Roheryn Ruby’s connections were rewarded for their patience and perseverance with the mare making her five-star debut aged 15 at Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials with rider Imogen Murray.
The British pair scored 35.4 between the white boards at Luhmühlen Horse Trials on Thursday (15 June), a new personal best on any horse at five-star for Imogen, leaving them in 12th after the first day.
To be here at all is a celebration for Imogen and the mare’s owners, Fran Reeve, Kim Pengelly, and the M S Team. She sustained a small suspensory injury in 2020 and spent 18 months on the sidelines.
Through careful rehabilitation – involving a lot of walking – Imogen and her team brought the mare back to full fitness and are enjoying every moment with her.
“We took a really long time and there was a point we thought she wouldn’t come back, then we thought she might, but that she wouldn’t come back to four-star. Now she’s here doing her first five-star, so we are just here to have a nice week and see what she’s made of,” said Imogen.
“It means everything to everyone for her to be here, going down the centre line in a five-star. Kim and Fran have owned her since she was five, and Fran used to ride her, so everyone has had a massive part to play in her life and career.
“It’s been a lot of work to get to this, so we are going to enjoy it.”
The mare’s gradual return to work involved six months of walking, and around the same again of jumping nothing bigger than cavaletti. She returned to competition in March 2022, enjoying a solid season capped with a cross-country jumping clear at Boekelo CCI4*-L.
“She was absolutely unreal at Boekelo, so we decided to give Luhmühlen a go,” said Imogen.
The Billy daughter showcased smart trot work, with a few hot moments creeping in during the canter work.
“She is a little bit Marmitey, as she’s not a big, powerful mover, but she tries and can do a really accurate test,” said Imogen, adding that she was very pleased with Ruby.
“The [cross-country] course doesn’t look too terrifying at first glance, although the first water does make me feel a little bit sick. Each fence in isolation I think is not impossible for her and that’s a nice way to feel on the first walk of a course. She’s never gone 11 minutes before, but she is blood and a trier across country. If I get her in the right place, she’ll give it a go.”
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