FOLLOWING IN IMPRESSIVE FOOTSTEPS

BY the time he attended prize-giving, Hector Payne had already earmarked spending his bumper

£1,200 CIC2* prize fund on contesting the showcase event at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight next month.

And he may be in with a good shout as Top Biats, a son of Corofino bred by Philippe Brivois and produced by William FoxPitt, built up an impressive CV with his previous rider, which included victory in the 2014 novice championships at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe.

“But he’s had some spells of intermittent lameness — nothing serious but he needed a lot of recovery time,” said Hector’s grandmother and the horse’s owner, Judy Skinner. “He would have been an Olympic horse if he’d stayed sound, and it was William who suggested that Hector take him on.”