‘He took me places I never thought I’d go’: farewell to Olympic superstar
Olympic rider Spencer Wilton has paid tribute to Super Nova II, his “horse of a lifetime”, who took him to places “I never thought I would ever get to”.
The British Hanoverian gelding bred by Mrs Kirby and owned by Jen Goodman has been put down aged 22 following a happy retirement.
In 2016 Spencer and “Neville” made their championship debut and were part of the team that won silver at the Rio Olympics, alongside Carl Hester (Nip Tuck), Charlotte Dujardin (Valegro) and Fiona Bigwood (Atterupgaards Orthilla).
Spencer described the Rio Olympics as “the time of my life”.
“To be part of that team with Fiona, Carl and Charlotte was the most amazing experience. We had such good fun,” he told H&H. “It’s an experience I’ll be eternally grateful for.”
Two years later, Spencer and Neville were on the team that won bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. The pair were also reserves for the 2015 European Championships, and in 2017 finished sixth individually at the Europeans in Gothenburg, where the team was fourth.
“Neville was my horse of a lifetime, he took me to places I never thought I would ever get to. At the time when you’re on the treadmill of getting selected and going through it it’s difficult to appreciate, but looking back I think I’ll never get another one like him,” said Spencer.
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Carl produced Super Nova II, having bought him from Melanie Slater, and Carl’s then pupil Katie Bailey competed him in 2009. Spencer first saw Neville as an eight-year-old at Badminton Horse Trials in 2011 where Carl was riding him in the dressage demo.
“I remember looking up at the big screen and seeing Carl on this horse that looked a bit wild to be honest. But I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what an extraordinary looking horse,’” said Spencer.
“He had a skinny neck, and a big old head, but he looked quite exciting. Two weeks later Carl phoned me and said he had a horse he thought would suit me, and it was him. I phoned Jen Goodman, I’d never asked anybody to buy me a horse and I was so nervous, but she looked at a video of Neville, we went and tried him and that was it.”
Spencer continued to produce Neville, and they won their first international grand prix together at the Barcelona CDI in 2014. They enjoyed 15 more international victories.
“He had this incredible engine and desire to move and be forward-thinking,” he said. “His natural power and strength was incredible. That was his biggest gift, it had nothing to do with my training, it was just nature.”
“He was incredibly sweet and kind, but he was quite complicated, and I had to be on high alert for potential hazards every time I got on him. My groom Claire Hinton looked after him for the whole period and I don’t know what I would have done without her. There wouldn’t have been many people that would have understood him and accepted all his idiosyncrasies like she did.”
Spencer missed much of 2019 after he had back surgery, but in 2020 he and Neville started the year strongly with double wins at the Lier CDI4* and Keysoe CDI3* as they aimed for selection for the Tokyo Olympics.
“But of course the pandemic happened. It was a real kick because he felt better than he’d ever felt, and sadly we weren’t able to show it,” said Spencer.
“After the decision was made to postpone the Olympics, I had the rest of that year with him at home hacking and having a nice time pottering around, and it was a really nice period of time with no pressure. We came to the decision that it wouldn’t have been right to keep him going another year for the sake of another Olympics, so we wound him down.”
Neville was retired aged 18, and went on to spend a happy retirement at home with Ms Goodman.
Carl told H&H Super Nova II was “an absolute natural star”.
“Even at five years old he had amazing energy. He had a great walk, trot and canter. I sat on him and just loved him,” said Carl.
“He showed all those abilities and he found grand prix movements so easy, it didn’t surprise me that he turned out to be brilliant. But you’ve got to have a good rider to produce these horses, and it’s everything I love about matching horses and riders. I was thrilled to see Spencer and Neville get to where they should have, because we know with horses it doesn’t always happen that way.
“I can only say lovely things about Super Nova, he was just a star.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.