‘A king to the end’: final farewell to former five-star eventer aged 28
Eventer Emily Baldwin has paid tribute to her former five-star ride Drivetime, whose story is “what dreams are made of”, and who has died aged 28.
The Dutch-bred gelding, with whom Emily Baldwin completed Badminton, Pau and Luhmühlen, and secured many wins and top placings at four-star (then three-star) level, had to be put down as his age had caught up with him, after 11 years of being “treated like a king” in his happy retirement.
“He meant a lot, to a lot of people,” Emily told H&H. “When he had to be put down, I messaged some people first as I didn’t want them to read it on social media as he was more than that. I was surprised as it’s been a long time since he retired but for people to be so emotional, I was really touched.”
Emily took the reins on “Ozzy” when he was nine; he had previously been competed by Terry Boon.
“Lord Harris bought him for me; I wrote to him to ask,” Emily said. “I told him what my ambitions were and asked if he was interested in supporting me, and he said yes, basically!
“He said ‘I like winning’, and I said ‘Ok’, but we did go on to win quite a lot. We didn’t quite get to a championship, which was a shame; we were very close several times, but we had an amazing journey together.”
Emily said she loved Ozzy when she went to see him but their journey did not have the most auspicious start; Ozzy arrived in winter, having just been clipped.
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“He was very sharp, and spent probably the first three months on his back legs, which was pretty entertaining – for everyone else – and I didn’t like him that much any more!” she said. “He did spend quite a lot of time overall rearing; we used to clear collecting rings and I’d have to find somewhere quiet to warm up, but he knew when it was a big occasion or a big show. He loved people and loved showing off; he really rose to the occasion and was amazing.”
But the partnership gelled quickly and Emily said it was their sixth place in the 2007 Saumur three-star (now four-star) that kick-started their success.
“It snowballed,” she said. “I got a call inviting me on the World Class programme, then he won the three-star at Hartpury and it went from there. He won some amazing classes.”
These included World Cup wins at Haras du Pin and Chatsworth, and the Grantham Cup at Belton. They also represented Britain in the Aachen Nations Cup, and came second at Bramham and Blenheim.
“We won a car at Hartpury; we’d come second the year before by 0.2 or something ridiculous so to go back and win was very special,” Emily said. “One of my favourites was winning at Haras du Pin, the first year it ran as a three-star; Michael Jung was there too and we won, which was amazing.”
Emily said it was the first time Lord Harris had owned an event horse and “I don’t know if he thought this was normal”.
“We were on this remarkable journey,” she said. “When it’s happening, and has never happened before, you slightly take it for granted. When you’re in your 20s, you don’t realise this is your horse of a lifetime, you just enjoy the moment, and this amazing horse and going to these incredible places.
“I went to Aachen four times with him, and came fourth individually; we had amazing times and I look back and think how lucky I was. It was the most incredible show and he was in his element as there were so many people there.”
Emily said Drivetime moved beautifully on the flat – “I felt like I was floating,” she said.
“At Luhmühlen, Christoph Hess was the judge at C and he gave me a thumbs-up after my test,” she said. “He put on the sheet ‘That’s how eventing dressage should be ridden’. I’ve got some amazing memories. At Badminton, we were second after the first day’s dressage and Carl Hester wrote in H&H: ‘I didn’t know Emily Baldwin when she entered the arena but I did once she came out’. Ozzy loved people and loved the atmosphere; some horses just get it and he was one of them.”
Emily said Drivetime was not the fastest across country but had so much jump, he made the biggest tracks feel easy.
“And he was one of the best to have showjumping as he was so careful and had so much scope, he made it fun and easy,” she said.
“He was this very, very special horse with an aura about him; he knew he was good. He wasn’t arrogant, he loved people and being around them.”
After Ozzy bowed out from eventing, he did some hacking out for a few years until it was time to fully retire.
“He kept his routine,” Emily said. “He came in at night, and went out in his field, and would have his groom, which was his favourite part of the day. He was looked after like a king, right to the end.”
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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.