Latest News About Ryan

Having being informed while in Slovenia that he had his HOYS wildcard withdrawn for an incident he was completely blameless in, Ryan showed all his professionalism to put up some great performances in the FEI World Cup qualifier show in Slovenia.

Ryan wasted little time in getting started on day one putting up an excellent display on Otage to finish forth in the GG Postojna - Preis. Otage looked very sharp and Ryan temporarily took the lead but could not quite hold off the competition.

The big class on day two had been a target for Ryan, placed two years ago in the same class, and he came very close to securing top prize. Being one of only four double clear rounds, Ryan took the lead with two left to jump but had to settle for second when he was piped by Jürgen Kurz riding Aisha.

After two excellent performances, Ryan decided to save Otage for the Nations Cup in Zagreb so he turned to second string Vahagn de Lozana to jump the World Cup qualifier. Having jumped very well the previous day 'Vinnie' and Ryan were in top class form, and after jumping a superb clear round Ryan at back and watched the next thirty horses fail to complete to add to the clear round total. At one stage it looked as if Ryan would be the only clear, but late in the day fellow Brit Hannah Paul - Sirrius, Kevin Staut - Le Prestige St Loi of France and Bulgarian Angel Nyagolov - Baloufino joined Ryan in the jump-off. Although Ryan had two down in the jump-off, finishing an excellent forth place he knew that Vinnie was near his limit "We just ran out of jump. It's as high as he wants to go and he put in so much effort in the first round I thought we'd be struggling a little bit in the jump off" said Ryan "At one stage I thought I was going to be the only clear round but I'm delighted with all the horses, they all jumped very well and we've picked up some nice prize money" added Ryan

UPDATE: Ryan has had his HOYS wildcard taken from him after a rules mix up. Despite being completely innocent, and having abided by all the rules at the Rowallan HOYS qualifer, complaints by Geoff Billington, resulted in Ryan having his wild card taken from him. Ryan will not now be granted a HOYS wildcard his performance so richly deserved, and to add insult to injury was not able to participate in the final HOYS qualifier at UNEX Towerlands as he was representing his country in Zagreb!!

As a gesture of good will, Grandstand Media have decided to give Ryan a wildcard for the 2009 British Open.

Ryan produced a top class performance to take one of the highly sort after HOYS wildcards at the Rowallan Equestrian Centre this weekend. Ryan took his three established grade A horses Otage, Vahagn de Lozana and Whisker to Rowallan, and even though Otage and Vahagn de Lozana are much more experienced it was Susan Heath's exciting young stallion Whisker that stole the show.

These three day qualifying show put the emphasis on consistency and Ryan came out in very determined mood on the first day finishing an excellent 6th on Whisker and 7th on Vahagn de Lozana. "I was very pleased both of them" said Ryan "It's the start you need on the first day, you can't win the wildcard on the first day but you sure can lose it" added Ryan.

Day two was Otage's turn to hog the spotlight. After jumping well on day one for four faults, the long speed class on day two is one of Otage's specialties and he didn't disappoint finishing an and excellent third to make sure Ryan maintained his position near the top of the leader board. "Otis was a bit sharp on day one but I knew that would put him straight for this this contest. We've got a good chance now, all the horses are jumping well and I'm pretty confident we'll do well tomorrow" said Ryan.

Having put himself in a great position to qualify Ryan did not disappoint in the final qualifier on the last day of the show. Riding with great maturity, Ryan showed all his class to finish second in the Grand PRIX with the fast improving young stallion Whisker and secure one of the wildcards. "Absolutely delighted" said Ryan "We had a good plan all weekend and the horses did their jobs. I'm especially pleased with Whisker, he's really starting to become consist ant on the bigger tracks and I'm really looking forward to taking all three to HOYS"

Ryan also brought two of his young horses to Rowallan to jump in both the newcomers and Foxhunter contests. Susan Heath's Vino was very impressive at the show jumping double clear in both the newcomers and Foxhunter classes.

