Horse_amp_amp_Hound__06_February_2018

scores for Doyle
Ben Maher enjoys a 1.60m victory on his Rio 2016 partner Tic Tac
Daniel Coyle bags the World Cup qualifier on Cita
“It’s been a lean time for
me over the past year or so and
I haven’t sat up here very often,”
said Ben, who was last to go in a
five-horse jump-off with his 2016
Olympic partner. “Sometimes
jump-offs just go right. Every
time I turned, I picked up the
first distance. Tic Tac covers the
ground and it went our way today.
“Tic Tac goes his own way, he
has his own style,” explained Ben,
who now uses the son of Clinton
sparingly. “When he come to me
from Leslie Howard, he had to
go very fast to build for the team
for Rio. He’s 15 years old now
so I think you have to protect
him a little bit. He jumped one
small round a week ago and then
straight into this class today.
“Maybe we’ll head over [to
Europe] and jump some Nations
Cups, Global Champions Tour,
that kind of thing. I don’t have so
many old horses to choose from
right now, so we’ll pick and choose
where to go.” H&H
ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND
‘We need the crowd behind our team’
Peter Charles on why Nations Cup competitions are such dream occasions
I’VE been lucky enough to
ride on a Dublin Aga Khan
winning Nations Cup team on
six occasions: three times for
Ireland and three for Britain.
I can personally say it’s one
of the best experiences for
a showjumper. So the news
that Hickstead is moving its
superleague leg to the Sunday
of the Royal International has
put a smile on my face.
We should embrace this
opportunity to make it the most
important outdoor spectacle we
can put on in showjumping.
It should be the dream of
every young rider to participate
in that parade of teams in the
main ring and go on to represent
their country. Hopefully, when
all the back rings have finished,
they will have the opportunity
to stay on, watch, and gain some
inspiration.
I finished school at 15 —
through no fault of my own —
and left Liverpool to work with
Peter Charles was a member of the
gold medal-winning British team at
the 2012 London Olympics. He also
won three consecutive Hickstead
Derbys in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
OPINION
horses in Ireland. I was lucky
enough to be one of a group of
young lads who were all starting
at the bottom and trying to work
their way to the top.
I remember well going
to Dublin Horse Show to see
the Nations Cup — one of
the biggest sporting events in
Ireland — and watching the
whole showground come to
a standstill as Eddie Macken,
Paul Darragh, Con Power and
James Kernan paraded in front
of the band.
As a young boy, perched up
in a tree, it was incredible to
see them go on to win the Aga
Khan trophy. It was the best
thing I could imagine, and it
gave me more motivation to
succeed than ever.
The whole of Ireland was
behind that team: it was on the
news; the stands were packed
and the streets were packed.
The responsibility to win was
enormous but the rewards were
fantastic. There was widespread
recognition and the horses
became household names.
UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE
WHEN I moved back to
England aged 21, Hickstead’s
Nations Cup used to be in
the Sunday slot, before it was
replaced by the King George
V Gold Cup. I can recall the
outside rings being finished and
seeing Harvey Smith and David
Broome jumping on the team,
with the support of a full house.
The atmosphere was fantastic
then — a bit like Derby day.
I’m in the unusual position of
having ridden both for Ireland
at Dublin and for Britain at
Hickstead. With the level of
crowd participation, the history
of the event and the buy-in of
all the riders, the atmosphere at
Dublin is undoubtedly unique.
No one ever shies off taking
a team place there.
Hopefully, moving the event
to the Sunday at Hickstead will
now bring back some of the
prestige and allow people to give
the competition the focus and
respect it deserves.
If we build the day up to
really mean something, then
owners and riders will buy in
and we’ll get the likes of Scott
Brash and Ben Maher to put
their best foot forward.
We should get as many
ex-riders as possible to support
it and give interviews. I would
like to see a lot of Union flags
waving in the stands for the
parade — we need a partisan
crowd behind our team and
there’s no reason we can’t
make this a fantastic British
showjumping day. H&H
NEXT
WEEK
Regular columnist
William Funnell
8 February 2018 Horse & Hound 59