PENDAVEY MATRA

Cassius earned his place in the Lifetime Ridden Performance Awards by gaining:-
Category 1 - three wins in Pairs Ridden.
Category 2 – a win in show jumping and a win in WHP.
Category 3 – N/A

Cassius qualifies in two sections as he was born before 1985.  Cassius’s dam, Mimi, was imported by Thelma and Charles Davidson with four other mares in the early seventies.  She and two of the Davidson’s mares were by the stallion 450 Weit.  His Sire Magpie was bred at Chatsworth and Cassius is one of the only foals by this stallion.

 

Cassius’s story

Cassius may be small (standing just 13.1 ½ hh) but he sure is mighty!

Cassius has competed with many riders at the Breed Show over the years, most successfully with Alex Nix.  Not only has he been unbeatable with his pairs partner Garway Cola (another Lifetime Ridden Performance Award winner) he has also been highly successful jumping.  Although not his first choice of activity, Cassius’s patience is such that for the sake of the fancy dress class he has tolerated being dressed up as Postman Pat, Titanic and even a Spice Girl!

However, it is away from the Breed Show that Cassius’s greatest achievements come.  His wins in the world of endurance are extensive, amassing Junior Challenge trophies and Best Condition trophies and he is the only Haflinger to represent Great Britain in the sport not once but twice.  In Holland he competed in an 87 mile race ride and finished 2nd.  He then went on to compete in Switzerland at an 89 mile race ride finishing 7th.  Cassius has qualified more riders to ‘Gold Series’ than any other Haflinger (ten riders in total) and is recognised by Endurance GB for competing over 1500 miles.

Working for many years in the riding school at the North Worcestershire Equestrian Centre, Cassius has always earned his bread and butter at home along side the glory of his glittering competitive career.   In his role as a riding school horse Cassius has taught hundreds of riders of all ages and abilities to ride, both in lessons and hacking over the Clent hills. 

Cassius was also a member of the Silvretta Stud’s Haflinger Ridden Display team, thrilling the crowds with a display to music that culminated with the horses jumping through rings of fire, a testament to the Haflinger’s bravely, ability and obedience.

Through his success as an endurance horse Cassius has brought the many desirable attributes of the Haflinger as a performance horse to the attention of a wide-ranging audience, both at home and abroad.  Cassius’s fame in the sphere of endurance is such that his hoof was once featured in Horse and Hound in an article depicting the perfect endurance horse!  Now in his thirties, Cassius is fully retired and enjoying a more leisurely pace of life at home in Worcestershire.

Helen Blair

PHOTOS

 

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