Ryan and the Great Britain Young Riders team secured the bronze medal at the European Young Riders Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. After a very close battle with the French team for the bronze, Ryan - Whisker, Hannah Paul - Sirrius and Gemma Plumbley - Lutine du Charmoie all jumped superb clear rounds in the jump off to secure the bronze medal, the forth member of the team William Whitaker was not required to jump.

Ryan was very pleased with Whisker, who jumped very well on day one to go clear, had a very unlucky pole in the first round of the team event, and even though things did not go Ryan and Whiskers way in the second round round of the team event, Ryan showed all his class to jump a superb clear round in the jump off to help secure the bronze medal. Ryan will now get down to national business and look to get good placing in the upcoming Renault series at the New Forest County show this week.

Ryan celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday with a superb win in the big class on the first day of the Great Yorkshire show. In what can only be described as testing conditions, Ryan and Otage were in great form and followed up their win in the Addington PCA Grand PRIX on Saturday with another super display of jumping. With only three going clear, Ryan held of all challengers to complete the victory and will now be looking to pick up valuable points in the Renault series on the Wednesday.

With less than three weeks from the European Championships in Prague, Ryan showed exactly why he is a key member of the Great Britain team with a stunning performance to win the Addington Manor summer PCA Grand PRIX on Otage. Ryan took all his first string horses together with Susan Heath's very exciting stallion Safaro to the Addington summer show.

Ryan has great hopes for Safaro and this inexperienced giant of a stallion showed why Ryan has so much faith in him jumping a superb double clear in the second round of the Foxhunters. Safaro has been very consistent over the last few months and now Ryan feels he has enough experience to step him up and start jumping bigger courses during the rest of the summer.

The three round Addington PCA Grand PRIX was Ryan's main target bringing all his front three horses, Otage - who has been in great form of late, Vahagn de Lozana and his 2008 European horse, the exciting young stallion Whisker. Ryan decided to jump Whisker first, and quickly showed everyone watching why he selected this impressive young stallion for his European horse jumping an excellent clear round. Vahagn de Lozana was next to go and looked in great nick, but an unlucky pole at the second last fence put paid to his chances. When Otage is in top form he is very competitive in every big class he jumps. Currently in 2nd in the Renault series, Ryan established stable star put up a flawless display of jumping to go clear and put a marker for the rest of the field to follow. Ryan and Whisker were first to go in the second round and produced the sort of round required in to do well in European competition, jumping clear with the minimum of fuss and looking very professional. Ryan decided to take Whisker out of the final jump off as the bigger picture is the European championships and he felt Whisker had done enough. With Otage jumping another hugely impressive clear in the second round, Ryan was in confident mood going into the jump off. With the draw again being unkind, Ryan was first to go in the jump off and produced a breathtaking performance, taking all the turns in great style and with Otage jumping with such enthusiasm they flew the last to finish in a time of 40.54sec. Such was the pressure Ryan had put on the rest of the field, even the likes of Robert Smith on Ronaldo could not leave the poles up trying to chase down Ryan's extraordinary effort. If Ryan can maintain this form for the rest of the year and the horses continue to improve good things could happen in 2008.

Ryan and Whisker HOPE FOR European Glory

Ryan has been selected for The Accenture Young Riders Team who will represent Great Britain at the 2008 European Show Jumping Championships to be held in Prague, Czech Republic from the 16th – 20th July 2008. Ryan will be joined by Hannah Paul - Sirrius, Gemma Plumley - Lutine du Charmois, William Whitaker - Sarlino and Tim Page - Quentin Tarantino. This is Ryan's last year in the Young Riders classes and always had this as one of his main goals for 2008. Ryan will use his young stallion Whisker, owned by Susan Heath, who has been really convincing this year and has taken to jumping the bigger tracks in his stride. It is a testament to the quality squad Ryan has built up this year that he is very confident taking Whisker and using his established stable stars Otage and Vahagn de Lozana for the big shows in the UK.

"I'm very proud to be part of the team" said a delighted Ryan "It's always an honour to represent your country and I'm really looking forward to it. We had always hoped Whisker would develop into a European horse this year, he's been in great form especially the last three months, he's jumped alot of clear rounds just what you need for a big event such as this."

