In our SPILLERS SPILL The Beans Series we get to interview a variety of our fabulous professional customers and find out more about them. We find out who inspired them to get serious about horses, what kit they can’t live without, and ask which is their favourite SPILLERS feed, of course!

To kick off 2025, we’ve interviewed showing producer Christina Gillet. Christina is a HOYS winning producer, based in East Anglia, who clearly lives and breathes everything show pony!

Christina Gillet

Who are you & what do you do? (please introduce yourself)

I’m Christina Gillet. Here at Team Gillet myself and my partner Kevin Cousins produce show ponies for children and breeders for the show ring.

How did you start with horses?

I’ve grown up around horses and ponies. My Mum and Grandparents showed to a high standard, and they bred lots of successful show horses and ponies. My great grandfather had shire horses.

Who was your inspiration?

Julie and (the late) Bob Templeton. They were absolutely amazing, great people! I admire everything they achieved. I rode for them when I was younger and had my own horses there when I was 10-12 yrs old, they taught me a lot.

What’s your lifetime horsey highlight?

This has to be when Scarlet (one of my riders) won the 148cm children’s Riding Pony class at HOYS. This was such a huge buzz for the whole team! We had been bridesmaids at HOYS so many times, with some great ponies, until that fantastic day in 2023!

Scarlet at HOYS

And what’s tested you the most with horses?

Well, the early starts and very long drives can be tough and very testing! It’s always worth it in the end when we come home with some great results, and with happy horses, owners and riders, it’s in my blood, so we love what we do!

If you could spotlight one special horse, who would it be and why?

My son Lewis’s pony Annandale Line of Fire (Clint) is just amazing! He’s an absolute dream because he’s just so easy and kind to deal with. He’s consistent and ALWAYS looks after my son Lewis, and this is all that we could ask for. He’s just a cool, smart little pony.

What does your horse free ultimate luxury day look like?

So, this would be eating, sleeping and drinking - lots of Prosecco! Lol. My partner Kevin, who is a huge part of our team and I couldn’t do this without him, is a Pigeon Fancier (trains racing pigeons). He races his pigeons internationally with great success!

What’s the one piece of horse equipment you can’t live without?

Oh, this would have to be my horse hot wash! Getting all the horses ready for their shows and keeping them all looking their best would be a nightmare without it, especially with the coloureds and greys!

Top Management Tip

What is your No1 top tip for managing your horses/yard/business?

I always believe in not over training our horses as this can make them miserable, sour and unhappy. We do plenty of hacking, provide as much turnout as possible and give them all lots of happy, chill time.

What are your goals for this season? (or long-term dream)

To carry on enjoying showing and make sure everyone is happy and enjoying themselves - this is what it’s all about really. Any top results that come our way are a bonus. I really do believe a happy team makes happy horses!

The long-term dream is to keep being successful at the top level and loving what we do with our great team and fab owners. Oh, and to win HOYS again, that would be really nice.

Which horse in your yard do you think is a rising star we should look out for?

Thistledown Talisk, Hightopps Maytime and High View Hot Gossip have to be 3 to watch at the moment. I could mention more as we have lots of lovely youngsters just starting to get going, so watch this space!

Open Mindedness

What’s you one best piece of advice for up-and-coming riders?

I would always say to be open minded and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Just enjoy it and love what you are doing. Be realistic on what you want to achieve and always work hard. It’s not easy, but when you do well, and everyone is happy it’s all worth it.

And finally, which SPILLERSTM feed is your favourite and why?

Well, I actually have 2 favourites. SPILLERS Digest+ Conditioning Cubes and the SPILLERS Conditioning Fibre.

The SPILLERS Digest+ Conditioning Cubes are fantastic; I just love them. I have found these to have worked very well for all the ponies, even the ones that can be a bit sharp or stressy. They have given them all fantastic condition and topline without sending them crazy or causing any health issues. It has also improved their performance immensely, in turn gaining even better results.

All the horses eat the cubes so well, even some of the fussy ones. I love adding in the SPILLERS Conditioning Fibre to every feed, the added oil gives extra coat shine, and it slows their eating down especially for some of the greedy ones!

 

Thank you, Christina, for sharing your superb words of wisdom! We’ve loved getting to know you and wish you and all of Team Gillet the best of luck for 2025!