Ryan Prater News - 2012
News from 2012 will appear here.
Ryan Prater News - 2011
Ryan Wins Foxhunter 2nd Round at Weston Lawns
Ryan maintained his great form this summer by getting his second 2011 HOYS ticket, this time winning the Foxhunter second round at Weston Lawns on Vino.
With over one hundred in the class, Vino was very impressive in the first round and quickly showed he was going to be very competitive. This big jumping athletic grey gelding has been impressing during the summer county shows and Ryan has always held him in high regard. With thirty nine going through to the second round, Ryan and Vino were even more impressive with a foot perfect round of jumping. Over a very big jump off track Ryan and Vino were a class apart, with Vino showing all his atheletic abilty, scope and speed to win the class by over 1 sec. "He deserved this" said Ryan "We've been very patient with him over the last two year and it really appears as if he is getting his act together. He's naturally a very athletic horse and although he's light on his feet he does have a big jump. He gave me a good feeling early on today and I'm delighted he put it all together. I will be looking for him to step it up during the summer in preparation for HOYS" added Ryan.
Ryan Wins At Suffolk County
Ryan was again in terrific form at the Suffolk County show winning the 1.40m single round A4 class on the fast improving Ben Vorlich. Chasing down a very quick time Ryan and Ben Vorlich were at their very best with some top class turns over the long and technical track to win in convincing style. Ben Vorlich has been in excellent form at the County shows so far this year and Ryan is hoping to step him up even more as the summer progresses.
Ryan Continues in Great Form at Herts County
Ryan continued his excellent recent form with another set of good results at the Herts County Show this weekend - May 28th. Ryan had targeted the two biggest classes of the weekend, The Accumulator and Area Trail and very nearly gained a clean sweep of victories.
Ryan and Now & Forever clear the Joker to win the Accumulator class
Ryan jumped three in the Accumulator, Ben Vorlich, Now & Forever and the fast improving Vino. Ryan has been gradually stepping up Ben Vorlich over the last few months and on the evidence of this round it appears to be paying off after an impressive maximum score to take the joint lead with Charles Lake. Ryan was next up with Vino, who was also declared for the Area Trail and often requires a warm up class to get him firing, and even though Ryan didn't have his foot firmly to the floor, produced a fine display of jumping just tipping the very last fence, the 1.55m Joker, in what would have been a very decent time. With only a few to go Tim Gredley riding his stallion BF Utopia took top spot and it was left to Ryan and Now & Forever to try and wrestle back top spot. 'Julian' is another horse that Ryan has taken his time with. He has shown some really progressive form lately and he did not disappoint. With two top class turnbacks from fences one to two and between the last two fences, Ryan and 'Julian' cleared the last to take half a second off Tim's time to win the class. "He's perfect for these types of classes" said Ryan "He's quick across the ground and is a nice level ride, I can spin him up nice a tight now and he gaining confidence all the time. Ben Vorlich could have jumped in the Area Trial, but we have a good many shows coming up so we decided to jump this class. He's another who is really starting to show improvement as he gains experience."
Ryan jumped three in the Area Trail, his stallion Whisker, new horse Celebrity Z and Vino. Over a big county trial circuit Ryan was second in on Whisker who put up a very good display of jumping just clipping the back rail of the combination to finish on four faults. New horse Celebrity Z has been a revelation since joining Ryan. A powerful horse with lots of jump, Ryan has been getting to grips with this talented horse and he showed his class in the first round of the Area Trial jumping a superb clear just inside a very tight time of 72sec. Ryan has just been trying to find the right bridle for this very strong horse and judging by this performance is very close.
Having had a very good Devon County show, Ryan decided to step up Vino to the Area Trail. Vino is a very athletic horse who does have plenty of jump. Having had his warm up class in the Accumulator, Ryan nursed Vino around the big track and Vino responded to all Ryan's calls with an excellent clear round - one of only four in the class. Vino didn't appear troubled by this big step up in class and Ryan was clearly delighted by his performance. Being an A9 contest, five went through to the jump-off, four clears, of which two were Ryan's, and Tim Gredley's BF Utopia who had a couple of time faults in the first round.
Ryan and Celebrity Z clear the big oxer on their way to second place
Vino was the first of Ryan's to go in the jump-off and as this was his first Area Trial the plan was to concentrate on giving Vino experience at this height. Vino did Ryan proud as he again put up a very good performance. Still clear coming to the last fence a huge 1.55m oxer, Vino just tapped off the front rail to finish with four faults. Celebrity Z was next up for Ryan and he showed what an exciting prospect he is with another top class performance to jump clear and take over the lead from Tina Fletcher riding Hello Unique. With his job done, Ryan knew that the final pair, Philip Miller and the very experienced Univeau, would be hard to beat and this proved the case as the he just got past Ryan's time meaning Ryan had to settle for second and forth. "Really really pleased" said Ryan "All the horses jumped fantastic in the trial and I think we're developing a really nice squad of horses. Whisker was very good, I was just off a fraction on the last part of the treble combination going up the hill, but that helped with the other two, it was just a shame we were so early to go. Celebrity Z was excellent. I'm just starting to fully understand the horse and he's been great over the last month. He's a big powerful jumper and it's great to find one like him to put in the squad for the big classes. I was thrilled with Vino, we've always knew he had the jump it's just taken a bit of time to get him here. We will take it steady with him at this height but he's really starting to get his act together and hopefully start to turn into the horse we've all thought we had."
Ryan Qualifies for 2011 Horse of the Year Show
Ryan and Vino were at their very best at the Devon County show winning the Grade C Horse of the Year qualifier in emphatic style. Ryan has always felt Vino would make up into a very nice horse and he is starting to show Ryan's faith was not misplaced with this excellent performance. Ryan has Vino very well entered up for the summer county circuit and is hoping for a very successful summer. "He was excellent today" said Ryan "He's been very close for the last month and this will give him the confidence for the coming months. He's shown he can handle some very big tracks now we just have to get him to jump these consistently" added Ryan.
Ryan also had some other very good performances from his new horse Celebrity Z who was a very encouraging 6th with Whisker also jumping well in 8th place in the County Trial. Now & Forever, Vino and Ben Vorlich were also in fine form in the Offley Stud 1.30m class.
Ryan Second in Mattie Brown at Newark & Notts
Ryan and Whisker were superb in the prestigious Mattie Brown Stakes at the Newark & Notts County show coming a very close second to John Whitaker riding Argento. This Gold Elite Stallion has been in very good form recently and was only half a second off the eventual winner. "When he jumps like this he's very competitive in the biggest classes" said Ryan "We've got some very big shows coming up such as the International Stairway series and the Area Trails and I'm sure Whisker will have a very successful season. This was a very nice start" added Ryan
Ryan also was in excellent form in the Accumulator coming second on the fast improving Now & Forever and sixth on the big jumper Ben Vorlich. "Slowly but surely the team is coming together" said Ryan "They are all very close and I think we should be able to pick up some very nice classes this summer. I've got some big jumpers now and when they gain the necessary experience I think we could have a very nice team of horses, we can then work our way back up the rankings"
