Set for Somerford: Matt Frost and Summerhouse Delano

With three weeks to go until the LeMieux National Championships, we take a look at a few famous faces taking qualification tickets from the Premier League season starting with Matt Frost and his own Summerhouse Delano.

International rider and trainer Matt Frost is a regular feature in the top placings at BD Premier Leagues and gained a qualification ticket once again with his own Summerhouse Delano. After having made a popular appearance at the LeMieux Nationals in 2021, including a session on the all new BD Fan Zone stage, we're looking forward to seeing Matt in action at Somerford Park once again.

Revisiting the qualification journey, Matt and Summerhouse Delano kickstarted their 2022 season at Hickstead Premier League in May where the combination threw down the gauntlet with two top five placings in the Saracen Horse Feeds Intermediate I and Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges. Next up for the duo was a visit to the home of the Nationals - Somerford Park - for their Premier League event just a few weeks later, where they were second to Becky Moody in the Prix St Georges classes before taking pole position in Saturday’s Saracen Horse Feeds Intermediate I.

“I’m delighted with him, he rose to the occasion,” said Matt who bought the 18.2hh Dayano x Jazz gelding from Sara Gallop three years ago. “He hasn’t been to many big atmosphere shows so was a bit ‘on fire’ but that helped with his expression and way of going. He doesn’t know how big he is so he can be a bit clumsy. He’s a lot of horse to steer around the arena,” he went on to say about his qualifying test. “We’ve struggled with his canter pirouettes because of his size so I was thrilled to get a 9 for one of them. As he was buzzier he was naturally a bit quicker [in the hind leg] so could make it smaller. I felt he was confident in the test and enjoying himself – it’s the best feeling ever.”

Matt started riding when he was six and got his first taste at an equine career with horses when working full time during his A-levels at the Isolde Stud, where he assisted in all aspects at the stud. He received a huge amount of tuition and advice from Danish owners Jan Andersen and Birgitte Hartmann, during this time he also completed his Equine Dentistry education in America. Matt then spent time out in Denmark which was fundamental in making him the rider he is today notching up countless Regional titles, and six National titles. Having represented Great Britain and notched up numerous placings at International CDI level, Matt's record speaks for itself - with numerous equestrian partners including the Somerford bound 'Del'. 

Watch Matt and Del in action here, footage courtesy of official live streaming partners Horse & Country.