Among the many Hickstead specialists competing at this year’s Derby meeting was a horse and rider who broke the mould.
Local Sussex rider Ashley Boyce finished a very creditable 10th in this year’s speed Derby, riding the 10-year-old Summerbridge Lulu, a Christmas gift from her boyfriend and a mare she describes as “not everyone’s cup of tea”.
The pair only started out jumping at newcomers level last year, but showjumping coach Ashley said she always knew Lulu was just the type to take on the unique challenges of the speed Derby, so set about making it her goal. Unfortunately last year’s Derby meeting was cancelled but Ashley says that was in fact a “blessing” – “I might have been running into that a bit too soon,” she says.
Ashley, who first rode in the speed Derby in 2014, fixed her sights on this year’s event instead.
“I’ve been like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for the speed Derby to come around!” she says. “Once we knew it was going ahead, I’ve been training like mad.”
But without any Derby fences of her own to practise over, she set about training her mare over every natural obstacle at her disposal on her local South Downs. Ashley even built her own set of “Hickstead planks”, complete with cones beneath, in order to put in the best preparation she could ahead of her international ring appearance. Hickstead’s Lizzie Bunn also suggested she watched plenty of speed Derby videos for tips as to how best to ride the course.
“There’s a huge natural bank on my doorstep on the South Downs which I used, plus plenty of natural ditches, gates, riding up and down mulberry hills, and jumping hedges between the fields. All for free!” explains Pyecombe, Sussex-based Ashley.
“It’s been great for her fitness too, but just by hacking out there she’s learning to be bold, to go into dark forests and over open undulating hills. It really helps horses find their feet.
“She’s now used to jumping anything quirky that you don’t find in a normal jumping arena – it just became the norm to her.”
Ashley hopes her approach will inspire anyone who doesn’t necessarily have top flight facilities to have a go at these specialist competitions.
“You just have to be a bit inventive sometimes!” she says. “I’ve practised and been dedicated for the past three months, particularly on the fitness side of things – it’s a long way round there. So I’ve taken Lulu to a water treadmill and I’ve done circuit training on the Downs. Fortunately it all came together.”
‘Riding over the Hickstead bank felt incredible’
The pair flew round with 16 penalties to add, finishing 10th behind winner Harriet Biddick riding Silver Lift.
“I knew Lulu could be very quick across the top of the bank – and she was over and down in a matter of seconds. That felt incredible,” says Ashley. “It’s only when you go up the top of the bank on a 16.1hh horse that you think ‘This is much steeper than I remember an hour ago walking the course!’
“The Irish bank is a funny one – you never know what they’re going to do there because you can’t practise that. But she pulled me like a train everywhere. She lives for those Derby fences and I’ve always believed in her.
“I’ve never had one like her and it’s been brilliant, a real whirlwind. I never envisaged being in the top 10 on my first attempt with Lulu! I feel like such an underdog. But next year I’m aiming for top five with a bit more mileage under my belt. We’ve already just done our first 1.45m off the back of that, so we’re getting there.”
Ashley has five horses at home that she “rides for fun” and she describes the talented Lulu as “a bit opinionated”.
“She’s wonderful to ride but a bit jiggy and hot-headed,” she says. “She’s a real character, with so much presence and ego. She’s only 16.1hh – she’s a pocket rocket!
“She wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. She’s a typical hot-headed chestnut mare. But from the moment I sat on her, I said ‘I’m going to ride in the speed Derby on this horse’.”
‘We stumbled on her by accident’
Ashley fell in love with Irish-bred Lulu when one of her clients pulled out of purchasing her from Matt Pike at Sussex Equestrian Sales.
“She’s been around the mill a bit – she’s been through a few dealing yards, so I feel like we stumbled on her by accident,” says Ashley. “I whinged and whinged to my other half that this horse was going to be amazing and I think he just got fed up of me in the end and bought her for me for Christmas!”
So what made Ashley, who had previously jumped round the speed Derby on another home produced horse, think that Lulu could be ‘the one’?
“It’s not even a star quality – it’s this air of madness, a certain wackiness, about them,” she says. “They have to be extra brave, very bold and Lulu has the heart of a lion. I’ve never had one like her, I’m so blessed. She’d jump a house if I asked her to.”
According to Ashley, her neighbour Shirley Light from Brendon Stud, whom she credits for so much guidance over the years, has been urging her to jump the world famous Hickstead Derby too.
“I said that might be next year!” says Ashley. “I’m not Trevor or Shane Breen, so this year I wanted to keep within my limits. But whether it’s 2023 or 2024, I truly believe that she’ll jump the main Derby one day. That’s the goal now and it would be incredible for a semi-professional rider like me.
“We’re just two nobodies who came together and we’re already doing some wonderful things, but hopefully she’ll make our dreams come true.”
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