An eight-year-old horse who jumped his first 1.30m class just two months ago completed his first Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby —and is going to win the puissance at this year’s Dublin Horse Show this year, his rider believes.
David Simpson and Tom Hedgecock’s Jumper Jack TS had 16 faults in the iconic class, which was also “Ranger’s” first attempt at 1.60m.
H&H reported that the 17.3hh Mylord Cathargo x Mr Blue gelding spent much of his six-year-old year in the field but he had just two fences down in Friday’s Derby qualifier then two more in the class itself, taking on the bank in copybook fashion and just lowering the first part of the devil’s dyke, the gate at fence four, the Derby rails and the last oxer.
“Tom’s been riding him and he brought him to me for a bit of training, and I thought I needed a puissance horse for Windsor,” David said. “He did amazingly in that, so the natural progression was the Hickstead Derby.”
David said for the horse’s first trip round the Derby, his goal was eight faults.
“He was a bit unlucky, and going into the devil’s dyke is always hard but he just rubbed it,” he said. “He’s very blood for a big horse and he’s so much scope. The goal is for Tom to ride him and I’ll just nick him for the odd big occasion. And he’ll win the puissance at Dublin; I’d be very confident of that.”
Tom’s mother Suse Martin-Turner, who was on photography duty in the International Arena today, handed over to a colleague for Ranger’s round.
“He’s just such a lovely horse; he goes round with a smile on his face,” she said.
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