Meet the mare who was bought for a “silly amount” as no one would ride her, who’s known as a woodpecker as “she always finds a fence” – and who came sixth in the British Speed Derby at Hickstead.
Ashley Boyce and 11-year-old Summerbridge Lulu put in a super round on Saturday (24 June) to finish four places higher than they did on their class debut last year.
Ashley told H&H the mare came to her in an unusual way.
“She won’t work conventionally; always has her head up in the air and has one speed – as quick as she can go,” she said, adding that she first rode Lulu for a client.
“His daughter was going to ride her and I said ‘There’s no way’,” she said. “Then their pony failed the vetting and they didn’t go ahead with the sale. So Matt Pike [Sussex Equestrian Sales] said ‘If you want her, you can have her’, for a silly amount. The minute I saw her, I knew she’d jump the speed Derby.”
Ashley said she had been fascinated by the class for years; 20 years ago, a horse owned by her friend Shirley Light of Brendon Stud competed in it.
“I was helping her, and have been fascinated by it ever since,” she said. “Shirley’s been telling me to win the Hickstead Derby but I want to win this. If Lulu does, she’s still got age on her side, so she can do that and then breed me beautiful babies. I worship the ground she walks on, and I think that’s why she tries for me.”
Ashley added that when she jumped Lulu in the class last year, the mare was still in 90cm British novice classes on points.
“I never doubted she’d take me through the start and finish,” she said. “Shirley’s encouragement has been unbelievable, and she says she’ll jump the Derby but that feels serious and the next step up; I like going mad and fast!”
Ashley said that although Lulu may not be the most careful, hence the woodpecker reference, and that “the consensus was no one would have the patience for her”, she loves riding her, and thinks the mare is ideally suited for the speed Derby.
“She’s a clever cookie; I wonder if that slightly clever, slightly insane brain cell makes her good in that class as it isn’t one for every horse but she loves it,” she said. “I’ve got beautiful, talented horses for the serious stuff, who will win me more, but I love her so much. She may be a woodpecker – but she’s my woodpecker.”
You might also be interested in:
A ‘stumbled upon’ horse and some home-made Derby fences – how amateur rider impressed in Hickstead speed Derby
‘I was holding the throatlash’: Speed Derby superheroes jump triple planks with no bridle
‘I can’t believe it’: young rider and ‘free’ horse take speed Derby win on debut
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