After a long, and busy season, team Armstrong-Small made the long trip to Birmingham for the final show of the year - The Horse of the Year Show. 

Matthew was first to take to the stage on Wednesday in the Middleweight Hunter Championship.  This was very exciting for the team, as this is the first time Matthew has qualified for and contested HOYS, so we were all eager to see how he would cope with the atmosphere!  The Middleweight class saw a 19 horse, strong line up, with only 9 able to go through for the final judging.  To our delight, Matthew was one of the horses chosen to go through to the afternoon performance, after giving a brilliant performance, and a wonderful ride.

In the final judging, Matthew was accompanied by 8 top class hunters, many winners of numerous county championships from across the country, including HOYS, Dublin and the RIHS.  As the judges made up their mind, team Armstrong-Small watched in shock, as the placings counted down,  with Matthews number yet to be called.  Unlike anything we had ever imagined, Matthew was called forward to take 3rd place, only to be beaten by arguably the two strongest hunters on the county circuit.

This was a dream come true for the team.  Matthew has been with Justine since he was three years old.  A few months before arriving, Matthew endured a career threatening injury that left us wondering if he would ever be able to be ridden, let alone have a showing career.  Justine has carefully produced this superb horse to the wonderful model that he is today, and to have an achievment like this is really outstanding.

We would also like to mention his delighted breeder, Lady Katie Wills, who is still Matthew's biggest fan!  We will now wait to see what the future holds for this very special horse, who is still only 6 years old.