Every Little Helps
Harry Bateman and Anvils Every Little Helps score a high-profile win, while six-year-old horses shine
Pyecombe Young Horse Festival, West Sussex “I’M absolutely staggered. I’m just a normal person and I’ve just qualified for the final all the professionals want to win!” said Harry Bateman, after he and Anvils Every Little Helps jumped the round of their lives to win the Equitop Myoplast Foxhunter second round.
Despite his modesty, Harry rode Poppy Ashford’s home-bred mare beautifully and produced some jaw-dropping turns in the jump-off. It was a hard-won class, too, as 38 of the 62 starters reached round two over Raf Suarez’s track, with 18 chasing two HOYS (Horse of the Year Show) tickets against the clock.
The fences were huge at this stage and Raf ’s clever course tested rideability through the two tight, right-handed turns to big verticals that only the brave attempted.
Harry galloped all the way and he and Anvils Every Little Helps threw their hearts over every fence. With a stride out to the final oxer, they took the lead by an incredible four seconds.
The 10-year-old Anvils Every Little Helps was bred near Stansted Airport by the Westfalian stallion Astral 53 out of Poppy’s 1.10m speed horse.
“This is the best ever result for me and for Poppy, an amateur breeder with her first ever foal,” said Harry. “And I can’t quite believe that some of my heroes and heroines have been congratulating me.”
‘This means so much because I broke her in myself ’
Lucy Townley and Billy Tennessee produced some great turns to ultimately end up third — the most frustrating place — when penultimate-drawn Alice Palmer made full use of 18hh Essenar Crixus’ long stride to grab second.
“I’ve been a newcomers finalist before, but I never dreamed of reaching the Foxhunter final,” she said. “I’ve had ‘Tarzan’ since he was four and produced him myself. He’s so careful and kind and has all the scope. He’s finding 1.40m classes easy now and could be a grand prix horse.”
Harry Bateman was straight back to win the six-year-old grand prix on his own Zirocco Blue mare Zuniek VD Tojopehoeve Z. An enormous field of future stars started over an up-to-height track and 32 jumped-off for the £500 first prize.
Like Anvils Every Little Helps, Zuniek has a date at Hickstead, where she and Harry will contest the winter novice final.
“This means so much because I broke her in myself,” said Harry. “I was lucky, though. Will Rekert went early, so I saw his round and could plan what I had to do.”
BRITISH-BRED HORSES SHINE
SIX-YEAR-OLD horses were also on top form in Sunday’s Connolly’s Red Mills newcomers second
round. Horses bounced off the fabulous surface here and 36 of another enormous field made it into round two.
Things then became serious and just 15 went through to jump against the clock. Six jumped triple clear and a pair of Britishbred horses took the HOYS tickets. The winning round was a cracker from Luke Hill on the Billy Stud’s Billy Galleon, with Alex Hempleman close behind on the Gredley family’s homebred Jalanna.
Billy Galleon is bred for the job, by Billy Congo out of Andrew and Emma Saywell’s former ride, Uptons Nimera, a HOYS Foxhunter finalist and fourth in the grade C final with Emma in 2000.
Luke, who comes originally from Malton in North Yorkshire, has been at the Billy Stud for five years since leaving school at the age of 18. He will now contest his first HOYS final since his pony days.
“He’s careful, but like many Billy Congos, he’s got better with age. He took a lot of work to begin with, but he’s now really relaxed,” said Luke.
Second-placed Jalanna was broken in as a four-year-old by Alex Hempleman’s partner Kendall Neath and this was the first show where Alex had competed her.
“Kendall’s done all the work, so this is down to her,” said Alex.
Jalanna is the daughter of the racehorse sire Jalil and Tim Gredley’s former British team horse Fabriana.
“Jalanna’s definitely small but mighty. She’s consistent and brave and believes in herself,” added Kendall.
There was an incredibly close finish in the five-year-old grand prix, where just three-hundredths of a second separated the top two, both Irish-bred stallions by Pacino out of Cruising mares.
Tim Page was the narrow winner of the £500 top prize on Hillcoote Border Fox, with Louise Simpson, having her first show on Creevy Pacino Cruise, close behind for the Brendon Stud.
The scopey Hillcoote Border Fox was bought as an unbroken three-year-old by Tim’s sister-inlaw Emily Smallman and is now owned by Emily’s partner, Irish showjumper Brian O’Malley, and her mother Jane Smallman.
“I broke him in myself and had him produced as a four-yearold at home in Ireland before he went to Tim,” explained Emily.
“He has a good head, a big stride and definite grand prix potential. Tim brought him back to Ireland recently and they qualified for the Dublin five-year-old final, which is really exciting.”
The show ended with a hotly contested area trial in the Paris arena. After a six-horse jump-off, it was perhaps fitting that Nicole Pavitt took the honours on her mother Sandra’s home-bred Don VHP Z daughter, Paris 16, after who the arena was named.
This was the first try at the level for the eight-year-old
Paris, and she and Nicole had to be at their best to hold off the challenge from young riders
Miles O’Donnell (Borsato) and Joe Fernyhough (Calcourt Quicktime).
“I haven’t had the greatest show, so this has made things much better,” said Nicole. “She’s come into her own in the past couple of weeks. She always fights for me and her attitude is: “Game on. Let’s do it.”