When we launched our competition in Horse Magazine to find the face of the WildWash horse range we had no idea it would be so popular. We were inundated with entries. They were beautiful and heart felt and it was incredibly difficult to pick a winner. But we had to and we can’t wait to share the winning entries with you. We hope you like them as much as we do!

The winner of the 16 and under category was Izzy Hooley – 13 years old. Here is her winning entry:

My horse Charlie is the best horse I could ask for. He is the most honest and respectful horse you would ever meet but he is nervous and young but that’s what makes him, him. He will jump anything no matter what and go anywhere I ask. To me his personality stands out compare to any other horse around me. He always try’s his hardest no matter what. For me at the age of 13 my 6 year old horse is my everything! I have had him a year now and the improvement with the help of my instructor Charlie has come along so much and is my little star! I feel like I couldn’t go another day without seeing him because his cuddly striking personality has a strong connection with me. Even when I am riding he is the most caring horse and would never do anything to hurt anyone. Charlie is the most mud loving grey pony I have ever come across. He thinks he is a hippo. But no matter what he is my super duper star and always will be my most favourite horse I have ever encountered and I will never let him go.

The winner of the 26 and over competition was won by Emily Skill – 26 years old. Here is her winning entry:

I found Shimira advertised as a weanling when I was temporarily wheelchair bound. I knew immediately she was ‘the one’ and I couldn’t have been more right. She may not be the world’s largest horse, standing at 15.1hh, but she has shown herself to have the biggest heart and resilience of any horse I know. In her short life she has disembowled herself, been diagnosed with advanced bone spavin in both hocks, and then in Sept 2014 she broke her leg in a field accident. Yet it’s not the injuries that are the impressive part of her life…everyday this amazing little horse reminds me how lucky I am with her wonderful temperament and kind nature. Time and time again she bounces back with a cheerful expression and a willingness to try that I have never found before; I don’t think she will ever give up on me. Shim forgives me for every error over a fence and every wrong touch when we are flatting. If I ever find myself getting too comfortable, she will be there to keep me on my toes making sure I stride for something more. As we have become more ambitious as a duo, she has taught me to listen and to ride with more intuition. Simply put, I have a horse who has already taught me more than I can ever teach her, which is an absolute privilege.

The winner of the last category has been chosen as our overall winner to become the face of our next advertising campaign. Megan Brown and Music make a wonderful horse and rider combination and we can’t wait for the weather to pick up so that we can shoot it! Here is her winning entry:

Music is a 15.2hh ex racehorse who I’ve had since he was five years old. I I was just fifteen at the time, I remember shortly after we got him I attempted a line of six trotting poles and he jumped the lot! My mum looked at me and said ‘what have we done?!’ It’s safe to say we’ve come on a fair way since then!

I took him to college with me in 2013 where I studied horse management at Hartpury. It was so great to have him there with me, being away from home was tough and he was always there when things were hard, I would go into his stable and I’d instantly feel so much better.

Sadly, in 2014 he had hot spots in his back and hocks which meant he missed the first part of the season, and then after three events when he came sound, he ruptured his check ligament in the field. I was devastated, we had come on so far and worst of all, he had to then stay at home.

He is back up and running and had a very successful end to 2015 including completing his first two novices!

What makes him special to me is his cheeky character and sense of humour. He is the most obedient horse I’ve ever ridden. I’ve taught him all sorts of ‘tricks’. He lifts his top lip up as though he’s smiling when he wants a treat, and when I give him a hug, he lowers his head and hugs me back! He knows exactly how to get you to scratch him in the right spot. He tries so hard in everything he does, he is never lazy or rude, he never bites or kicks or barges.

I would love to take part in the shoot with the horse who has taught me so much and been the best friend I’ve ever had.

We would like to thank all the entries to our competition, there simply wasn’t room to choose everyone but they were all amzing. We’d also like to thank Horse magazine for running the competition. The magazine is out today with all the info. For more details visit: http://www.horsemagazine.co.uk/