A showjumper showed his (almost) naked talent by gradually stripping down to his boxer shorts during a six-bar competition at Bicton Arena.
British-based Frenchman Daniel Delsart and Victoria Wearing’s Adagio Du Lys finished third in the Empire Coachbuilders-sponsored class on 16 July, during the venue’s summer showjumping tour.
Dan told H&H that had his lorry-packing turned out otherwise, he might have had another costume to ride in.
“I’ve got this giant frog outfit, and was going to put it in when we were loading the lorry but my other half said ‘You’re not putting that in’; we had a bit of an argument about it!” he said, explaining that the costume had been given to him, as he is sometimes affectionately called Froggy Dan, by the father of a young rider with whom he had paired in a mini major class.
“For the six-bar, they had a £250 prize for the best entertainer. I thought I could ride no hands, or bareback, but after I’d had a pole down on Granby, my other horse, my friend Jamie said ‘Take your top off’. I said ‘Really?’ He said ‘It’s £250, we can have a party later’.”
? …our secret winner of the Six Bar Challenge at Bicton Arena?…Dan Delsart ? With one less piece of clothing in…Posted by ClipMyHorse.TV Great Britain on Monday, July 19, 2021
So Dan rode the fences without a fault, and then had to consider what would go next.
“Jamie said ‘I’ll hold the horse, you go in the bushes and take your trousers off’,” Dan said. “We were thinking the next round, I’d have to go bareback but luckily enough, I didn’t go clear, as I think that would have been a bit painful!”
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Despite the commentator’s offer of a pot of Savlon, Dan said he did not suffer from any chafing, although “I wouldn’t have done a whole course like that”.
“And it was hot, so I was better off in my boxer shorts than everyone else when we got back to the stables; I was less sweaty!” he said.
“I came third, and fourth on Granby, but it was good fun, and that’s what I did it for.
“It was the first time we’d been to Bicton and I really enjoyed it; the show was so well run and everyone was so friendly, it was great.”
The class was won jointly by Keith Doyle on Hip Hop and Sammie Coffin on Chaccomo Blue.
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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.
