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‘One of the nicest four-year-olds I’ve had’: five-star rider secures first Burghley Young Event Horse final victory

Gemma Redrup Gemma Redrup

    • Mike Jackson was the clear winner of the four-year-old Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse final riding his own Oscar. It was a first victory in the Burghley Young Event Horse final for Mike, who events professionally to five-star level.

    Oscar, who is by Kitty SB out of Flair (Quasimodo), was awarded 23 for the dressage (judged by Sue Baxter and Les Smith), 37.5 marks for the jumping (judged by Nicola Wilson and Jane Holderness-Roddam) and 17 points for suitability and type (judged by Jenny Hall). Andrew Nicholson, who was responsible for judging the ability to gallop, then put the gelding in third for this section, but it was still enough for Mike to secure victory by 3.25 marks.

    Mike sourced Oscar early in his three-year-old year from Mark Bosanko.

    “He was then and still is now very immature physically, but he definitely had that presence and he was just light on his feet in all of his paces,” explains Mike of when he first spotted the impressive bay gelding.

    “Then I sent him to Victoria Richards, who broke him in and did a brilliant job, and he’s been such so straightforward. He jumped clear at his first showjumping show and then took him to a Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier. I knew he was nice, but you never know how they’re going to react, and he just took it all in his stride.”

    Mike pinpoints Oscar’s “consistent outline, contact and paces” as helping towards his victory today.

    “He is definitely one of the nicest four-year-olds I’ve had. I’ve had quite experienced horses go in there before and go green, and I knew he was green, but I knew he’s quite brave, so it was just a matter of riding forwards enough while also giving him the time to see and assess everything,” explained Mike. “Everything fitted together today.”

    Second went to an emotional North Yorkshire-based Elspeth Williams, 26, aboard her own KWPN mare Milena, who rose up one place after their final gallop, for which Andrew Nicholson awarded nine out of a possible 10 marks.

    Malawi Lancer, who is by Duke Of Hearts XX, out of Fame VI (Canturano), was third in the four-year-old Burghley Young Event Horse final under Catherine Robinson, for owners Nicky Coates and Penny Cabourne. Andrew Nicholson rewarded their outstanding gallop with full marks, which propelled them up the ranks from sixth after the initial phases.

    Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the Burghley action. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.

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    Gemma Redrup
    Gemma Redrup

    H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor
    Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
    Gemma Redrup

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