Charity contest: Wayne’s Jockeys win the honours in Barbury’s JCB Champions Challenge against Zara’s Eventers

After some very hectic racing through Barbury’s main arena by the teams in the Inter Hunt Relay finals, came even more hectic racing as a team of eventers challenged a team of jockeys in the charity relay the JCB Champions Challenge – run to support the Injured Jockeys Fund (July 8).

The trick for this relay fixture is first to choose the right horse or pony – and then to get the relay handover right.

All eight riders choose a horse of pony that has just competed in the hunt teams’ final – with the owner’s consent!  

 

 

Eventers captain Zara Tindall said she wanted a smaller horse than when she last competed in the event.  Then the baton – a whip – had been dropped and she suffered the indignity of having to dismount, pick up the whip and then remount a very large horse with no help.

In Zara’s team were Irish Olympian Jonty Evans, one-time New Zealand team member Dan Jocelyn and 23-year-old rising star of the eventing circuit Holly Woodhead.

The jockeys team was captained by Wayne Hutchinson – stable jockey to Barbury Castle trainer Alan King.  Wayne took Smad Place to win the Hennessy Gold Cuip at Newbury.  He was a member of the 2016 jockeys’ team who lost out to the eventers – so this was a bit of a grudge match.

Wayne has been off the racecourse for a while with an injured knee – but nonetheless rode in this ‘race’.  He has, after all, been getting treating at the Fund’s Lambourn treatment centre Oaksey House.

He was accompanied by Harry Skelton – who rides for his trainer brother Dan Skelton – a yard which the commentator reminded was in cracking form, by Cheltenham Festival specialist Nico de Boinville, and Bridget Andrews the former Champion Lady Amateur Rider who has joined Dan Skelton’s stable.

 

 

Had the jockeys been doing some on-the-quiet practice on their handover skills?  If so it worked.  Perhaps they had got some tips from Injured Jockey Fund Vice-President John Francome who was there to represent the Fund.

So it was the jockeys who won the day – much to their relief.  

Zara Tindall found she had chosen a really eager and gung-ho pony. 

 

Did she, the commentator asked, want to buy the pony for her daughter Mia. 

 

“No'”, she replied, “I want to buy it for me!” 

 

She sure can choose a spirited horse.

 

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