The 30-year-old, who shares his first name with his Badminton ride Jack Daniels, have a foundation of solid form from which they make their CCI5* debut this week.
“We’re both still quite green at [the upper] level – he did his first event as a seven year old and he’s 11 now,” says Jack, whose dressage score of 41.2 is within the trend of his previous international results.
“He stayed with me and he really tried. I think we made a few big mistakes, but overall, I was really happy with him.”
Badminton final scores
Jack Daniels (by Indorado), who is owned by Pauline Strawson and another Jack – the rider’s partner, Jack Thomas Watson, was third at Blair and 18th at Bramham CCI4*-L last year.
Jack, originally from Cheshire, moved to Northumberland about four years ago and runs a producing, schooling and sales operation near Belsay with his partner.
Looking back at where he first caught his love of horses, he says: “I’ve always had animals, but my parents have never ridden. I was just animal obsessed, then got into riding and it went from there.
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“I started riding at about the age of three or four, I had ponies all the way through – they were always very green, I fell off quite a few times!”
Jack Daniels was discovered by his jockey via a friend – the horse was roughed off in a field “up the road”, but Jack spotted a diamond underneath the wooliness. The initial plan was that he could make a nice field master’s horse for Jack Thomas Watson, but that idea went out the window when they saw the quality with which he moved and jumped.
“He’s a beautiful horse – he’s so elegant and I thought he looked like a five-star horse. Now he’s here,” says Jack, reflecting on what it was about the gelding that caught his attention.
“He’s such a good jumper, and he’s so genuine and honest. Hopefully we’ll have a good ride on Saturday – we’ll give it our best shot.”
How to watch Badminton Horse Trials
If you want to watch the live action from Badminton Horse Trials from the comfort of your home, wherever you are in the world, you will need to subscribe to Badminton TV. This year, Badminton TV has teamed up with ClipMyHorse.TV, but you do not need a full ClipMyHorse.TV subscription to watch Badminton – you can just subscribe to Badminton TV for £21.99. Go to clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/badminton to subscribe or to activate your account as an existing Badminton TV subscriber. If you are already a ClipMyHorse.TV premium member, Badminton TV is included in your subscription. As part of Badminton TV, you can enjoy the documentary programme Legends and Legacy, a fly-on-the-wall insight into the 2024 event and preview of 2025.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
