Nurse Gillian has a prince of a ride at Hickstead
Thursday 25 July 2024
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Full-time nurse Gillian Anderson used her annual leave to travel 10 hours from Strathaven, Lanarkshire, to compete at the Agria Royal International Horse Show, and was rewarded with a victory in the Hickstead RIHS Amateur Championship with JJ’s Prince Chaccomo.
Gillian delivered the fastest of six double clears in this two-phase final, edging 0.58sec ahead of runner-up Arysha Kanda and Creeveroe Cody. “It’s amazing riding in that ring. I did it as a junior many years ago, it’s a huge, beautiful arena,” Gillian said. “He lit up a bit with the atmosphere. You just don’t get a ring like that anywhere else.”
Gillian bought the now 14-year-old “Chacco” from his Scottish breeder John Jamieson as a four-year-old. “He’s definitely a character,” she said. “He’s the boss at home, because he’s been there since a four-year-old he thinks he owns the place!”
The Chacommo x Ingliston Wooster gelding previously competed up to 1.30m but lost his confidence. “We went away and did some working hunter classes and a few different things with him,” Gillian said. “This is him having a nice time as a 14-year-old having some fun in some amateur classes.”
“Chacco” has been back show jumping since the start of the year, mostly tackling “small tracks to keep him confident”. “I didn’t expect him to win, I didn’t expect him to come back so confident but he’s feeling great,” Gillian added.
The Agria Royal International Horse Show runs from 24-28 July at Hickstead in West Sussex. Tickets are available at the gate or can be booked online at www.hickstead.co.uk. All the action from the International Arena will be livestreamed on ClipMyHorse.TV and Hickstead.TV.
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