‘A life filled with horses and adventure’: farewell to showjumper, jockey and zoo founder, aged 92
Jill Banks represented her country in showjumping, rode in point-to-points and founded a zoo park
Rider and breeder Jill Banks (née Palethorpe) has died peacefully at the age of 92.
Jill was born at the Palethorpe family home at Blakedown, Worcestershire, to Captain Jack Palethorpe and Elsie “Valerie” Marsh, both from prominent Midlands families well known for meat and sausage manufacturing.
Ponies and horses were always going to be a way of life and her parents acquired ponies for Jill and her sister Dawn.
In 1947 Jill won all three ladies’ championships, Royal Windsor, Southport and the Royal International at White City. In 1950 she won the Princess Elizabeth Cup (later the Queen’s Cup) aged 17, a record that still stands.
Jill and Earlsrath Rambler were selected to ride for Britain and went to the Rotterdam show, then Knokke in Belgium.
Jill had already met up-and-coming National Hunt jockey Peter Ward; they married in 1953 and moved to Wiseton near Bawtry.
She changed focus from showjumping to racing, helping her husband with his growing string, so Earlsrath Rambler went to Dawn.
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They trained at Almholme; the Lannis lived next door and the Massarellas close by. They had the opportunity to get better stables at Beverley and moved there.
Jill had ridden in point-to-points and a few months after her first son was born she rode in the Newmarket Town Plate.
After Peter was killed in a road accident, Jill found herself with a large string of racehorses but unable to take over as ladies could not then hold a training licence. She was not yet 23.
She subsequently met and married Stewart Banks, an amateur showjumper. Stewart’s brother Trevor Banks was becoming a prominent showjumping entrepreneur and international owner.
Dawn got married so Jill got Earlsrath Rambler back and rode him in two Nations Cup teams in Dublin, winning the Aga Khan Trophy, in 1958 and 1959. Dawn was also in the 1959 team.
When the Bertram Mills Circus closed, Jill persuaded the head circus horse trainer to base himself at her yard. From him, she learned high school, a spectacular form of dressage with imperceptible commands, usually performed in the circus. It is no wonder she was still pretty good at dressage in her 80s.
In the 1960s Jill met one of the Chipperfield’s Circus family through showjumping and she and Stewart became friends with them all. When they moved to South Africa, the animals stayed with Jill and Stewart and they founded Coventry Zoo Park.
Jill Banks, a Lipizzaner stallion and a baby elephant
They provided animals for filming adverts, including Jeremy the Sugar Puffs bear and Charlie the chimp in the Brooke Bond tea advert. After they sold the zoo they arrived back in East Yorkshire, with a Lipizzaner stallion and a baby elephant.
Jill trained a horse called Hersonslea, on which son Bobby won at the Holderness point-to-point two years running.
Jill and Stewart realised they were not really farmers so they obtained a stallion called Chebs Lad. More stallions arrived including Le Johnstan, Sizzling Melody and Belfort, and Aike Grange Stud was born.
Jill joined the White Rose Riding Club in 1969 as part of the quadrille team. That year they were successful in the inter-club championships and went on to Horse of the Year Show.
Jill became chair of the club, and started her grandchildren Stephanie and Scarlett on ponies.
The Fry family bought Aike Grange Stud from her and ran successful dressage shows; Lottie Fry grew up there and Jill loved attending the shows.
Stewart passed away unexpectedly in 2004.
Three years ago, Jill celebrated her 90th at a family lunch at Stone Manor in Worcestershire, followed by a party by the lake at the Palethorpe family home.
Jill lived a life filled with horses and adventure. From showjumping triumphs to the circus and zoo, from breeding studs to teaching grandchildren.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.