A HORSE got a whole new lease of show-stopping life.
And Minstrel's proud teenage owner thinks massage was the key.
Nicola Mellor, 17, of Crosland Moor, took the seven-year-old mare to the Festival Of Champions at Milnrow, near Rochdale, and won the Novice Riding Horse Championship, gaining the Champion of Champions accolade.
She was also sixth in in-hand showing, sixth in-hand hunter and fourth in the riding club horse classes.
First, Nicola had to gain enough points at her own riding club to compete against champions from 40 Yorkshire and Lancashire clubs.
Nicola, a member of Ardsley Horse and Pony Club, near Wakefield, is sponsored by equine therapist Lindsey Kaye, of Slaithwaite, who says Minstrel was "stale" and "wasn't going forward" before a series of full-body massages.
Lindsey, 28, who has ridden for 20 years, qualified in massage in April after taking a course in Harrogate.
She says: "I'm fully insured and I always ask people to get vets' consent first.
"Massage has been around for thousands of years, but it's only quite recently that it's been applied to horses.
"A treatment takes half an hour to an hour and horses should have one every four or six weeks for best results.
"It improves circulation, boosts the immune and nervous systems and prevents stiffness."
Nicola's mother, Jane, says: "Lindsey regularly treats Minstrel to a pre-competition massage to relieve her of any tension."
But there's no horse whispering. "They probably wouldn't listen even if I tried it," says Lindsey, who has had a couple of office jobs but has always returned to horses and the outdoors.
Lindsey says that as far as she knows she is the only person in Huddersfield to offer the service. Call 01484 846819.