When asked about the other team members Ryan was excited about the team going to Prague. "I think it's a very strong team, Hannah and Sirrius have been in fantastic form this year and they were very impressive at Wales & West and last week in Haagan. Gemma's horse is another who looks the part, Gemma has already won European medals, is a great competitor, and knows what it takes to get the job done. Not much you can say about William, great experience for someone of his age, International Grand PRIX winner, great rider, very impressive horse, top competitor, glad he's riding for us and not against us. It's good to see Tim in the team. Even though he's not got that much European experience, Tim has improved enormously over the last year, he has a very good horse, a good temperament and they've jumped consistently well for a while now, I think he deserves his place on the team. I think if we all perform to our potential, we stand a decent chance of picking up a medal, we all understand what it takes to win a competition such as this and if we all concentrate of doing a job for the team it also helps us individually as well."

Ryan 3rd in Bolesworth Castle Grand PRIX

With over £18,000 in prize money the Assura Group Bolesworth Castle Grand Prix attracted the very best riders and horses in the country and the large crowd on hand were treated to some fantastic action. Ryan brought three horses with him to contest this high class event, Otage, who has been in great form this summer, Vahagn de Lozana who is always capable of winning big classes and his fast improving young stallion Whisker. After getting placed earlier in the show in the big speed class on Vahagn de Lozana, who was very unlucky not to have won, Ryan was really looking forward to this class for a number of reasons. With his two stable stars Otage and Vahagn de Lozana always capable of winning even in the highest national classes, Ryan was stepping up his fast improving stallion Whisker to this level and as this exciting stallion is now in the frame to be Ryan European Young Riders horse this was always going to be a good test.

Over a very big and technical track Ryan was one of only five riders to go clear on Des Le Marquand's Vahagn de Lozana, with Ryan other two rides Otage and Whisker having no luck and lowering one pole each. "Funny as it sounds, I was a bit disappointed to only have one in the jump off. Whisker probably jumped the best and was really unlucky to have one pole, he is improving all the time and is looking most convincing. Otis was in really good form and didn't touch a pole until the one he tapped off. "Vinnie" jumped super but we touched a few and out of the three "Vinnie" probably jumped third best" said Ryan. However, once in the jump off Vahagn de Lozana put up a great display of jumping going clear finishing just behind John Whitaker on coloured stallion Utah Van Erpekom and Laura Renwick riding Limelight De Breve who were the only other double clear rounds. Although third, Ryan collected a nice £3000 for his efforts and even though Otage and Whisker had one pole down, both were placed 8th and 9th respectively completing an excellent class for Ryan.

Ryan now will now move on to the Royal Norfolk show for the Renault series and will also be jumping abroad in Hargen (GER) in the next trial for the European Young Riders Championship in July.

Ryan up to 3rd in Renault Series

Ryan moved up to third place in the Renault Series after an excellent 2nd on Otage just behind Laura Renwick (Limelight de Breve) in the South Of England leg of this prestigious national series. In front of a large crowd enjoying the sun and the showjumping, Ryan was set a very stiff task by Laura Renwick, but he set off with great determination and was up with the time throughout most of the jump off but just failed to catch Laura having to settle for an excellent second place, picking up a valuable nine points in the process. "Otage loves this time of year and seems to save his best for this series" said Ryan "Laura's time was excellent and even though you are tempted to chase it hard, this series is all about consistency and if at any stage you don't feel you can win, making sure you jump double clear is very important, it keeps the points ticking over and puts you in a position to challenge for the car" added Ryan. With Ryan now finishing third and second in the two Renault events he has contested consistency does seem to be the order of the day.

