New Zealand’s Muzi Pottinger and her veteran thoroughbred campaigner Just Kidding delivered one of the cross-country rounds of the day to power up the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials five-star leaderboard.
The 17-year-old, by Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and out of Sadlers Wells mare Gypsy Princess, recorded his third five-star cross-country jumping clear across two continents with his performance today (17 June).
The neat little gelding is so clever on his feet, nipping through the combinations and moves through the air at such speed. The pair stopped the clock one second over the optimum time of 11 minutes, to add 0.4 of a cross-country time-penalty to their 30.7 dressage for a two-phase score of 31.1.
“It makes me emotional,” said Muzi, who acquired “Ferg” off the track as a five-year-old for “much less” than the 100,000NZD (£48,456) he sold for as a yearling.
“He’s just a phenomenal little horse. I’ve had him for 12 years now and he’s taken me all around the world and he just keeps trying.
“We had one early combination that was not perfect by any means, but he was dead honest so he added a stride. After that he was just on it every step of the way.
“He was bloody honest going into the water (fence13, LeMieux Lagune). That fence made me really nervous. It was a massive jump, and I just didn’t really know how you were going to get a perfect distance to it up the hill.
“He just keeps going and looks for the flags. I just could not have asked for a better partner.”
Muzi and Ferg, who is owned by the Pottinger family, were second and fourth at Adelaide CCI5* in 2018 and 2019 respectively and their record is peppered with wins and top placings at four-star.
In 2022, they were part of the New Zealand side at the world championships in Pratoni and also jumped clear across country at Badminton. They returned to the Gloucestershire five-star this spring, but re-routed to Luhmühlen after a rider fall early on course.
“He’s just so honest and so genuine,” said Muzi. “He does not – and I mean this in the nicest way – have the most talent in the world when it comes to jumping. He lands short, he’s got no stride. He’s not going to ever go and jump a 1.40 show jumping track, he doesn’t have the scope. But what he lacks in scope he has in heart so you just can’t buy that.”
The pair have climbed from 12th after dressage to sixth ahead of the showjumping at Luhmühlen Horse Trials, with the final phase starting at 10.30am (9.30am UK time) tomorrow (18 June).
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