YOUNG Millie Bowles was over the moon when hearing she had won a lesson and visit to her idol Jayne Ross’ yard near Windsor.
The 14-year-old member of the East Kent Pony Club entered a competition in The Showing Journal magazine, run in conjunction with Jayne’s sponsor TopSpec, well known for their range of feed balancers and other innovative horse feeds,
Based in Ashford, Millie took her Welsh Section B pony, Cottrell River Dance, known as Ronnie in the stable, for her lesson.
Now 20-years-old Ronnie and Millie have been together for two-and-a-half years and have recently moved up to affiliated showing, competing in Show Hunter Pony classes.
Said Millie: “The timing of winning the lesson with Jayne and also getting nutritional advice from TopSpec for Ronnie could not have been better.
“This summer we have had a real aim for competing at some of the bigger shows and at a higher level and the help and tips from Jayne were fantastic.
“We really concentrated on the gallop as this is something that I wanted help with. Jayne really got Ronnie moving forward but in balance and not rushing, and in just a few minutes there was a big improvement.
“As the gallop improved I also found I gained a lot more confidence and everything became much easier. I feel very lucky to have won the lesson, TopSpec feed and nutritional advice.”
After the lesson Jayne also gave Millie some tips on turnout and perfecting the overall look when in the show ring.
It was then time for a tour of the yard where Millie met some of Jayne’s well known names including the multi-award winning heavyweight show hunter, Bloomfield Excelsior.
A peak in Jayne’s tack room also revealed her many awards and rosettes and rounded off a fantastic afternoon for Millie, her parents and Ronnie.