Ryan in excellent form at Herts County

With lead horse Otage at home, Ryan still took a strong squad to the popular Herts County Show held in glorious weather at the the Hertfordshire County showground. Concentrating on two classes, Ryan wasted little time in making an impact with an excellent clear round in the HOYS 2008 Grade C qualifier on the exciting prospect Safaro. This lovely big horse is still very inexperienced and Ryan was anxious to give him the experience of the hustle and bustle of a county show. Despite being his first outdoor show on grass, Safaro adapted very well and this huge stallion jumped very well despite his greenness. Chasing one of the three qualifying places on offer, Safaro again jumped very well in the jump-off and was very unlucky to have a rail at the far end of the course. "I was very pleased with him, we didn't know what to expect as this was his first county show and his first time on grass. " said Ryan "We will get going with him this summer and get him to jump in as many shows as possible, we may also take him to a small European show." added Ryan

For the big class, the Herts Area Trail, Ryan had both Des Le Marquands Vahagn de Lozana and the very much back to form stallion Whisker. Susan Heath's young stallion has been outstanding of late with very impressive shows at both Royal Windsor, only one pole lowered in four days, and Devon County and looks to be making up into the horse Ryan thought he would be last year. Over a demanding course - only 11 clears of the forty five starters, both Vahagn de Lozana and Whisker were foot perfect and jumped very convincing first rounds. Vahagn de Lozana was the first to go of Ryan's horses and looked to be in great shape approaching the last but this very big fence, only two horses managed to clear it in the jump-off, caught "Vinnie" but was still good enough to take Ryan into second. Unfortunately, Ryan's luck did not improve with Whisker who put up a superb display of jumping but the slightest of touches on the front rail of the oxer at the far end of the course undid Ryan's attempt to go double clear. However, Ryan was very alert to the fact that there had been no clear rounds and turned on the gas in the second half of the jump-off, and with Whisker responding to Ryan's every call flew the very big last fence to finish in 2nd place, relegating "Vinnie" to 3rd. "They both jumped great, Vinnie didn't touch a pole until the last fence of the jump off and Whisker was very very unlucky. That's showjumping for you, just when you think you've won a class a small error and it's gone, but I'm very pleased with the horses at the moment, especially Whisker who has as much potential as any in the yard". Ryan now takes the horses abroad next week to Reims in France for the CSIO Young Riders show.

Ryan makes fine start to Renault Series

Looking to improve on his impressive 2nd place in the Renault series last year, Ryan made a very good start by taking an excellent 3rd on Otage just behind Geoff Luckett on Pjort and Guy Williams on Pybalia II in the first leg at the Devon County Show. Ryan was looking to get some good early points as he is shortly embarking on some European events as warm up to the Young Riders European Championships in late July, and may have to miss one or two of this premier national showjumping series. This is the time of the year Otage tends to come to himself so Ryan will be hoping he maintains his good summer form.

Royal Windsor 2008 - International Classes

Ryan took his two established horses Otage and Vahagn de Lozana plus his new exciting prospect Cartier Z to the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show. With the string now looking good for the very busy summer schedule, Royal Windsor presented Ryan with a perfect chance to give the lead horses a good test of jumping.

Day one got off to a great start with Otage, who really looked sharp, finishing an excellent third in the International Welcome Stakes. After jumping a very good clear in the first round, Ryan took all the fast turns without over taxing Otage to finish the jump off in a time of 38.00sec under a second off the lead. Ryan also popped around his new charge Cartier Z to get him going for the rest of the show. "I was very pleased with Otis" said Ryan "He jumped very clean and safe and I didn't over cook him as we have a long four days in this heat" added Ryan.

Later in the day Ryan jumped Vahagn de Lozana in the one round 1.50m International speed class. Jumping very fluently and quick Ryan posted the third best time of the class but unfortunately touched the back rail of the third last fence to finish on four faults. "That was a real shame, Vinnie was jumping very well and didn't deserve to have the fence, but that's show jumping and hopefully he'll jump that well all four days" added Ryan/

On the morning of day two, Ryan was in action in the International 1.50m two phase class on new horse Cartier Z - Otage being given the day off. After popping Cartier Z round on day one, Ryan was hoping to get a nice performance out of his charge and was not disappointed. Showing impressive scope in his first International show, Cartier Z finished an excellent 6th place in a time of 39.96sec and really does look a prospect. "I'm still learning how to ride him, but he has put in some fantastic performances since we've had him and I was very pleased with him today. He's careful and has lots of scope we'll just take our time with him" said Ryan.

Day three saw Ryan use the International class to get Otage ready for the Grand PRIX on the Sunday, he jumped Vahagn de Lozana in the 6 bar contest in the afternoon and Vinnie jumped very well just having the last fence down in the second round.

