Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has bought an “incredible” young horse for British showjumper Yazmin Pinchen.
Yazmin has already competed on the five-year-old stallion Titanium Z (Tommy), at the Arena UK major showjumping championships last week (16 to 22 September).
The combination jumped clear in every class, just racking up time faults on one day owing to an error of course.
Yazmin said she was “very proud” to announce Liam as her new owner.
“He approached me, and said he wanted to buy a horse so I went looking for a month or two,” she told H&H.
“I went to Holland and France, then when I got back, saw a video of one who was 20 minutes up the road.
“The minute I sat on him, I thought: ‘That’s the one’.
“Everything about him; I liked the way if he got a bit close, he still really tried and is really careful. Even if the jumps are small, he gives them everything and he’s beautiful to look at, and really kind. He’s the whole package.”
Yazmin added that Tommy was “loud” at Arena UK, adding: “I just wanted to go in there quietly but he made everyone aware of him! I’m really excited about him, he’s very special.”
Yazmin, who has represented Britain at youth championships and on senior Nations Cups, is now aiming for the top level again after a break.
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“To have such an incredible owner to start me off – I can’t put it into words,” she said.
“But I also think this will bring a lot of interest to the sport. I think Liam’s going to be quite involved; he’s met Tommy already and I hope he’ll come to some shows.
“I think a lot of people don’t realise how glamorous showjumping is. It’s a beautiful sport and I’m so excited about showing someone from a completely different industry how good it is.”
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