2013 was a year of ups and downs for the Knight Bridge team. It was devastating for everyone to lose Washington 103, who had been such a big part of our lives for so long. He gave Emily an enormous amount of invaluable experience and was always a great presence to have on the yard. He is sorely missed.
There have, however, been some new additions to the team who are starting to show their potential to be worthy successors. Fay Thomas’ Bright Time FST arrived in March and has made astonishing progress in a relatively short amount of time. He finishes his first season unbeaten at Prelim, Novice, Elementary and Medium, and is being aimed at Medium qualifiers in the new year.
Another new addition has been the beautiful young mare, Freya FST, also owned and bred by Fay Thomas. Freya is already showing outstanding potential for the future, achieving a High First Premium in her Futurity evaluation which including the exceptional mark of 9.4 for her trot. She has returned to Fay’s base in the Brecon Beacons for a winter break, but will be brought back into work and aimed at four year old classes in 2014.
Don Diabolo has returned after a period of time in Belgium. Jan and Liselot Dupont really did an incredible job with him while Emily was in France, and he is a better and stronger horse who finds his work both physically and mentally less taxing. He has just completed his first Intermediaire II, and he will continue at this level in 2014, with a view to eventually participating in Under 25’s Grand Prix classes.
Suilven has continued to improve throughout 2013 and her growing strength is enabling her to show more and more of her potential as the months go by. We were delighted that she was accepted onto the BEF Futurity Equine Bridge Scheme, identifying her as a possible team horse of the future. Drew has qualified her for the Novice Open Winter Semi-Final, taking place in February, and she will take part in six year old classes in 2014.
Thank you to all our owners, clients, helpers and sponsors for their support in 2013, and here’s to a happy and successful 2014! Happy New Year!