Day four started off in great fashion for Ryan, jumping clear on both Cartier Z and Vahagn de Lozana in the International 1.45m Speed Class, finishing placed on Vahagn de Lozana and a good thirteenth on Cartier Z respectively. " I was very pleased with Cartier Z, we changed the bridle on him this morning and he gave me a real good feel. He has jumped clear twice out of the three times we've used him and hopefully he'll continue his good progress" said Ryan "I probably could have been a little bit faster on Vinnie, he jumped great and it was a nice way to finish the show with him. We'll now get going in the Renault series with him, he jumped very well in most of them last year and he now looks ready" added Ryan.

Having jumped really well in last year's Royal Windsor Grand PRIX, Ryan was hoping for the same from his lead horse Otage, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of those show jumping days, with Ryan and Otage in great form but just lowering one pole to finish the round on four faults. "That was a real shame, Otis was really jumping and he barely touched the front rail of the big oxer on the far side. That's the way it goes, but I know he's now ready for the Renault series (finished second last year) and we'll be trying very hard" said Ryan "I was really pleased with all horses at the show, Kerry (Ryan's sister) had the horses looking fantastic and I'm really lucky to have her with me. She put's in a tremendous amount of work and is brilliant with the horses" added Ryan.

WIth the horses packed away Ryan will now be aiming for the Renault series plus some International engagements in preparation for the Young Rider European Championships later in the summer.

Royal Windsor 2008 - Young Riders Classes

With Ryan using his new horse Cartier Z as his third horse in the International Classes it was left to Whisker to compete in the four Young Riders contests at Royal Windsor. Ryan has been very patient this year with Susan Heath's fabulous looking stallion and was very hopeful he would jump well on the excellent surface at Windsor.

With Ryan slightly concerned that Whisker would have to jump all four days, the first Young Riders class was a one round, one jump off contest and Ryan's intentions was to jump a nice double clear. From the very first fence Whisker was in fantastic form and was very convincing all the way round. In the jump off Ryan and Whisker jumped a classic round of show jumping, jumping very smoothly, while saving a bit in reserve, Ryan nearly won the class coming a very impressive second place. "That was a great start" said Ryan "Whisker was very impressive and most of the way we just cantered round, I was only looking to just turn him up and we very nearly nicked the class" added a smiling Ryan.

The second Young Rider class was the one round speed event. Ryan was very anxious not to get into a speed war as there were some very fast speed horses in the class and Whisker was having to go all four days. Just like day one, Ryan and Whisker produced a faultless display of balanced show jumping to finish a very impressive third place behind two established speed horses. "He was very convincing today, we were just looking to keep it smooth today and he feels really good" said Ryan.

The third Young Rider class was the accumulator and again Ryan and Whisker were in great form again jumping clear to get the maximum to finish in second place. "He hasn't touched a fence in three days and I'm really pleased with him. We have used Windsor to give him confidence before we step him up and jump some International team events later in the month" said Ryan "He still feels strong and hopefully we'll jump well in the Young riders Grand PRIX tomorrow" added Ryan.

The Young Riders Grand PRIX on day four saw Ryan and Whisker put together another impressive display of jumping. With six going forward to the jump off, a very stiff time had been set with Ryan going second last in the jump off. Despite this being his forth day of jumping, Whisker was still in impressive form but despite beating the leaders time by over two seconds, Ryan and Whisker clipped the back rail of the third last fence and had to settle for fifth. "One fence in four days I can't complain at that" said a delighted Ryan "It's a while since he's been this consistent, we've changed one or two thing with him and he felt great all four days. We'll step him up and see if he can maintain this consistency. He has the jump, now we need to get experience of the bigger classes" added Ryan.

