Local event rider, twenty-one-year-old Jennifer Stead based at Laurieston near Castle Douglas has started her season off with a flying start. She made the seven-hour trip to Isleham Horse Trials in Cambridgeshire worthwhile with second place in the intermediate class behind Olympian Nicola Wilson riding Fran Stead and Sarah Burton’s Fortunus. Jennifer also took seventh place in the novice riding Fran Stead’s DSH Luckey Town, which she followed up with a sixth place in the novice at Lincolnshire Horse Trials this weekend.
Jennifer told DGWGO Sports News “Fortunus has progressed very quickly up the levels so we very much want to take the pressure off this season and enjoy moving up to the next stage”, said Jennifer who is tackling her first CCI4*-short in April at Burnham Market in Norfolk.
“We are aiming to compete at Bramham International in the CCI4*-long in June and need as much preparation as possible in order to give ourselves a chance of qualifying for the long format competition.”
Jennifer’s Heritage Fortunus gelding, ‘Hero’, was bought from Cavan Horse Sales in Ireland in 2016 as a very inexperienced seven-year-old as was her other ride DSH Luckey Town, ‘Odin’, a year later.
Jennifer said “I am very lucky to have found two special horses who try their hardest for me and have such huge characters, they always make the cross country feel easy. It has taken a while to build a partnership with ‘Odin’ after a difficult start but now I feel he would jump the moon for me.”
Jennifer, who only took up eventing full time in 2017, trains with Ian Stark OBE and Les Smith and has her sights set on Burghley and Badminton CCI5* in the near future and is looking for more rides for the 2019 season.
She has just been invited to join the HorseScotland Development Squad, this is a training squad with the aim of producing commonwealth and Olympic athletes. She is sponsored by Lucy Willis-Fleming, McTimoney practitioner, who keeps her horses feeling their best and is looking for more sponsors to join her team.
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