A team of four of Britain’s finest current and former jump jockeys were victorious in the JCB Champions Challenge relay race held at the St. James’s Place Wealth Management Barbury International Horse Trials on Saturday (July 5) in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF).
The jockeys were John Francome, former seven times champion jockey and now president of the IJF, Sam Twiston-Davies, a rising star among young jumps jockeys, Richard Johnson, after AP McCoy the second-most successful jump jockey and leading jockey Noel Fehily, who took over as team captain from the injured AP McCoy.
Four teams took part: event riders, jockeys, showjumpers and the VWH Bathurst Hunt team, who had earlier won the inter-hunt relay. The race was over a specially designed course of fences – including a water jump.
In the run-off the jockeys just got home ahead of the VWH Bathurst Hunt team. John Francome was impressed with his rivals: “The hunt gave us a real run for our money, the boys certainly need to watch out for their day jobs, but where were the eventers? Did they show up? We barely broke a sweat against them?!”
“It was a real buzz to ride in front of such a great crowd here at Barbury and all in aid of the fantastic work of the IJF”.
Finishing third were the eventers team of Zara Phillips, William Fox-Pitt, Sir Mark Todd and Laura Collett. The showjumpers came fourth: Angie Thompson, Michael Duffy, Tim Wilks and Rowan Willis.
AP McCoy who is Vice Patron of the IJF, had given up his race rides earlier this week due to injury, but was at Barbury to cheer on his weighing room colleagues.
At the more serious end of the Barbury’s third day programme, Andrew Nicholson stayed firmly on track to win his third consecutive victory in the showpiece CIC three-star event.
After he topped the dressage stage on Friday, on Saturday he rode a faultless round in the showjumping stage on the grey gelding Avebury. But the Lockeridge based New Zealander has just 4.8 penalties in hand over his nearest rival the American Clark Montgomery on Loughan Glen.
Another New Zealander, Sir Mark Todd is lying third with Leonidas II.
Avebury was home-bred by Nicholson and is owned by Rosemary and Mark Barlow.
Rosemary believes Avebury enjoys the amphitheatre-like main ring at Barbury: “He’s in great form and usually loves it here at Barbury, so I’ve just got my fingers crossed that he’ll enjoy himself like he usually does on tomorrow’s cross-country.”
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