the Cornbury House five-year-old final, won their first start of the season, the six-year-old novice class at Cirencester Park. They were both four- and five-year-old Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse champions, and are definitely ones to watch.
Poynstown Venture, third in last year’s five-year-old championships, made a winning debut at Oasby at the start of the season in a novice section with Imogen Murray.
And second to Barrington Boy and Izzy at Cornbury House in the national six-year-old championships were Bubby Upton and Sancerre De Tiji. The pair took the seven-year-old class at Kelsall Hill on their intermediate debut in April. Guinduno, third with Bubby at Cornbury House 2024, won his first two outings – at Poplar Park and Horseheath – this spring.
Kinda Corvette, on whom Dani Evans was seventh in the seven-year-old championships at Cornbury House, has been sold to reigning world champion Yasmin Ingham, and the pair took the CCI3*-S at Kelsall Hill recently.