A St Ives horse breeder has shown one of her horses has star potential after scoring highly at a Cornish show this week.

Kari Christopher of the Vorvashill Stud scored a higher first premium with the colt Vorvashill Enigma at the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity evaluation on August 24 at Tall Trees Arena in Cornwall.

With a higher first premium score of 8.80 in the jumping section, the colt has demonstrated that it has the potential and outlook to perform at national level.

The Vorvashill Stud is run by Kari, who said: “We are a small, family run operation and to have our young horses recognised at a national level is brilliant. I am really pleased with Vorvashill Enigma – who we call Arthur – he is only six weeks old and an amazing colt.”

Arthur was bred from Kari’s mare, Last Flame, by Dutch Falco. Kari continued: “Last Flame has bred some super foals for us over the years. Her son, Vorvashill Vertigo, who is now five is out being placed at British Eventing competitions. Both Vertigo and another son of Last Flame, Chicago Flame have done really well at the Futurity. Last Flame is now 23 so Arthur is her last foal.”

Vorvashill Enigma is by Forinth. Kari plans to keep him and he will go out competing.

The Futurity is a continually evolving process, 2013 saw the introduction of the Futurity equine bridge which is now being run as an extension of the Futurity evaluations. The Futurity equine bridge provides top Futurity graduates with the direction and support they will need as four year olds so that they begin their early years under saddle in a way that allows for sustained physical and mental development. In order to be eligible for the Futurity Equine Bridge all horses must obtain a Futurity score of 8.5 or above and a high enough vet score in their three-year-old year.

The BEF’s head of equine development Jan Rogers said: “We are increasingly noticing that breeders, buyers and riders of British bred horses are finding that a Futurity premium is a very useful aid in helping assess these horses. We are also seeing a marked improvement in the standard of youngsters entered in the futurity, which is very good news for the future of British breeding.”