JOE STOCKDALE & DON DIEGO DE PLATA (‘DIDI’)
JOE STOCKDALE, 23, is the son of the late Olympic showjumper Tim Stockdale. Since turning his attentions from cricket to showjumping, Joe has appeared on several British Nations Cup teams. He was also a member of the bronze medal-winning squad at the 2022 World Championships in Herning. He is based in Northamptonshire and is sponsored by Agria Lifetime Equine. Visit agriapet.co.uk
What was Didi like when he arrived at your yard? My dad bought Didi in Belgium seven years ago, and we knew that he had a cheeky side, which I think is why he was for sale. He would stand up in a corner and turn himself into positions I have never seen a horse make before. He can also spin quicker than any horse I’ve ever known. He will do a full 180 degrees and drop you over his shoulder.
How did you begin the bonding process? Having pestered my dad to let me have another horse to ride, he offered me Didi. I then started trying to understand what was behind his behaviour. First of all I spent a lot of time with him, in and out of the stable, walking him in-hand and grazing him to see what he liked to look at and spook at. This gave me an insight into how he thinks, and then I could try to translate that into riding him. He loves jumping more than anything else, and his ‘naughtiness’ is almost about boiling over. Therefore, I don’t overdo the flatwork and grids at home — he simply gets too excited. Instead I try to keep his mind occupied. He can be quite horse shy, and some days he is ultra-focused but on others he’s really full of it and so our warm up before a class may be less structured than with other horses. I may just land over a practice fence and leg yield straight away into a corner, or turn a bit tighter into fences to keep him guessing. Or I’ll go from walk straight into canter for four strides into a fence — things like that — just to check that he’s with me.
Time spent in the stable with him has also been quite important in building a bond. Some horses come over and want a scratch, but Didi wanted to be all over me all of the time and have me comfort him a bit. As he is being tacked up he will always plop his head on my shoulder. I allow it because it is my way of telling him that it will be me riding him and so he gets to trust me.
How long did it take to form a proper bond? We started to build a connection in less than six months. Even at our first couple of shows Didi started to fight for me. Not only did the spinning become less of an issue, but he rapidly became my front-line go-to grand prix horse for a number of years. In fact, I have a bond with him that I don’t have with every horse I ride. I never have any doubt that he’ll look after me, that he’ll always protect me if I make a mistake, and I don’t often get that feeling. And this was especially important early in my career.
What has this deep bond led to in terms of competition success? I remember competing Didi in the five-fence challenge at my first Horse of the Year Show. It isn’t the biggest class in the world, but it was my first class there and I was well out of my depth. However, Didi jumped five clears and was joint winner. That class set me up for the whole week, and that week set up my whole career. Perhaps it wasn’t my biggest win, but it was probably the most important.
What advice would you give to other riders struggling to bond with a horse? Didi highlighted the importance of trying to work out why horses do what they do. It is easy to rule them out as naughty — but there can be a lot more to it. Maybe they don’t know or trust you, but that doesn’t mean that we have to be super soft and not have any influence. Strip it back to basics, spend time on the ground as well as in the saddle with them, and think, “what does he want from me”?