British showjumper Joe Stockdale has taken on the ride on one of the country’s most exciting young horses, the eight-year-old Ebanking.
Barbara Hester’s stallion was previously ridden by Adam Botham. Joe, 22, told H&H he was looking forward to his new partnership with the quality chestnut and the opportunities it brings.
“I’m delighted to have him in my string – he’s such an exciting horse and obviously there’s a lot of talk around him,” said Joe.
“He’s shown some good form at times this year so I’m delighted that Barbara’s put her trust in me to have the ride on him. I’m looking forward to getting him out and seeing how we go.”
According to Joe, the German-bred son of Etoulon has “settled in quickly” at his Northamptonshire yard.
“He has a lovely attitude with everything he does,” Joe told H&H. “It’s early days, so I’m just getting to know him a bit more, but he’s not taken long at all to fit into our system and hopefully it’s going to work with him.”
Joe Stockdale’s plans for Ebanking
Joe, who was part of the bronze medal-winning British team at the World Showjumping Championships this year and is currently competing at the Longines FEI Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, Spain, said he’d made “no concrete plans” as to when he and Ebanking would be making their competitive debut together.
“I want to make sure I don’t rush things,” he said. “I’ll get to know him and then, when we’re ready, we’ll make a plan that’s best for him, looking forward to next year.”
The stallion’s owner Barbara Hester posted on social media that she was “looking forward to the future and the new partnership” with Joe Stockdale for Ebanking and her team of horses.
Ebanking was a multi-winner in young horse classes last year, proving to be one of the breakthrough showjumping talents in this country. This year, he stepped up impressively to jumping ranking classes, winning most recently in Rome on the Longines Global Champions Tour as well as picking up some big classes on home soil.
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