Jonty Evans has returned to jumping aboard his crowdfunded superstar Cooley Rorkes Drift.
The Irish Olympic eventer spent six weeks in a coma last summer following a cross-country fall at Tattersalls in June.
Jonty posted videos of him jumping “Art” at Talland School of Equitation last week (9 February), which have been liked close to 6,000 times and received a combined total of more than 120,000 views.
“I’ve been going to Talland quite often and they have been really good — Pammy is great, as are the rest of the team,” Jonty told H&H.
“They are all really kind, which makes so much difference, and they understand — they have probably seen the same sort of thing before.”
In the last few weeks someone has come good on her promise. That promise was made a long time ago when I came around…Posted by Jonty Evans on Saturday, February 9, 2019
Jonty was full of praise for the horse and for Brian, Pammy and the team at Talland, adding that returning to jumping felt natural.
“Other people have also asked me to say how did it feel, expecting me to say it felt amazing, and it just felt normal,” he said.
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“I’ve been trying to think ‘did it feel amazing?’ Obviously it is very nice to be jumping him, but it does just feel normal.”
He added that Art’s incredible temperament means the horse is as able to “just get on with it”, whether that is the Rio Olympics or helping Jonty in his return to the saddle.
“I rode him today and jumped him and I did think how incredibly lucky I am to have a horse like Art, he is incredibly forgiving,” said Jonty on Wednesday (13 February).
“It is just great being back on him again and we will see what the future will hold.”
The injured event rider received a huge round of applause from all those in attendence
In his post on Facebook, Jonty said Pammy and Brian made a promise to him and have done “exactly that”.
“Together with their incredible team at Talland, the care, attention to detail and simple plain old humanity has been incredible,” he said.
“It has resulted in a few things, but obviously most interesting is can Art and I still leave the floor and come down together!
“Due to the support, horses, and the staff at Talland it appears we can. Remember everyone this is just the start. Thank you Pammy and everyone.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
