A Smart choice as Victoria enjoys successful season (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

A Smart choice as Victoria enjoys successful season

2:30pm Friday 25th January 2013 in Sport

NORTH Yorkshire equine physiotherapist Victoria Smart has claimed a national award after a successladen season aboard exracehorse Rogers Revenge.

Smart, who is based in Thirsk, won the South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) and Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) Elite Performance Award for Showing with her ex-racehorse, Rogers Revenge.

She collected the award at the Breeders’ Dinner and Award Ceremony organised by the British Horse Foundation at the Grange City Hotel, London.

The awards provide a focus for ex-racehorses competing in the disciplines of eventing, dressage, show-jumping, endurance and showing.

Smart has had an immensely successful season showing Rogers Revenge, with the pair winning the SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Championship at the Horse of the Year Show, an award that entitled them to receive the SEIB and ROR Elite Performance Award for Showing.

Rogers Revenge was trained by Smart’s husband, Bryan, and had two starts on the flat in 2007.

The seven-year-old took the runner-up award at the Horse of the Year Show in 2010 and returned to showing this year after a season eventing in 2011.

Horses that have been in training with Bryan Smart have an enviable record in the SEIB and RoR Elite Performance Award for Showing, and this year’s triumph was the third in a row for a horse formerly trained by the Hambleton House handler.

In 2010, Victoria won with another horse owned by Bryan, Chivola, while in 2011 Katie Jerram won with her parent’s horse, Night Prayers, who had also been in training with Bryan.

Victoria said: “Roger is currently having a wellearned break back at our yard. He is for sale, but if he isn’t sold, we will send him back to Jan Darwin to prepare for the show season where he will be aimed primarily at the Hickstead racehorse championship.

“He will also be shown as a lightweight hunter and start doing a few novice working hunter classes.”

The 2010 SEIB and ROR Elite Performance Award for Showing winner Chivola will also be busy next season.

Victoria added: “My daughter, Beth, will ride him in intermediate show riding type classes and I will also do some small hack classes with him.

“We have also been given a horse called Fearless Poet who ran and won on the flat who we will produce primarily for the ex-racehorse classes and also possibly novice riding horse classes.”