William Funnell discusses building fresh trading routes and saving money while going green
During the recent cold snap, I felt extremely lucky to be in the UAE getting stuck in with the horses, starting with the four-star Al Shira’aa show followed by a five-star Nations Cup event. This is the fourth year I’ve come over and they offer nice classes, without the massive entries you get on the tours in Europe.
Joe has always been a real talent and every time he’s had a good horse, he’s won a lot so it’s been great to see him jumping well at this level again – he won the first week’s grand prix, then came so close to winning a half share of the 50k double clear bonus in the Nations Cup with his horse Hulahupe JR. They just came up against Austria’s Christoph Obernauer in the jump-off, who set a deceptively fast time to clinch victory for his very strong team.
Joe’s brother Donald also did a great job and it was great to have Tim Gredley, with whom I have jumped on Nations Cups in the past, back on the team.
Di Lampard was out there with us as well, so it was a great opportunity for riders to show their hand with a bit of early form and there was great team spirit.
It was the first time that course-designer Uliano Vezzani was building in the UAE and he did an excellent job – the five-star grand prix was like a European equivalent, he didn’t hold back at all and there were only two clears. These shows have really brought up the level of riding in the country and the quality of horses is growing all the time.
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A massive market
Back home, some of the horses have been out competing again and Addington has made a very welcome return to the calendar. Because we’re always so busy in January and February in the UAE followed by the Sunshine tours, I’d never actually made it to Florida, so it was a real eye-opener last week to visit the unbelievable World Equestrian Centre in Ocala, where my wife Pippa was training at this great facility, followed by a few days at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
There’s so much going on at Palm Beach, and it’s amazing to see just how much money is invested in the sport – and the huge number of people involved is heartening for a breeder! There’s a massive market for nice horses in their hunter and equitation classes. We have a lot of Billys making a name for themselves in the States now and since Brexit, it’s become even more important to forge direct trade with the US.
The Dutch VDL Stud has an annual auction in Florida, and that’s something we could eventually look into doing, but interestingly they’re not so used to buying in auctions there. However, our next venture is hopefully to organise an auction during the London International Horse Show as a way to get Americans over to the UK to help our trade and ensure we don’t end up too much in our own pond. We need to build those bridges.
Staying local
Times are tough for everyone right now and my feed bill alone has gone up by a third in the past year, so in looking at ways to save money, we’ve also tried to make our business more eco-friendly. With shavings almost doubling in price, 90% of my horses are now bedded on straw.
It’s great for the young ones as it gives them something to pick through, and it’s better for the environment because I buy from a farmer three miles down the road, whereas our shavings were being shipped in from as far afield as Holland and Belgium sometimes. Straw is also far better when we’re spreading it on the land.
I’d also used haylage for years because it was so much easier to store, but 85% of my horses are now on hay, thus eliminating all that plastic wrap. I’m finding it makes total sense to source locally when we can.
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The British international showjumper is the only rider to have won the Hickstead Derby five times. A British showjumping team regular, William won team gold at the 2013 European championships on his home-bred stallion Billy Congo. He has been chef d’equipe and team trainer for UAE showjumping since November 2023. He and his wife, five-star eventer Pippa Funnell, run the successful Billy Stud in Surrey.
