Fortunatus. Pictures by Kevin Sparrow
LOCAL horse breeder Sandra Tinker gained the top premium with her young horse at the Baileys Horse Feeds/British Breeding/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity at Myerscough College in Lancashire.
Sandra, of Fosshey Stables, Antrobus, bred her two year old dressage prospect Fortunatus who attained an elite premium of 9.00.
This was the joint highest score awarded at Myerscough. An elite premium indicates that the horse has the potential and outlook to perform at international level.
The BEF Futurity Evaluation series aims to identify British bred young potential sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, showjumping or endurance. It may even find the stars of the future who will go on to compete at World Championships or become Olympic Champions.
This was Fortunatus’ second elite premium in as many Futurity visits. As a yearling last year he scored 9.02 in the dressage section at the Southview Futurity.
Sandra said, “Fortunatus is such an exciting prospect, I don’t normally keep the boys but I am really looking forward to producing him and seeing how far we can get. I am so pleased he has got the second elite premium, you never know until the day, he really is consistent and so uphill. We will aim for equine bridge selection next year”.
Fortunatus is by the dressage stallion, Floriscount.
The Futurity is a continually evolving process, with 2013 seeing the introduction of the Futurity equine bridge which is now being run as an extension of the Futurity evaluations. The Futurity equine bridge provides top Futurity graduates with the direction and support they will need as four year olds so that they begin their early years under saddle in a way that allows for sustained physical and mental development. In order to be eligible for the Futurity Equine Bridge all horses must obtain a Futurity score of 8.5 or above and a high enough vet score in the in their three year old year.
The BEF’s Head of Equine Development Jan Rogers said, “The Futurity celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. We are increasingly finding that breeders, buyers and riders of British bred horses are finding that a Futurity premium is a very useful aid in helping assess these horses. We are also seeing a marked improvement in the standard of youngsters entered in the futurity, which is very good news for the future of British breeding”.
The 2015 Futurity evaluations cover 11 venues nationwide with a total of 12 days of evaluations. The Futurity is fast becoming recognised as an important first step in the careers of many potential top level horses and provides a valuable marketing took for breeders.
