Olympia London International Horse Show: The Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National

The Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National is one of the favourite events of the Olympia London International Horse Show for many. Tonight (Monday 19 December 2011) is the last chance for the Olympia audiences to catch the frantic and ever-popular race.

The Shetland Pony Grand National
The Shetland Pony Grand National, which began in 1981 by the founder of the Olympia International Horse Show Raymond Brooks-Ward, sees ponies and jockeys from all over the country battle it out for the title.

All jockeys must be aged between nine and 13 years and be no taller than 5ft 1 inch. Despite their young age and small stature, the Shetland Pony Grand National is surprisingly similar to its much larger counterpart.

Spectators will see the ponies paraded before the jockeys mount and are led down to the starting line. The race consists of two and a half laps of a course that incorporates 12 mini Grand National style fences.

Between 50 and 60 ponies take place in various events throughout the year, before the ten most successful ponies and riders compete at the London International Horse Show.

All of the ponies taking part in the Shetland Pony Grand National must be registered with the Shetland Pony Stud Book Society and a member of the National Shetland Performance Awards Scheme for a year.

Since its inception in 1981, the Shetland Pony Grand National has raised nearly £400,000 for charity. The current charity is Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

The Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National 2011
The riders in this year’s Shetland Pony Grand National are as follows: Francis Whitingham James Crowley, Gemma Millman, Jo Akehurst, Jack Mitchell, Tom Garner, Jon Jo Milzerak, Will Twiston Davies, Sam Twiston Davies, George Crate and Kay Gillegan.

The mascot for the 2011 Shetland Pony Grand National is Lady GaGa of Catchpuddle. Somewhat smaller and hairier than her namesake, Lady GaGa of Catchpuddle is a six-month-old Shetland Pony bred by the Stevens family from South Wales. Already a prizewinner, Lady GaGa of Catchpuddle has won first prize in both the Miniature Foal Championship and Shetland Foal Championship.

You can see a video from the 2011 Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National over at the Horsemart video pages.

To find out more about Olympia or the Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National, visit the Olympia London International Horse Show website.

Source: Olympia London International Horse Show

Photo: Murray Barnes