Alice was six years old when Topspin arrived in the world, a giant fourth foal from his 15.3hh mother Capriati. He still lives in the stable where he was born.
“Mum’s room had a TV where we could watch the foaling,” Alice says. “I wasn’t that interested in horses then, but foals were exciting.”
Although Alice describes Spin as her mother Caroline’s “favourite child”, he lived up to his name from the outset.
“He was so sharp, I was forever falling off,” says Caroline. “Friends were always catching him and picking me up. But from the start, he felt like he could jump anything.”
Caroline produced Spin mainly for showjumping, handing over the reins to Alice to event – and credits her “short body and long legs” for enabling her to sit his spins.
“He can be vile,” Alice says, lovingly. “But I understand him; some of it is naughtiness, some is insecurity. I just laugh at him now – I’d either laugh or cry.”
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From this rocky start, he’s fulfilled the family’s dreams.
“My granny helped Mum with the breeding and used to joke that Spin and I would get to Burghley one day – when he wasn’t even managing at novice.”
What canny foresight. Topspin and Alice not only made it to Burghley, but have finished in the top 10 in all of their four runs.
Alice and Topspin have multiple five-star completions on their record.
(Image credit: Nico Morgan)
Topspin breeding information
Name: Topspin
Stable name: Spin
Height: 17hh
Year of birth: 2008
Breeding: by Zento (16.3½hh) out of Capriati xx (15.3hh) by El Conquistador xx
Breeder: Caroline Casburn
Best results: fifth twice at Burghley CCI5*, fifth at Luhmühlen CCI5*, 2026 under-25 national champion at Bramham, young rider European team gold and individual bronze
Topspin’s pedigree chart
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Meet the parents
Caroline laughs that her premise for breeding Topspin was not entirely rational. She’d evented his grandmother, Spangle, at advanced. But out of five foals, she produced only one filly, Capriati.
“Capriati wasn’t the best to breed from in hindsight; sharp with an ever-ready battery,” says Caroline. “We bred from her to keep the line, but also as she was so hot-headed we didn’t like riding her!”
Stallion AI recommended Zento, for his quiet temperament: “Although Spin’s sharp, he’s workable,” Caroline says. “If you can stay on, you can bring him back to walk and explain things to him. You’d ride Capriati for three hours and never wear her out.”
Other facts about Topspin’s breeding
1. Topsin’s great-grandsire (grandsire of Capriati) was Derby winner Mill Reef.
2. His sire’s half-brother Cento won Olympic team showjumping gold in 2000.
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
