Lancaster girl heads to London horse show championship

A little girl from Lancaster and her Welsh pony will be the oldest pony and the youngest rider competing at a prestigious international horse show final this month. They are making the six-hour trip to contest a championship at the London International Horse Show at ExCel this weekend.

Grace Speak, aged 4, and her Welsh Section B pony Mountain Gale, aged 30, have qualified to contest the finals of the Agria Senior Showing and Dressage League (SSADL) on Saturday (16th December). The class forms part of the programme at the London International Horse Show, at which many of the world’s best show jumping and dressage riders compete.

“This is her Grace’s first season showing and she absolutely loves it,” says her mother Lucy. “Gale is an absolutely super star — the best kids’ pony in the world — and she thrives in big arenas, with music blaring. She just flicks her toes and pricks her ears.”

Grace, a member of the Lancaster Pony Club, is the fourth child who has learnt to ride on Mountain Gale within her family — her three cousins also learnt on her — and she tries to model her riding on our late Queen’s.

Vicki Wentworth, Chief Executive of Agria UK, adds: “At Agria we have always had a special place in our heart for ponies like Gale, who give so much fun to multiple riders, whether or not they win rosettes – in fact, it’s because of my very own ‘Gale’ equivalent that I still have a horse, who I adore, today.  It is for this reason that we are the only horse insurer to offer full vet fee cover, for life.  We can’t wait to see Grace and Gale in the huge international arena at the London International and hope they have an absolutely brilliant and truly memorable day.”

“Finishing in the top five would be a dream, but we just want a happy child and a beautiful photograph,” adds Lucy.

Agria’s Lifetime Equine policy is available to any horse of any age. To find out more, please visit our website www.agriapet.co.uk/equinelife

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

Agria Equine Lifetime offers a range of flexible options to meet the different needs of all horse owners:

Agria Equine Lifetime Lite – vet fees cover up to £3,000

Agria Equine Lifetime – vet fees cover up to £6,500

Agria Equine Lifetime Plus – vet fees cover up to £10,000

• Agria is one of the world’s leading animal insurers, specialising in small animal, equine, and agricultural insurance. Founded in Sweden over 130 years ago, Agria started
  underwriting policies in the UK in 2009 and is now a prominent part of the UK pet
  insurance sector. 
• In the UK, Agria works with over 40,000 vets, breeders and rehoming organisations,
  providing insurance for horses, cats, dogs, and rabbits. Agria also administers pet
  insurance schemes for the leading small animal registration bodies, The Kennel Club, and the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF).
• Lifetime Dog and Cat policies from Agria Pet Insurance are rated 5 star by Defaqto, have been named as Which? Best Buys and are rated Excellent on Trustpilot. Agria Pet
  Insurance is one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ 2020, ranked by Great Places to Work®
• For more information see www.agriapet.co.uk / 

• For further information please contact: lucy@thegpc.co.uk  or panda@thegpc.co.uk