Ireland’s Trevor Breen and home-bred Kannoon Blue delivered the sole double clear to win the HOYS leading showjumper of the year title (12 October) – a triumph that concluded with a three-Whitaker showdown.
The nine-year-old grey breezed over Alan Wade’s intense grand prix track, seizing victory with scope to spare.
“Kannoon Blue is a phenomenal horse. He’s a half-brother to Highland President, who would traditionally be my best horse,” said Trevor, in reference to his European team silver medal-winning ride.
“But this guy is really coming of age this year. He’s just got better and better. I’ve always believed in him, so it’s nice when that starts to come into fruition.
“He ticks all the boxes, he has huge amounts of scope, he’s unbelievably careful and he’s quite quick as well – and he’s getting quicker.
“He’s an unbelievable horse to ride. I really think there’s not much that he won’t be able to do in the future.”
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“It’s been a phenomenal year – I couldn’t have dreamt of this kind of year when I was lying in the hospital bed in Hamburg,” he said.
“Huge thanks to my team, my wife Caroline, my family, owners and staff at home. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to come back and to get going as well as I have with all the horses. It’s a huge team effort, thank you to everyone for putting me here – it’s all down to them.”
He added: “The atmosphere here is brilliant. All the riders love riding here. You go in there and you just grow – it’s just amazing and the crowd get behind you.
“Even though John Whitaker was last to go – and I nearly wanted him to win myself, because he’s a legend of the sport and British as well – there was still huge support for me in there, and I’m hugely grateful for that, it’s really appreciated.”
Eight challengers
Eight competitors went through to the jump-off – six clears and the two fastest combinations with four faults.
Former winner Jodie Hall-McAteer and Key West were the first of the four-faulters to go against the clock, ramping up the pressure on the remaining seven by virtue of a neat clear. Eventual runners-up Sandy Mclean and Gino F, who also carried four faults from the first round, were next in – and shaved close to three seconds off Jodie’s time.
The next three riders – Jessica Burke (Seapatrick Toulon), Joe Stockdale (Its Confidential) and William Whitaker (Cristallo’s Double Take) – each picked up a smattering of faults, before Trevor and Kannoon Blue raised the bar.
From here, it was Ireland versus the remaining Whitakers. Robert Whitaker and the great Vermento were drawn as the penultimate combination to start, and Robert’s father, showjumping legend John Whitaker (Equine America Unick Du Francport) was the final rider to challenge for the title.
Robert caught Trevor on time, but a rail at the Evoke oxer dropped him to third in the final results. John, a touch steadier, also had a pole at the butterfly upright to finish fifth.
“I’m happy with the way the horse performed – he jumped very good. He’s had a little break, and he’s very fresh; probably a bit disappointed I didn’t win it, but that’s showjumping for you,” said Robert.
Amazing comeback
Sandy faced an anxious wait to see how far his tactical, speedy jump-off performance could lift him up the leaderboard. Their second place was all the more special for the journey this pair have been on together.
“It’s hard coming back in with four faults, being the right start of the jump-off, and not really knowing what you’ve got to do,” said Sandy.
“He’s such a big, scopey, fast horse that we threw down the mark, and it nearly paid off. I didn’t think we’d end up as high as we did, but I’m absolutely delighted.
“Lexi, my groom, walked him off, so I was able to go and watch – and I nearly fell off the edge of that bannister! I thought, ‘We’re getting closer to it here’. It got to a point where we were guaranteed top five, then top four, then top three, and before you knew it, we were second.
“I’ve been riding Gino F for seven years, he taught me to jump the big classes and he’s been unbelievable. Just over a year ago, he sustained a bad injury and had to be on box rest – we didn’t know if he’d jump again. So to be back at this level again with him a year later is just unbelievable.”
Vet Peter Schofield was key in getting to the bottom of Gino’s injury. It’s down to him, as well as the care and rehabilitation provided by Sandy and his team, support from those involved in his mum’s riding school, and daily trips to a Scottish beach, that the horse recovered .
“It took a lot of time, and now he is back and feeling amazing,” said Sandy.
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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.
