‘The vet gave him zero chance’: young British rider and miracle horse deliver ‘fairytale’ grand prix performance
Olli Fletcher had a “fairytale” weekend at the London Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT London), jumping an inspiring double clear to finish fifth in his first 5* grand prix, riding Hello William — a horse who six months earlier, hadn’t been expected to survive.
Twenty-year-old Olli has a special bond with Lady Harris and Lady Kirkhams’ 11-year-old, who he has produced from his first show, but in February this year, he thought he would lose him when he needed colic surgery.
“I don’t know how he survived to be honest,” Olli said. “The vet gave him zero chance. So to come back from that is incredible. It’s why I got so emotional after the first round. This was his first proper show back.”
The exquisitely careful Waldo Van Dungen x Stakkato gelding had only jumped a couple of 1.45m rounds in Germany and Denmark before heading to Chelsea to jump his first 1.60m tracks at 5* level. His performance was impressive, not touching a pole in either Saturday’s grand prix qualifier, the Global Champions League individual competition, where he finished 12th, or Sunday’s main event.
“It wasn’t the weekend I was expecting but it was the weekend I’ll take,” Olli said.
“We’ve always had faith in him though, he’s always been king of the yard. I’ve never ridden a horse like him and I doubt I ever will.
“I really, truly believes he loves me and he was trying his heart out for me. Every time I walk to his stable he screams his head off. He’s adorable.”
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LGCT London: ‘the course was massive, I’ve never seen anything like it’
Olli was one of seven British riders to make the field of 38 through to the grand prix, which featured 18 of the top 50 riders in the world.
He was one of 10 riders and two Brits to make the jump off, where he delivered a thrilling clear to fly the flag as top performer for the home side.
“I had him at a 5* last year but only to jump the 1.50m,” Olli said. “That was his first big track and back to back he didn’t disappoint.
“The course was massive for the grand prix, I’ve never seen anything like it. I was delighted with how he went yesterday and I just thought if I had a nice round today then I’d be happy.
“I wasn’t expecting a clear but I was delighted to have one and to have a go in the jump off. Neither of us have the experience that some of these riders have, a lot of these riders are on their last run out before Milan and the calibre in the jump off was incredible.”
The horse will now have a well-deserved break before hopefully being targeted at a few more top shows at the back end of the year.
“We’ve proved to everyone we can do it, so we’ll just keep tight and see if we get a call up. I truly think he’s good enough to go all the way,” Olli added on the final day of the LGCT London.
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