Just when you thought the Hickstead Derby weekend couldn’t get any better, it did! The Speed Derby unfolded to put another talented young lady, Ella Dalton, clearly in our sights, and to see the Queen of the Speed Derby, Harriet Biddick, relinquish her crown when Silver Lift flicked his bridle off at the Irish bank. Harriet’s amazing brideless passage through the road crossing had me almost believing she could steer him to the last by legs and will, but sadly that was truly impossible

The Derby itself was truly incredible, for William to jump two clear rounds, one on a horse he’d ridden for the shortest time was truly an amazing feat of horsemanship, and it must have seemed unbelievable that David would beat him by the very narrowest of margins in a three way jump-off. But what an incredible win for David on the fabulous Pjotr van de Kruishoeve, a horse that won the seven year old championship at the Derby show in 2022.

I don’t always find Hickstead a very happy hunting ground, but this year I had a very enjoyable show. I went with no expectations on the prize winning front, just a wish to develop the horses and this approach worked out well. On the first day Breakdance jumped a lovely round in the Newcomers, just for a pole in the jump-off that was definitely my fault, and Arietta jumped really well in the Foxhunter on the grass in Ring 2. Very heavy rain on the Tuesday night had made the going slightly sticky early in the morning, but it was drying nicely by mid-morning, and Arietta is a great horse on grass, she did just have a pole, but it was a good preparation for the rest of the week.

Unfortunately when I went to get Breakdance ready on Thursday morning he had one really fat back leg, and was very sore, so we left him at home and just took Arietta for the Foxhunter in ring 2. She jumped a fabulous clear round a pretty technical and square course which made me think she was ready for a crack at the 1.30 in Ring 2 on Friday.

By the time I got home on Thursday afternoon Breakdance had escalated his fat leg to full blown lymphangitis. We’d already had the vet out before we left for Hickstead to scan Emma and chip George, so we then had our second vet visit of the day. Both horses had had a case of skin hives the previous week, something that seemed to be very much around in the hot weather, and with Breakdance this seemed to have developed into a full scale infection. With antibiotics and some steroids he was made much more comfortable and recovered very nicely over the next few days.

Next morning Holly, Steff and I were at Hickstead bright and early for the 1.30 in ring 2. After two sunny days the going was perfect and Arietta jumped a really good round. I thought it was a really good course, all the courses in Ring 2 were really lovely to ride this year. Sometimes a 1.30 in ring 2 can be a full up 1.40 in the second half, and this does make stepping horses up a level quite daunting. Arietta jumped a lovely round, we got better the further we went, with me getting more confident, and she just had a couple of poles in the jump off, one on a very square oxer going downhill, and the last fence when she made up the distance too easily, even going up hill. I was really thrilled with her. She’s such a lovely horse, and the big open space in Ring 2 suits her very well.

The weather was very warm during the show so I didn’t spend too much time socialising and watching other classes as I was anxious to get the horses home into their cool stables and give them a nice couple of hours in the field in the evenings.

We had a lovely weekend, having a delicious and very spoiling lunch on the Saturday with Chloe in the Master’s Box and a very exciting day on Sunday watching the Derby. We’re very luck that Hickstead is so local to us. It was lovely to see Horse Pilot back at Hickstead. I truly believe that Horse Pilot have the best riding clothing, brilliant quality and lovely French styling and always a very good fit. Natasha Hawkins is the new UK agent and is doing a fantastic job at getting the brand out and about. The Horse Pilot Twist Air Air Jacket is easily the best, neatest and most comfortable air jacket on the market, and they have such good clothing to go with it.

I’m very lucky that Saracen have continued my support for another year, despite the fact that I have far fewer horses both competing and at home this year. I cannot stress enough what fantastic feed Saracen is. We’ve used Saracen for about 25 years now, and I would never be happy with any other brand.

Many thanks to Holly White and Steff Gibbs for all their help over the show, and to MacWet Gloves, Just Equine and NDS Equine for their continued support.

Hickstead Derby 2023