‘I didn’t dare look down!’

BRITISH jockey Andrew Glassonbury grabbed the opportunity this year to ride in the famous Velká Pardubická for the first time (pictured).

Having ridden over the Grand National fences at Aintree and in the Cheltenham Cross-Country Chase nine times, he had always wanted to ride in the famous Czech steeplechase.

His mount was the 13-year-old Czech-trained Nikas, an experienced horse round the Velká Pardubická fences, and they finished a commendable ninth.

“It’s a unique test and you need the right type of horse. It wouldn’t suit a big, steeplechasetype because the course is twisty and they would struggle with the bends,” says Andrew. “For the Grand National at Aintree, you need a horse with plenty of scope, but in the Czech version, boldness and intelligence are more important.

“The Taxis Ditch is a huge jump, but it is fair. If you jump it well, you are rewarded. Back in the day, fences like that were built to be traps for the horses — things have changed now. It is a very different fence to Becher’s Brook. Both have massive hedges; with Becher’s, it’s the sheer drop down that you worry about, whereas with Taxis, it is the distance you have to make up to get to the other side of the vast ditch on the landing side — you feel like you are hanging in the air for ages and jumping into space.

“My horse actually stood off it, almost jumping it too well. I didn’t dare look down! We landed on the lip of the ditch, but luckily he stuck his neck up for me. He gave me a class debut ride.”