Wymeswold Olympian debuts future star at Hickstead 

Holly Smith is no stranger to success at Hickstead, and she found herself at the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting.

 

“I want to be back at the top level again, and this is a horse that doesn’t need to be leaving my yard,” says British Olympian Holly Smith, who claimed top honours in this morning’s Hickstead Annual Grade C Championship with the seven-year-old Nike van het Singraven. 

 

The class makes up an important part of the fabric of the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting, a show that’s almost synonymous with British showjumping history – and this week, Holly hopes to use it to start the next chapter of her career with the promising young gelding. 

 

“This was his first time in the main arena here, and that’s just a testament to how great his brain is – he just goes in and does his job,” says Holly, who entered the ring as just the second competitor in the final, and delivered a round that would end up being two full seconds faster than that of her nearest challenger, Robert Whitaker and Forrests Rose Gold. 

 

For many horses, a debut in the capacious, atmospheric main arena at Hickstead can be an overwhelming experience, but for Nike van het Singraven, it’s just another day in the office – and that’s come as no surprise for his rider. 

 

“He’s got an incredible brain, and he’s also got the scope and the speed as well,” she says. “He’s got everything, in my opinion, and I love him to bits. He’s a real star of the future and the nicest, nicest animal.” 

 

Leicestershire-based Holly is all too aware of the tricky balance between running a business and hitting competitive goals – and oftentimes, keeping an equestrian career afloat means selling on exceptional horses as they begin to show form in the ring.

 

“When they’re good, the phone doesn’t stop ringing,” she says. “But I’m so grateful to have had a team of people come together to buy him so he can stay with me.”

 

Holly has produced the horse through the grades from his five-year-old year, and while she’s confident that world stage success is on the horizon for him, for now, she’s determined to let Nike set his own pace and not over-pressurise him. 

 

“I’ll be looking to step him up to bigger classes next year as an eight year old, but for now, I really just want to do what the horse needs to do – I’ll be guided by him,” she says. “He’ll come back to Hickstead for the B&C Final at the Royal International [in July], and he might even come back in September; today, with his debut in the main arena, he’s proven that he’s a horse for a big occasion. I always thought he was, but this just confirms it for me.”

 

Image: Boots and Hooves Photography