Ryan woke up Monday still trying to figure out how he hadn't secured one of the two British Open wild cards that were up for grabs at Addington Manor. Having started the first qualifier with a very solid sixth place on Vahagn de Lozana, Ryan was hugely impressive in the Saturday qualifier with an emphatic victory on Otage. Not content with winning one of the major qualifiers Ryan was even more impressive in the Sunday contest with a top class performance on Des Le Marquand's grey Vahagn de Lozana, being only one of only four clear rounds over a very demanding track, and dominating the jump off with a superb display of horsemanship. With the rules being horse/rider combination winning on alternate horses just counted against Ryan "How can you be disappointed, both Otis (Otage) and Vinnie (Vahagn de Lozana) jumped fantastic and one pole cost both my horses, the format just worked against us this time but that's showjumping" said Ryan with a rye smile "The important thing is the whole team is in great form at the moment and we just want to keep improving, we'll get straight back to work and get ready for the two classes we've qualified for at the British Open meeting(Young Riders championship & BSJA WInter Grand PRIX Championship), if they jump like that all year I'm sure we'll competitive where ever we go" added Ryan. "Our main goal is to build a team of quality horses and this weekend proved that we have an exciting team of experienced and younger horses".

Ryan also produced other excellent performances at Addington with his potential top class stallion Whisker who jumped double clear finishing an excellent 4th in the Addington Manor 1.30m Classic. To complete a top class show for Ryan, he also jumped double clear on his promising stallion Safaro, who continues to show plenty of scope and is a very exciting prospect for the future, and followed that by jumping double clear on his new horse Vino in the newcomers. "Whisker is really starting to get his act together" said Ryan "It was a drop down for him today and I just wanted to keep it smooth and fast, this was always going to be a very fast class so we're delighted to finish forth. Safaro excites me every time he jumps and we will start to step him up shortly."

Ryan's build up for the big spring/summers events is now in full swing. First of these comes at the end of March at the Addington British Open qualifier, and Ryan is hoping to repeat last years successful qualification - Otage. The last two Senior Premier shows have given Ryan a very solid platform to build from with all the team starting to look ready. Whisker, the youngest and most inexperienced of Ryan's front team, has started to show his potential with excellent performances in the Arena UK 1.40m Open - 3rd - and a very creditable sixth place in the Senior Grand PRIX - last fence down in jump-off. Established stable stars Vahagn de Lozana and Otage have had similarly solid build ups with "Vinnie" producing another very good performance coming 3rd in the Towerlands Senior Premier Grand PRIX. Ryan's front horse Otage has been jumped very sparingly this year but jumped superbly at Towerlands, coming third in the 1.40m Open and having only one down in the Grand PRIX. "He's very close" said Ryan "He was great in the 1.40 on Friday and the pole he had down in the Grand PRIX was my fault, which was really disappointing because he would have gone very close, he was jumping that well" added Ryan. Asked about Vahagn de Lozana's third in the Grand PRIX and Whisker, Ryan said "Vinnie was really good today, he'd been a little bit lazy at the start of the show, but he is always competitive in the Senior Grand PRIX's and it was nice to give his owner Des, who had traveled down from Scotland for the show, a good run. Whisker is coming along nicely, it's his first year at this level and he's already shown it hold's no fears for him. We will really get going with him in the next few months, he could be very good".

Ryan also jumped his new stallion Safaro and new six year old grey Vino at the Towerlands Premier Show. Safaro continues to impress and is improving all the time. "We've done nothing with him yet, we'll just let him jump around and gain experience at different venues, he's got all the scope in the world and I'm really looking forward to the summer with him. Vino is a horse that has only been in the yard for a few weeks, but we like him and we just wanted to get him to a show".

Ryan got off to a very solid start in his first big show of 2008 by getting placed 4th in the South View senior Grand PRIX on Des Le Marquand's grey Vahagn de Lozana. "Vinnie" looked really sharp and jumped superbly, not touching a pole in both rounds. With Ryan having been the first clear he had the unfavourable position of being first to go in the jump off, despite this, Ryan set a very competitive time. Unfortunately for Ryan he was chased down by the last three to go in the jump off and had to settle for forth. "I was really pleased with Vinnie considering he has had very few shows in the last few month, I'm hoping he will step up again this year and build on his really good 2007"

Otage came back from his winter break and showed there was very little wrong, going clear in the Grand PRIX and only having one pole down in the jump off. With Ryan using the show at South View as a prep meeting for Otage the smile after the Grand PRIX when asked how he felt Otage had performed said it all. "Not much wrong there!" said Ryan "We will use him sparingly and keep him to the bigger events to build him up for the important summer shows".

