A Ripon Grammar School pupil and rising equestrian star has qualified for the prestigious Horse of the Year show.
17-year-old Alice Binks, from Thirsk, was selected for the famous British equestrian season finale show after competing with her horse, Hatty, at the Royal Highland Show.
Nominated for a national Junior Rider of the Year title last year, Alice will be taking part in the intermediate show riding type class at the event in Birmingham in October.
She has also qualified for the Royal International Horse Show which takes place at Hickstead on July 27th.
Alice took up riding when she was just three years old and began competing when she was nine, travelling all over the country to compete in events.
Since 2015, she has qualified for the Horse of the Year (HOYS) and the Royal International Horse Show every year.
Affiliated to the Craig Elenor Equestrian show team, her horse’s show name is Roseberry Fascinator and her stable name is Hatty.
She has claimed the reserve title at the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead for two consecutive years and won the supreme intermediate champion title at the British Show Pony Society Summer Championships last summer.
Her ambition now is to win the Horse of the Year Show and gain a hat-trick win at the Royal International Horse Show.
This year HOYS qualifiers have become increasingly competitive as small and large breeds have been combined into one qualifying class, with just 19 qualifying shows across the country.
Hatty, a small breed, now has to compete with large breeds.
Alice said:
“I feel incredibly lucky to be able to own and ride a fabulous horse like Hatty, and one day it would be fabulous to have a foal from her.”
Alice, who hopes to study medicine at university, juggles her A-level work with her riding and tending to Hatty.
She said:
“Owning a horse comes with hours of responsibility.”
During the summer months, she travels all over the country to compete at qualifying shows such as the Royal Highland Show, Royal Windsor, Royal Three Counties and the Great Yorkshire Show.
In addition, Alice, who works as a qualified pool lifeguard, is involved in lots of other sports, including netball, rugby and hockey.
She was awarded player of the year for 1st VII netball and is also one of the RGS U18s Netball Team which won the Team of the Year award at RGS’s 2024 Sports Awards.
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