Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

56 Horse&Hound1 August 2019

SHOWJUMPING

Tabitha Kyle and Playboy Van De Zoetewei claim the 138cm title

LONGINES ROYAL

INTERNATIONAL

National championships

finishedmorethana second

aheadofrunners-upJakeSaywell

andLukasVanDeKievitsdrisen

inthe11-strongjump-off.

Greatfullis ownedbyMargaret

DupreyofCherryKnollFarm,

whoalsoownsLaura’sformer

Olympichorse,Cedric.

“Whenyouridea horselike

that,it is easy,”saidLaura.“She

doesn’twanttoknockthepoles

downandshe’sfast.Shereally

lovesit outonthatarena—you

neverknowhowthey’llcopeina

ringlikethat.”

InthirdwasHarryBateman

andGranby.Hicksteadproved

a happyhuntinggroundfor

25-year-oldHarry,whoalsotook

tophonoursinWednesday’sSEIB

winternovicechampionshipwith

Teza Englefi eld’s Lex Lokoda.

Izabella Rogers puts her foot down onboardWhinneyLasstotakevictoryinthe128cmchampionships

“He’sonlylittlebuthe’ssucha

hugecharacter,”saidHarry.

“IsaidtoTezathatI foundthe

firstroundverybackwards—it’s

a littlebithisnemesisbecause

hehassucha bigstrideandquite

a lotofblood,sohelovestorun.

Thejump-offsuitshimperfectly,

butthefirstround—well,you’ve

gottojumpcleartogettothenext

bit.I thinkwe’requitesimilarin

thatsense.”

Tezahadhereyeontheeight-

year-oldgeldingasa youngster

andjumpedatthechancetobuy

him“sightunseenandtotally

untried”whenshesawhim

advertisedsomeyearslater.

“He’sbeena littlestar—he’s

verypopularanda lotofpeople

enjoyfollowinghim,”shesaid.“He

has a heart as big as a lion.”

McDonald’sTeaganArlaRoseto

back-to-backvictories.

“Iknewshewouldwinit before

shejumped,”saidShaunie.“It’sa

coursethatsuitsher—it’sopen,

andgalloping,andshe’sgoodatall

that.Shejumpedclass.”

Essex-basedIzabellaandher

16-year-oldpony,WhinneyLass,

tookanunsurpassablelead.

“Ilikekeepingmyponies

containedandcalm,butif I

haveto,I’llputmyfootdown,”

saidIzabella,whotrainswith

RosieHolder.

“LastyearI didn’thavetodo

thejump-offbecauseI wasthe

onlyclear—thisyeartherewere

a fewmorepeople,soit wasa

lotharder,”explainedIzabella.“I

wasjustwatchingeveryround

thinking,‘OK,sowheredoI go,

whattimedoI havetobeat?’

Goingin,it wassotense,butshe

coversthegrounda lot,soit was

prettyeasy.”

TabithaKylewastheclear

winnerintheHooperFamily

winter138cmchampionshipwith

PlayboyVanDeZoetewei.

The12-year-oldfinished

secondwith“Bugsy”herein 2018

andwantedtogoonebetter.

“Hecamebacktomeforthe

doubledownthehillreallywell

inthejump-off, andhedida

goodgalloptothelast,” says

Tabitha.H&H

‘MYANKLEWAS

COMPLETELY

CRUSHED’

FORMERjockeyLeesaLongmade

a brilliantreturntocompetition

witha runawayvictoryinthe

HarcourHicksteadRIHSamateur

championshipafterbreakingher

anklein 11 placesinJanuary.

Leesahadtheoptionoftwo

ridesafterfinishingfirstand

secondwithTammysGirland

Saberinthequalifier,choosingto

ridethelatterinthefinal.

Thegallopingtracksuited

thepair,whocruisedintothetop

spot3.92secaheadofIndiaSimeandDelaplaneBee.

“Thiswinmeansa lot.Myanklewascompletelycrushedand

I hadexternalfixationonit untiltheendofMay,”saidLeesa,who

benefitedfromtheexpertiseatOakseyHouseduringherrecovery.

“I felloffa youngsterina stupidfall.I landedonmyfeetbutI

putmyfootina divotandmyanklejustwent.

“I brokemyotheranklereallybadlya coupleofyearsagoand

OakseyHousegotmewalkingagainafterthat,too.ThenI camefor

physiohereatHicksteadwithJohnHarrisandI wassittingupthere

dreamingthatI wouldbeabletorideatthisshow.Whenit’swhat

youwanttodo,youhavetogiveyourselfa goalandgoanddoit.”

ThefinalX-raysshowedLeesa’sanklehad“healedbrilliantly”

and she jumpedherfirstshowsincetheaccidentearlierinJuly.

“Saberhadn’tjumpedforninemonths.I’vehada

fewpeopleridingmyotherhorses,butheis mineand

is quitea hardride.Hefoundme—I wasn’tlooking

—healwayswasbeautiful,buthewascutlateandit

took him a while to settle. Now he’s one of my best.”

AGAINST

THE ODDS

DEFENDINGCHAMPIONS

SHAUNIEGREIGandIzabella

Rogersbothmadewinning

returnstoHicksteadintheOakley

CoachbuilderswintergradeJC

andEquestrizonewinter128cm

championshipsrespectively.

Shaunie,whois inherfinal

year of ponies, rode Alison