William Funnell reveals all about his home-bred Horse & Hound Foxhunter champion.
Fact file
Stable name: Balou
Age: seven
Colour: bay
Height: 16.2hh
Discipline: showjumping
Breed: Anglo European Studbook
Sire: Cevin Z
Owners: Carol Toliver & The Billy Stud
Groom: Hannah Berryman
Best results: 2011 HOYS newcomers champion with Pippa Funnell; 2012 HOYS Foxhunter champion with William Funnell
Four things you didn’t know…
1 If he were a person, he’d be one of those busy people who likes to get on with things. He’s very enthusiastic about his job.
2 He’s quite arrogant, but in a nice way. He can also be a bit cocky and he sometimes thinks he knows better than me.
3 He has lots of self-confidence. He’s not the sort of horse who worries about life and is pretty chilled.
4 His father has sired Olympic eventers and his dam Billy Bear is a good eventer, so Balou was bred for that job too. He’s certainly brave enough, as he never questions what you ask him to jump or do. That’s what makes him so good at turning back in a jump-off. Pippa thinks he could have made a three-star eventer, but she’s not sure whether he’d have had the speed for the biggies such as Badminton.
To read the full interview with William Funnell about Billy Balou see 20 December issue of H&H
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