Cassionora GF makes his 2026 show debut

Cassionora GF made his first outing of the 2026 season with a trip to the always friendly Epworth Equestrian Centre.

Competing in the 80cm and 90cm classes, Cass quickly proved that the jumps and colourful fillers held no concerns whatsoever. What did excite him, however, was the whole experience of being at a busy show with lots of unfamiliar horses in a brand-new environment!

"Spicy" is probably the most appropriate description of his attitude on the day. Cass had developed some rather strong opinions of his own and was absolutely convinced that Daisy Williams had no idea which canter lead he should be on—or indeed why she kept insisting on asking him to change. In Cass's mind, he had already worked it all out for himself!

To be fair to him, despite his moments of sass, his attitude to the fences was exceptional. He took Daisy confidently to every jump, was brave with the fillers and was always looking to get on with the job.

A first show is a huge learning experience for any 4 year old horse. There's the journey, a completely new venue, dozens of unfamiliar horses, new sights and sounds, a different surface, a busy warm-up arena and then a full course of fences. It's a lot for any youngster to process, and Cass coped admirably.

We came away incredibly pleased with him. The next stage of his education is helping him understand that those little human inputs are there to make his job easier—not because we're trying to spoil his fun! Once he learns to trust and accept those aids a little more, we genuinely believe the sky is the limit.

And the biggest positive of all? Wow, this horse has talent! Just like his sire, the exceptional Cassionato, Cass has all the ingredients to become a very exciting prospect for the future. We can't wait to see where his journey takes him.

Finally, a huge thank you to Cheryl, John, the judges, stewards and everyone at Epworth Equestrian Centre for such a friendly and welcoming show. We'd also like to thank our fellow competitors, who made Daisy and Cass's first outing such an enjoyable experience. Rather than judging a young horse having his very first show, so many people took the time to comment on Cass's obvious talent and to compliment Daisy on her sympathetic and excellent riding. Those kind words meant a great deal to us and rounded off a wonderful first outing for this exciting young stallion.
Thank you also to Greenwood photography 📷 who took such lovely pictures on the day