THE INTERVIEW
The mother-daughter duo have been at the top of the working hunter game for some time. Alex Robinson finds out more about the success that spans generations
AT just 17 years old, Ruby Ward has already garnered a name for herself in the equestrian world, thanks to her ability over a fence, her sympathetic riding style and the performances delivered by the top-flight animals she has saddled. She’s collated an impressive CV that includes Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), Royal International (RIHS) and Royal Windsor accolades. She was spoilt for choice in the working hunter pony (WHP) championship at Windsor in May, having won both 143cm and 153cm sections with Angela Hunt’s Lady Dublin Of Corderry and her own first-season six-year-old Noble Banksy – with whom she eventually finished reserve champion – respectively.
It’s no surprise that Ruby is developing into the talented horsewoman she is. Her mother, Kelly Ward, is one of the circuit’s most consistent working hunter riders and, having earned her BHSAI some years ago, a popular trainer to boot.
Alongside running her training and production business, Noble Working Hunters, Kelly and her husband Nick also breed and run a team of showjumpers under the banner of Haddon Farms.
Over the years, Nick and Kelly have discovered national and international stars, including Laura Collett’s five-star eventer Noble Bestman – a HOYS and RIHS worker winner with Kelly before he flew the nest – Insul Tech Leonardo, a multi-garlanded puissance horse for William Whitaker, and Wild Rose II, the international star who was a Spruce Meadows and HOYS winner and became Haddon Farms’ foundation broodmare.
THE 60-acre Thornton Farm in the Wirral is the base from where the magic happens and the operation is a true family affair. Kelly’s parents, Robin and Anne Lyons, first moved there in 1976, and Kelly’s younger sister, Caroline Lyons, and Nick’s daughter, international showjumper Emily Ward, are both integral in the running of the businesses.
After a successful career on ponies, including winning the RIHS on prolific show hunter pony Downland Corriander, Caroline, who is a podiatrist by trade, turned her attention to hunting, dressage and helping with the home-production of Kelly and Ruby’s animals. She also owned Kelly’s HOYS-winning ride Barry Bug.
“Caroline is always first out and last in; we couldn’t do it without
