The Baileys Horse Feeds/BEF Futurity Evaluation series is the fastest growing young horse evaluation programme in the UK and 2012 is set to be the busiest year yet. With capacity for well over 900 entries, the BEF Futurity aims to identify British bred young potential sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, show-jumping or endurance, and may even find the Olympic Champions of the future.

The BEF Futurity Evaluations are held at 16 venues throughout the UK between July and September. The young horses go home with a BEF Premium (grade) and a detailed, informative score sheet. Entries open online on the 1st June and some venues fill up within 48 hours so breeders need to respond quickly to be sure of a place. Entry fees remain unchanged for 2012 and all results are published on the fully searchable Futurity website.

Horses and ponies are entered for the discipline they are bred to perform in, with age groups for foals, yearlings, two and three year olds. Each horse is evaluated in hand and loose in an indoor school as well as undergoing a vet’s assessment. Breeders have also commended the series as it allows them to get their youngstock out in public in a safe environment. Dominick Atkinson, breeder of a Futurity top scorer said “I entered the Futurity for the first time last year and was pleasantly surprised that it was not a beauty parade, nor did it matter we weren’t “known names”, the Futurity assessment got down to the detail of whether my horse had potential or not, which is exactly what we as breeders need”.

Jonathan Parrott whose stallion was top scoring three year old in the 2011 Futurity said, “I found the Futurity to be very good value, particularly in terms of the publicity gained from it. There was no discrimination in the evaluating of the horses, the evaluators were brave and fair and assessed what was in front of them. I will be bringing as many of my stallion’s progeny as possible to the Futurity in 2012”.

The BEF’s Head of Equine Development Jan Rogers commented on the positive feedback they have had from the series. “The Futurity is showing itself to be an assessment system which British breeders value, because it enables them to demonstrate, long before a horse is able to compete, that it has performance potential. It is serving as a valuable marketing tool for British breeders and we are delighted that so many people want to be part of it”.

For more information, visit www.britishbreeding.org.

Futurity Dates and Venues 2012
10 Jul Catherston Stud 1, Hampshire
12 Jul Writtle College, Essex
17 Jul Myerscough College, Lancashire
19 Jul Hartpury College 1, Gloucestershire
20 Jul Hartpury College 2, Gloucestershire
24 Jul Richmond EC, Yorkshire
26 Jul Arena UK, Lincolnshire
14 Aug Plumpton College, Sussex
16 Aug Southview EC, Cheshire
21 Aug Catherston Stud 2, Hampshire
23 Aug College EC 1, Keysoe Bedfordshire
24 Aug College EC 2, Keysoe Bedfordshire
27 Aug Scottish National Equestrian Centre, Edinburgh
29 Aug Tall Trees, Cornwall
04 Sep Solihull Riding Club 1, West Midlands
05 Sep Solihull Riding Club 2, West Midlands