‘HE HAD A SEVERED TONGUE’
THE highest score at Topthorn, 78.33% in the novice, went to Louise Allen and Swilly Lad, an Irish Draught who was a breeding stallion until gelded at 10. The competition marked the combination’s four-year anniversary, but there’s more to the story.
“I bought him unseen from a photo as a hunter,” said Louise. “However, when he arrived I discovered that while at stud in Ireland, he’d had an accident with a Chifney and had a severed tongue.
“I train with Paul Friday and we worked through all sorts of options: I evented him in a hackamore, then progressed to a straight bar, but his tongue always lolled out. Then last year, he became impossible to touch on his neck. It was a form of arthritis pressing on a nerve that my vet Ben Payne discovered. Steroids helped but when I hogged him, the difference was amazing.
“Paul suggested trying a Fairfax bridle — we were already in a Hilary Vernon bit — and we decided on a grackle noseband. And now there’s no lolling tongue!
“We affiliated him and he qualified in three outings. Until this show, I’d never had six nines in total before, never mind in one test!”