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‘He made it easy for me’: Showjumper takes on rustic track on route to second victory lap of the week

Alex Robinson Alex Robinson

    • The flowing 12-fence working hunter course at the 2021 Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) rewarded those combinations who had put in the miles on the hunt field. Stamina, fitness and bravery — of both horses and humans — were tested.

    The penultimate fence — the permanent water obstacle — caused the most drama, and those without enough petrol in the tank to withstand the distance and undulating turf rolled the odd poles.

    While the course required a fair hunt horse, a rider with a top show jumping record netted the overall Saracens Horse Feeds working hunter championship after scoring the heavyweight class.

    This was Nicole Lockhead Anderson aboard Paulette Cooper’s outstanding 11-year-old MJM Laszlo, a winner here in 2018 with his former pilot Louise Lyons.

    This result was the cherry on top of a stellar week for Nicole, who had already practiced her Longines International Arena victory lap earlier in the week when she won the Al Shira’aa six-year-old championship with Emerald Irish Cruise.

    Laszlo resides with Tokyo-bound British Olympic showjumper Holly Smith where Nicola has been based for the past three years.

    “I’m very lucky to ride Laszlo; he’s a fabulous horse,” said Nicole, who dabbled in some showing during her childhood but is relatively new to top level worker ranks. “He’s the easiest, loveliest horse and he gives you a great feeling in the ring.”

    When asked how jumping the working hunter track here compares to the show jumping, Nicole said that Laszlo makes the transition easy for her:

    “He gets into such a nice rhythm and is so careful that it makes everything so easy for me. The course suited him well; it was flowing and while some of the fences seemed to cause a few problems he’s not spooky at all.”

    Reserve was the winning lightweight, Cheryl Farrow’s Alda Cruise 10-year-old Bloomfield Incognito.

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    Alex Robinson
    Alex Robinson

    H&H showing editor
    Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 since when she has cemented its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK.
    Alex Robinson

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