TWO horses, bred at Laburnum Farm in Great Sankey, have come away from the British Breeding Futurity with top honours.

Showjumping filly Picture Perfect, who is known as Suzie, was the highest scoring three-year-old at the event held at Northcote in the Ribble Valley with a gold premium of 8.83 and showjumping foal Turqueta – known at home as Tilly – scored elite.

The horses were bred by Walter and Jane Scott – both retired NHS professionals - at the Laburnum Lane farm and taken to the British Breeding Futurity - a world leading evaluation programme for foals and young sports horses and ponies up to the age of five.

Formerly run by the British Equestrian Federation it is now in the hands of British Breeding and assesses young horses and ponies on their potential for the sport, with a strong emphasis on health, welfare and talent.

It is the only assessment of its kind that offers a veterinary evaluation and nutritionist feedback as part of the programme, therefore offering invaluable support to breeders and owners alike.

In addition, all candidates are evaluated on the soft in all three gaits and - where appropriate - in loose jumping.

Numerical scores give an indication of the overall quality of each entry and a detailed linear profile is created to provide useful data on equine development and breeding.

The series is open to all British bred horses and ponies aimed at dressage, eventing, showjumping or endurance, across all British based studbooks.

Walter, who is 62, said: “Turqueta TS is named after a beautiful beach in Menorca - our favourite holiday destination and is our first foal to score an Elite.

“Tilly, as she is known at home, oozes quality and presence, impressing with her confirmation.

“She is intelligent - a quick learner but cheeky, which endears her to everyone.

“I will keep her to add to my breeding programme and she will go into the sport.

“She may be the one to go all the way and fulfil our dream but if not, she will end up a beautiful horse, which in the end as breeders, is all we are trying to achieve.”

Walter and Jane spent 30 years working for the NHS – Walter as a practice owner at Lovely Lane Dental Surgery, Clayton and Scott and Jane as children’s matron at Warrington Hospital for more than 30 years.

The couple, who breed the horses as a retirement hobby as well as helping out daughter Rebecca and her husband Liam at Snoutwood Trotters, which is also based at the farm, are expecting four foals in 2025 and have a collection of young horses, all bred on Laburnum Farm.

Walter said: “Perfect Picture stood out in her group as a foal and I always had great expectations of her, and her fantastic result at Northcote confirms this.

“She is a large framed, quality mare who will be given time to mature, hopefully being started under saddle at the end of the year and come out into sport as a five-year-old.

“Next year, she will just have fun and we will maybe take an embryo from her.

“I would like to thank Ben Raistrick and the team from Northcote for presenting her so beautifully and providing such a great venue.

“In the two weeks she was there she took it all in her stride and went from never going down a line of fences in her life to making it look so easy!”