Despite both Ryan's lead horses being in excellent form at the show, the most satisfying performance came from his younger stallion Whisker. Not over exposed in 2007, this young horse is really starting to show his potential and after coming an excellent forth in the big 1.40m class on the Friday, Whisker only lowered one pole in the Grand PRIX and looked at home jumping at that level. "He really excites me at the moment, the pole he had in the Grand PRIX was my fault and he gave me a great feel, I think he could be a surprise package this year. We will get going with him this year and so far so good"

With Ryan's front horses back from a well deserved break he will be taking the team to the first Premier show of 2008 at South View this week (17th-20th January). Ryan will be using the Premier show to ease back Otage and Vahagn de Lozana into action in preparation for the planned - but yet to be confirmed - first International trip to France.

Ryan will also be jumping the improving stallion Whisker and Iquem du Plessis together with the young but very promising stallion Safaro.

Ryan returned home from HOYS on Monday in very positive mood and not without a certain amount of pride in his performance over the long five days of this very prestigious show. Ryan started jumping on the Wednesday, when he was back to defend his Young Show Jumper Championship on Des Le Marquand's fabulous gray Vahagn de Lozana. With a heavy schedule of big International classes set for "Vinnie", Ryan was keen to not over exert his grey this early in the week, but Ryan had little to worry about as both produced a text book round of jumping to go clear in the first round. The jump off didn't quite go as planned as "Vinnie" had a little jink at the third fence and had the front bar off. With his chance gone Ryan finished the rest of the course to finish a highly creditable third and afterwards reported to us that "Vinnie was in great shape".

Thursday was the start of the International classes and Ryan gave Very Versace - "Hugo" a skip round in the Welcome Stakes. Hugo jumped very well and cruised round with just one pole down. The first of the big International classes was the Easibed Stakes, a 1.50m two phase contest. Ryan felt "Vinnie" jumped very well on Wednesday and thought he could be quite competitive in this class and "Vinnie" didn't let him down. Ryan and "Vinnie" were top class in the second phase moving smoothly and taking all the tight turns to finish an excellent third behind Robert Whitaker and Billy Twomey. This gave Ryan valuable points towards qualifying for the Grand PRIX on the Sunday, and was a performance he hoped to build on. "Absolutely thrilled with Vinnie" said Ryan "he jumped fantastic last night and even better tonight, let's hope he can continue this level of performance"

The last class of day was the table C one round VINOPOLIS STAKES and the first chance for Otage to jump. This big one round speed class started very well for Ryan and it was clear early on that Otage was really jumping. Unfortunately, in an effort to put pressure on the leaders Ryan took and very tight turn to fence seven and it was just to much for Otage. "My fault" said Ryan "Otage was jumping so well I really thought we had a chance to push the leaders, just got my weight moving to the right a little bit to early and that was the end of that" Ryan added with a wry smile. "He's in great form, we'll be back to try again tomorrow"

Friday started with the Dick Turpin stakes a 1.45m one round speed class. Vin and Ryan decided to let "Vinnie" jump in this class, but were conscious that he had already jumped twice so the plan was to go a far as possible and if things didn't go to plan to bring "Vinnie" out and save him for the weekend. Ryan and "Vinnie" had the front bar of the third fence so Ryan looked after his charge and retired (a decision that paid dividends later!). The second International class on Friday was the THE HOYS CLASSIC, a 1.40m speed class. After giving Very Versace a spin round on the Thursday, Ryan immediately stepped up to fifth gear on "Hugo" and after jumping ten fences very cleanly and very quick Ryan came to the third last in touch with the very fast time set by the Dutch master Eric Van Der Vlueten. Alas, this is where it all went wrong as Hugo had all the last three fences down to finish on 12 faults. "Not sure what happened" said a slightly bemused Ryan "we were flying for most of the round and really had a chance, but after he had his first pole off he just lost his concentration, he didn't deserve that, that's as well as he has jumped for a while, he's still a young horse and is inexperienced at this level" added Ryan

