Yesterday (26 September), event horse JL Dublin, the mount of Nicola Wilson, helped the British rider to become the new European Eventing champion, when taking the individual title, while also contributing to team gold.
In case you aren’t already familiar with this talented 10-year-old, here are some important facts about this horse who has burst into the spotlight this season thanks to his remarkable success.
1. JL Dublin, a dark bay gelding, was foaled on 12 April 2011.
2. He is by the Holstein jumping stallion Diarado and out of Zarinna, who is by another Holstein stallion, Cantano, who was competed to the top level by riders including Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.
3. JL Dublin measures in at 16.3hh and is owned by Mr and Mrs James Lambert OBE and Deirdre Johnston, who is the wife of prolific racehorse trainer, Mark Johnston.
4. He is known as ‘Dubs’ at home and was purchased by his current owners when he was four in 2015 while Nicola was horse shopping in Germany.
5. Jo and Jamie Lambert accompanied Nicola on this horse shopping trip and they decided to buy a half share in JL Dublin, with the other half purchased by Dierdre. As the name ‘Dublin’ was already registered with British Eventing, his owners added the ‘JL’ prefix to represent the first letter of each of their surnames.
6. During his first season of eventing as a five-year-old JL Dublin clocked up three wins at BE100 level.
7. During his six-year-old year, JL Dublin won at intermediate level and finished second at the British six-year-old eventing championships.
8. When he was seven, this gelding was second in the CCI2*-L at Blair Castle and went on to finish fifth in the World Young Horse seven-year-old Championships at Le Lion D’Angers.
9. He has since notched up several top 10 placings at four-star level and in 2021 won the competitive CCI4*-L at Bicton and the CCI4*-S at Hartpury on his way to the European Eventing Championships.
10. JL Dublin has notched up 517 BE points so far.
11. He has only faulted across country at three events during his already illustrious career.
You might also be interested in:
‘A dream come true’ – gold rush for Britain in European Eventing Championships showjumping, plus a podium clean sweep
‘He’s a cool customer’: Nicola Wilson’s young campaigner storms home to boost British eventing team hopes
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Eventer Nicola Wilson shares her wealth of knowledge about getting your horse fit and ready for the season ahead
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