Newmarket Academy student Harry wins national pony racing championship title

A Newmarket student has booked his place in a prestigious competition in Abu Dhabi after clinching victory in the national Pony Racing Championship final.

Thirteen-year-old Harry Davies and his pony Little Anne earned enough points throughout the summer in the Pony Racing Authority’s Charles Owen series of races at courses all over the country to reach the national final at York earlier this month.

Harry, a pupil at Newmarket Academy, said he was aiming for a top-four finish in the 10-horse final but he and Little Anne powered to victory over York’s seven-furlong course to seal the national title.

“To come first was just crazy,” said Harry, who has been racing for two years. “I won a trophy and a rug for Annie and I have been invited to compete in Abu Dhabi for Great Britain in November.”

Harry’s ambition is to become a jockey and dreams of one day winning The Derby.

His proud mother Angie Shea, assistant to top trainer Hugo Palmer at Kremlin Cottage Stables where the family lives, said her son’s attitude in the final had been ‘confident and determined’ and described 11-year-old Little Anne as a ‘real professional’.

She said the 13.2 hands chestnut pony had been purchased in Ireland for Harry to ride in the championship series.

“Abu Dhabi is going to be an incredible experience. Harry will be riding a different pony over there while Annie relaxes in a paddock at home,” said Angie.