‘I’ve only had him a week’: new horses impress under top names at Royal International

A world class international field of horses and riders have flocked to Hickstead for this year’s CSI5* Longines Royal International Horse Show, but among the many familiar combinations in action are a few new pairs to catch the eye.

British rider Guy Williams made his Hickstead debut with a Portuguese-bred grey with the very catchy name, First Colt, in Thursday’s Royal International Vase, a 1.45m speed class won by William Whitaker.

Their bold bid for victory only came amiss at the final fence but the pair seem ideally suited in the ring, despite Guy only taking the reins last week.

Guy explained that the 12-year-old by Coltaire Z has been ridden for the past four years by one of his pupils, Indian showjumper Maryk Sahney, and is with Guy to eventually sell. But the pair have already hit winning form, winning last week’s grand prix at Royal Lancashire before arriving at Hickstead for the Royal International.

“Maryk is based in France and I train him a bit and I help him buy all his horses,” said Guy, who originally bought First Colt through David Simpson and Shane Breen, who had acquired him from his breeder in Portugal.

“Maryk sent him to me to be sold, so I’ll ride him a bit, hopefully win a bit, and then sell him. He’s a lovely horse who jumped loads of grands prix with Maryk.

“I’ve only had him a week and he’s already won at Lancs on Sunday. Then I brought him to Hickstead to see how he gets on. He’s a nice jumper who fits in well with my string.”

Ben Maher at the Royal International: ‘I think he’s exciting’

In the same class on Thursday, Ben Maher impressed with new ride Ici, a nine-year-old son of Douglas, who has been sent to Ben by Holger Hetzel. The pair jumped a smart clear to finish 10th on day one of the international classes.

“This is our first show,” said Ben from the Royal International. “I jumped him the other day in the 1.30m and he was clear, he felt very good. I’ve only had him three or four weeks but he has some good two-star results.”

Irish rider Shane O’Meara had been producing him until recently for Manton Grange Stables.

“We’re lucky to have him,” said Ben. “He’s not so big, but he rides big. He was a bit strong in there [for the Royal International Vase] – we need to get the communication going more – but I think he’s exciting.

“He has it all, we just need to produce him a bit. We’ll give him another round and then we’ll go a bit bigger,” he explained.

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