Latest News About Ryan

Ryan had a chance to let his youngsters gain some valuable experience at the Unex Masters CSI** International show at Towerlands Park in November. Ryan has been very patient with his exciting prospect Vino this year and this was the perfect opportunity to step this six year old up. After jumping very well on day one with just one pole down, Vino put in a very eye catching round in the 2phase 5/6yr old Handicap on day two. Showing a good deal of scope,Vino cantered round the course in very impressive fashion to finish an excellent forth. In the final of the 6yr old on day three, Vino again was hugely impressive jumping clear and four with Ryan not overtaxing this talented Grey. "I was delighted with Vino" said Ryan "He is really starting to get his act together and I'll now keep him going at some of the Senior Premier show, he could be a real good horse".

Ryan's other six year old Olywood Des Foret is a new addition to the string but showed a good deal of promise. Jumping double clear on day one to finish third, Maximo Des Foret showed why Ryan decided to keep him as he was competitive throughout the show just lowering two poles in the whole show. "He's very feisty" said Ryan "He can be a real handful in the collecting ring but once he's in the ring he has a real determined and enthusiastic way of jumping. He's good lots of natural speed and I think we'll have some great fun with him next year"

With Otage having his annual break and Vahagn de Lozana shortly to leave the yard, Ryan used the international show to blood his imposing stallion Safaro together with Gerchwin Brevaire - a horse that is currently available for sale - in the big classes. Safaro, owned by Susan Heath, is another one of Ryan's horses that has been brought on very steadily and this was the first time he has jumped four 1.40m+ classes at one show. Despite the sharp step up, Safaro showed he belongs at this height jumping very well and showing impressive scope throughout the show just lowering one pole in each of his first three classes and having a few off in the Grand PRIX. "This was an excellent education for him" said Ryan "He hasn't seen these type of tracks and was very unlucky in a few of his classes. I will now keep him going in the Grand Prix's at the Senior Premier Show during the winter and see where we go from there." added 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Having being informed while in Slovenia that he had his HOYS wildcard withdrawn for an incident he was completely blameless in, Ryan showed all his professionalism to put up some great performances in the FEI World Cup qualifier show in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.