In what is thought to be a HOYS first, the same horse has won the supreme accolade two years running. Broadshard Simplicity, owned by Carol Bardo and ridden by Jayne Ross, was foot-perfect in the Andrew Bowen International Arena at Birmingham’s NEC to win the title for the second successive year. While the same horse has won this ultimate award twice before, it has not been done in consecutive years.
“This is up one of the best results of my career — I don’t think it’s ever been done before,” said Ross.
And Broadshard Simplicity, at seven, is possibly one of the youngest horses to take the title. The gelding, by Llanarth Alleycat, made his first appearance at HOYS in 2013 as a hack, but as he grew and furnished, he found a different niche.
“After that first year, we had so many people saying, we don’t know if he’s a hack or a riding horse,” said Ross. “So having been champion at Windsor as a hack, he became a riding horse. He bulked up a bit and we would be hard pushed to keep enough off him for him to be quality enough to be a hack.”
It proved the right decision, as Simplicity still has quality to burn, but the bone and substance needed for a riding horse. He effortlessly took the riding horse championship again this time and, despite the strength and depth in the 2015 supreme horse of the year, was in a class of his own.
Image: Broadshard Simplicity and Jayne Ross at HOYS, by E.S. Photography, courtesy of HOYS