Jacob offers salvation
AFTER a tough few months, a novice 23 win with her KWPN/ thoroughbred gelding Gibside Jacob proved a tonic for Samantha Eke.
“My father passed away suddenly in May, and I lost my job as an equine nursing assistant because of the Covid-19 situation,” explained Samantha. “Jacob has been my rock throughout. He just gives and gives to me.”
Jacob, nicknamed “Sicknote” after a run of small injuries, returned to winning form prior to the lockdown.
“Our trainer, Samantha Brown, has helped bring out his potential,” said Samantha, whose dream is to ride Jacob in tails. “I’ve been having a lesson a week to try to push him and ask more, and he has answered all the questions. We now call him ‘The Lord’, as he likes everything to be just the way His Royal Highness would wish.”
Katherine Tullie, who farms in the Scottish Borders, dominated at elementary with Joie À Vie. The Everdale mare improved her elementary 53 qualifier score by 13% from the previous week, taking the class with 73.52%.
“We now warm up long and low, like a warm-down, as she can be tense and stressy,” said Katherine, who chose “Ginger”, now six, as a three-year-old from the 15 horses she viewed on an overseas buying trip.
“She had a month off this spring during lambing and grew an inch. We’ll hack her through some tests this year so everything is a nice experience for her.”
“Jacob has been my rock. He just gives and gives to me”
SAMANTHA EKE