Eve McCoy joked that her father AP “wants to keep me as far away from racehorses as possible”, after she won her first Hickstead championship.
The 15-year-old rider took the Stoner Jewellers 1.20m open championship, riding her father’s 11-year-old gelding Cocktail D’Azur, yesterday (3 September) the last day of the first week of the All England September Tour.
The daughter of the legendary National Hunt jockey was one of nine to jump clear in the first round, and four who repeated the feat in the jump-off. She and Cocktail D’Azur finished in 39.95seconds, just over a second ahead of Christopher O’Bryan and Cirrus.
“The first round he was really good – a little bit strong – I don’t think he’s ever jumped in that ring before, but he wasn’t spooky at all,” said Eve. “In the jump-off as we came round to the double I was a little bit deep, but he got me out of trouble.”
Eve McCoy, who trains with Hickstead-based Shane Breen, has had international wins this season with Cocktail D’Azur, and was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the children-on-horses European Championships at Vilamoura in 2021.
And she said she is sticking to showjumping rather than racing, much to the relief of her father.
“He prefers me to go into showjumping – he wants to keep me as far away from the racehorses as possible!” she said.
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