‘He’s such a talent. He doesn’t realise how good he is.’
A six year-old schoolboy from East Riding has dazzled judges with his natural horse riding ability, winning a top national competition. Drew Palmer, who lives in Wawne and attends the village school, scooped the Dartmoor Supreme title at the STARS Champion of Champions show at Aintree – a major end of season finale that pits the cream of regional riding clubs against each other.
The talented youngster “never missed a beat” in showing off his 19 year-old Dartmoor pony, Cider, which lives in stables at the Palmer family home. Inspiration for Drew’s riding career comes from his mum Jess, who competed as a child, and is steered by his expert grandma, Sally.
Jess explained: “He’s such a talent. He doesn’t realise how good he is. He just sits up on that pony and does his thing, and he does really well. We’re really over moon with what happened at STARS.”
“He takes it all in his stride. Just afterwards, when I asked him: “what’s just happened?” He just said: “I’ve won!”
“In the Supreme Championship there must have been nearly 30 ponies in that class and we all had to do an individual show, so the judge has to watch us and they looked for style, movement and how you look.
“At the end, you all stand up and in the Supreme, there’s only one winner. The man on the microphone said the judges wanted to look at two ponies in particular and if your number is called, you need to step forward. Ours was one of them. I did a second take and the girl beside us said “you need to go forward” and I thought “oh my god, it’s us!”
Having shown off Cider – whose show name is Purl Blackthorn – the judges called Drew. He was awarded two rosettes, a sash for Cider and a wool blanket, with Horse & County TV interviewing him on his achievement.
Drew, who has three siblings and is also a keen footballer, has been riding his pony for about 18 months and is a member of Sorrelcourt Riding Club. Before that he took weekly riding lessons and now trains with his mum at home.
Jess added: “Seeing Drew ride that centre line on his lap of honour with the music playing and the crowd clapping and seeing him punch the air as he celebrates his win will be a moment we’ll treasure forever.”
Drew’s achievements have now been the focus of a special assembly at Wawne Primary School, where he is a pupil. Teachers say he has taken the success in his stride.
Georgina Lawson, headteacher at Wawne Primary School, said: “We are incredibly proud of Drew’s remarkable achievement. Winning a national horse-riding competition at just six years old is an extraordinary accomplishment and it reflects his dedication, courage and natural talent. The whole school was so excited to hear of how well Drew did and he has put Wawne on the map!”