The final class on Friday was the HOYS.CO.UK CUP a 1.60m jump off contest. This was the first really big class of the show and Ryan was in confident mood. With all the top International horses jumping, this class would be a good benchmark to see how competitive Ryan and Otage were. Jumping as well as he had done all year, Ryan and Otage completed the first part of the course in very impressive fashion, but just rolled the second part of the combination down the far side for his only mistake, finally finishing in 13th place. "I'm gutted" said Ryan "Otis was in amazing form and he didn't deserve that, he's showing as much scope as he has all year. This was a very big track, as big as he has jumped for over a year and he handled it very well, it's just so frustrating to have just one fence down".

The big classes on Saturday were pressure packed for Ryan. Needing points to qualify for the big Grand PRIX on Sunday, Ryan's top priority, he set about the task in very positive mood. Otage was first up in the WOOF WEAR STAKES a 1.55m jump off contest. Maintaining his excellent form from the first two days, Ryan and Otage gave a fantastic display of jumping and went clear to take their place in the eleven man jump-off. Last to go in the jump-off and chasing a very fast time set by Billy Twomey on Whinney Jackson, Ryan set about his task with gusto. With Otage answering all Ryan's calls, they arrived at the very big and tricky vertical which was the second last fence two tenths of a second down, and although both made a great effort to clear the fence just knocked the top bar down and Ryan's chance had gone. "We were competitive, he gave me everything, he just gets so enthusiastic at times he's a little big tricky and with the fences this high you just have to make a slight mistake and the chance has gone. He's still jumping so well, if we can qualify for the Grand PRIX on Sunday I'm sure we'll be competitive".

With qualification not certain, the pressure was really on Ryan to pick up some points in the last qualifying class the WOOF WEAR ACCUMULATOR on Vahagn de Lozana. Like Otage, "Vinnie" has jumped really well and although Ryan hadn't got into the winners enclosure he was very confident "Vinnie" would jump well. "We should be okay" said Ryan "Vinnie has been in good form and I'm sure he'll be fine" added Ryan. Twenty fifth to go, Ryan knew exactly what he needed to do and showing all his talent jumped a superb round to thrill the crowd with a maximum score of 65 points and secure the points he needed to qualify for the big class on Sunday. "Vinnie is still very inexperienced at this level, and after seeing Robert and Lacroix jump an amazing round, it was my job to make sure we jumped clear and secure a good placing. Vinnie was great, he's had a fantastic show and this is a big as he has jumped all year" said Ryan

During 2007 Ryan had qualified for two major finals in the UK. He had qualified for the final day in both theses events, and it was just reward for all the hard work he had put in during the summer that he lined up with the top twenty two riders to compete in the HOYS 2007 Grand PRIX.

Watching Ryan walk the Grand PRIX course, constantly checking the related distances and rehearsing coming off the corners to very big combinations, we figured this would be a very demanding class. "Very big and very tricky, I can't see more than six or seven clear rounds" said Ryan on his way back to the collecting ring, "We'll have to be very good today, but Otage is in great form and you never know!". Riding full of confidence, Ryan produced probably his best display of riding all year as he went clear in fantastic style to be one of only eight clear rounds. "Chuffed to bits" said Ryan to Sky Sports Suzanne Dando after the round, impressing everyone including Sky Sports commentator Andy Austin who said "that's the best I've seen Ryan ride". Although the jump off didn't quite go as planned with Otage having two poles while trying to chase a fast time, Ryan was delighted with the performance of Otage. "It's a shame, but we just seemed to run out of petrol in the jump off. Otage has been jumping every day and we made such an effort to get into the jump off, we just couldn't quite finish it off" said Ryan "how can you be unhappy after the way Otage has jumped all week. We've worked so hard to try to get that extra 10% out of him and all summer he has improved. He's taken another step up this week, and now I need to keep improving to get that extra last bit from him so we can win very big classes such as this. Otage will proabably have a rest now, but we'll see how it goes over the next few weeks. It would be nice to get into Belfast and that's what we'll try to do. If we jump there that will be last event Otage jumps in this year"