Clubley makes it count
A popular coach delivers a win on his “hobby” horse, while a pint-sized pocket rocket shows her star credentials
JUSTIN CLUBLEY and Intec (Arthur) added nothing to their impressive dressage score of 16.3 to claim victory in one of two BE105 sections at this inaugural Gloucestershire fixture. It was a particularly sweet victory for the Surrey-based rider, who has recently scaled back his own eventing to focus on coaching.
“Arthur is my only horse now, he’s kept at home and it’s all very relaxed,” explained Justin, who is the south-east region’s BE100 under-18 coach. “I now treat eventing as a hobby and look forward to riding at the end of a long day’s coaching.”
Nine-year-old Arthur was sidelined last season after a kick in the field left him with a bruised cannon bone.
“He’s had plenty of time to grow up. He’s done all the groundwork at the lower levels and feels ready to crack on at novice,” added Justin, whose wife, Clare, is expecting their second child. “It dawned on me that as I’m soon to be otherwise occupied for a while, I ought to get in some early season runs!”
Another rider reaping the rewards of a change in direction is BE100 section D winner Abigail Baker. The Hartpury graduate is a former working pupil of Jonty Evans and has worked at various yards over the past six years, but decided to quit doing horses 24/7 and now works in a local shop.
“I now find I have much more time to focus on my own riding and competing,” she said.
Abigail’s winning partner, the 17-year-old Cornish Breeze II, has shown no ill-effects of a tendon injury that sidelined her from eventing for two years.
“I brought her back into work carefully,” said the 24-year-old.
The second BE105 saw a win for Melissa Joannides and six-year-old Deodoro Faer, who is bred in the purple for eventing being out of Tim Price’s former three-star mare Jardy Faer and by the popular jumping sire Diarado.
“She’s only 15.1hh, but she has the most incredible jump and gallop,” said Melissa of the mare she owns jointly with her breeder, Kate Maitland. “Her parents were both average size, so it’s a mystery why she never grew any bigger.”
Anna Wiles reclaimed the ride on her hunter, Ryan, from her 14-year-old daughter Florence, to claim a win in BE90 section H.
“Florence had been eventing him, but she’d not been getting on with him on the flat in the leadup to the event so we did a rider swap,” explained Anna, who hunts with the Beaufort.
She is now hoping that the 10-year-old Irish-bred gelding, currently listed as “unnamed” with British Eventing due to an administration hold-up with his passport, will be her ticket back to the Badminton grassroots championship next year.
“Florence has resigned herself to the fact that she’s lost the ride for a while now,” smiled Anna, who was runner-up in the BE90 championship at Badminton in 2017 with another horse.
This was an inaugural affiliated event for Oxstalls, although its organisers, Charles and Davina Etherington-Smith, were the husband and wife team behind the popular Great Tew horse trials. The fixture replaced Goring Heath’s spring event this year, although the team is hoping for a permanent place in the calendar from 2023.
“We built a brand new BE105 course, and we’re all geared up to host novice classes in the future,” said Davina.
“He feels ready to crack on at novice” JUSTIN CLUBLEY ON INTEC