Katie Jerram-Hunnable might have lost a showing partner when she retired the legendary Barbers Shop from the show ring this year, but the Essex-based rider has a new former racehorse joining her team of top-class charges very soon.
Lord Windermere, a 12-year-old bay gelding, was trained by Jim Cullotty to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2014. Previously owned by Dr Ronan Lambe, Newmarket-based farrier Becky Lowe has taken ownership, and asked Katie to take on the ride.
He will be arriving from Ireland this month and will be joining Katie’s yard after Horse of the Year Show in October ready to start his retraining programme.
“It all started with a phone call,” said Katie. “I was asked if I would be interested in taking him on, and of course I said I’d love to. It’s a great honour to have been asked to have another big name — he is always one I’ve put money on in the big races actually.”
Katie broke her neck in a schooling accident last year and while she is still not riding, she is on the mend and hopes to be back in the saddle soon
She added: “He retired from the track a few months ago and has been in the field ever since. When he gets to the UK he will have some more chillout time, before starting his journey.
“We will begin with lots of hacking and quiet work, getting familiar with him and building some muscle tone. From there we will steadily introduce some schooling.
Continues below…
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“I’ve never seen him the flesh but I am super-excited about getting going with him.”
“It’s hard to say how long it will take, as it can very a lot and he is an older horse. Barbers Shop came to us in the November and won at his first show in the following March, but each horse is different.”
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