Becky Moody and Jagerbomb continued their winning streak at small tour level at the 2022 British Winter Championships in Hartpury on 14 - 17 April 2022. After dominating the Prix St. Georges on day one, they raked in two more titled in the Inter I and Inter I Kur.
Intermediaire I: Moody and Jagerbomb
Winners of the Prix St Georges on the opening day of the 2022 British Winter Championships at Hartpury, Becky Moody and the mighty Jagerbomb (by Dante Weltino x Jazz) triumphed once again this afternoon with a decisive win in today’s feature class, the Intermediate I Gold.
Becky and the able eight-year-old produced a beautiful test showing super balance and engagement, which was duly awarded 74.31% from the judges panel comprising Andrea Smith (C), Pam Bushell (M) and Kirsty Mepham (E).
Winner of the BD 7YO Championship title last year at Somerford Park, ‘Bomber’ has a temperament to die for and looked totally at home in the electric atmosphere of the NAF Five Star Arena in front of today’s Good Friday crowd.
“Overall, I was really pleased with him,” said Becky afterwards. “He had a little less energy than we had in the Prix St Georges, and I’m a little frustrated with myself that I didn’t keep him quite as sharp as I needed him in the pirouettes – they’ve been becoming really good and are a real forte of his.
“The first one [pirouette] was fine, he just lost a bit of energy. The second one had a bit of a mistake. Otherwise, there was a lot of good work, and I was pleased with the trot extensions. I was also pleased with the halt and rein back, which we’ve had a couple of issues with, so overall I was happy.”
With Bomber’s natural adjustability and capacity for collected work, when asked about his future potential as a Grand Prix horse, Becky commented, “I really hope he has; he has the natural capacity for the piaffe and teaching him the passage has actually really helped him develop his basic trot. So hopefully he’s going to be as good a Grand Prix horse as he’s proven to be Small Tour. We will see, he’s only eight. He will maybe do an Inter II, and then we’ll aim for Grand Prix next year.”
Talking about what it’s like to be back riding at a ‘normal’ NAF Five Star Winter Championships with no Covid restrictions in place, Becky said, “I just think getting out to these shows is great. It makes you realise how much you missed it whilst it wasn’t happening!
“It's funny because we were probably really lucky in lockdown. We had a great group of people at home that we manged to keep in a bubble. To a degree it was really nice to have that time training and focusing on the horses. And I could do exactly what I wanted with them because I wasn’t dashing off teaching or doing this [competing]; so they got pampered, I rode them when I wanted to ride them, and I hacked and jumped.
“It was great but then you realise how much you miss this aspect [competing], which is such a big part of it.”
Becky and Bomber return for tomorrow’s Superflex Intermediate I Freestyle Gold. “He’s never done an Inter I Freestyle,” she said. “It's not his music, it’s stolen from somebody else. That’s kind of how I roll with my music quite often! We will give it a go and see where we get to.”
Becky’s nearest rivals, on 72.01%, were Alice Oppenheimer and Headmore Dionysus, winners of yesterday’s Magic Prix St Georges Freestyle. In third was Lucinda Elliott with Judith Davis’s Belissimo M x Weltmeyer mare, Hawtins Bellegra (70.00%), forming a British bred one-two-three.
Intermediaire I Kur to Music: Moody and Jagerbomb
The feature class on Saturday 16 April was super by nature with Becky Moody and Jagerbomb completing a trio of wins with victory in the Intermediate I Freestyle. As one of the standout combinations of the week, the scores have reflected popular opinion and today’s judges panel – Harry Payne, Mary-Anne Horn, Anne Keen – duly rewarded 76.37% for their Easter effort.
Renowned for producing a smart freestyle, Becky’s performance today oozed class, musicality and presence. A complex but flowing floorplan showed canter pirouettes between half pass on a single diagonal, as well as steep half passes in trot to match and big expressive extensions. Riding to a Kingsman themed ensemble, including Take Me Home, Country Roads for the canter tour, Jagerbomb showed his talent for Grand Prix with a handful of immaculate...but not needed one tempi changes within the two tempi line his only standout error in the performance. Becky repeated the two time changes on the final centre line before concluding in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
“I was really pleased with him,” Becky said, “it was his third test in a row for a big young horse, he was a little bit tired, bit he really really tried. The trot work was lovely, the canter, the pirouettes were still not where I want them but better then yesterday. I was really pleased with him, as silly mistake in the twos which was my bad, a little bit of oh my goodness, can I fit another row in! So instead of doing a spectacular extended trot down the center line at the end, which obviously it would have been, I did another row of twos, which we did manage to do, so he was cool.”
Speaking about her artistic choices for today’s title she continued, “I love that music but it’s not made for him, I’m a terrible mother because I haven’t got him is own! It was actually made for a full fusion horse I rode a couple years ago, he’s a much more established horse so it's quite a technical floor plan, but I decided to just go for it and Bomb is the kind of horse you ask him a question and he’s goes “yeah ok, I'll try”. So, he did. Its great music but it's not perfect for him but it's cool.”
So what’s next for the brilliant Bomb? “Inter II at some point this season,” Becky answered, “he’s doing everything for it now but he is only eight so I’m conscious we don’t push him too much. He’ll probably do the CDI here or the Inter II at the Premier League. Hopefully aiming for the Inter I at the Nationals and we’ll see about the Inter II. My main long term goal is Grand Prix next year. He can do everything, he just needs to get stronger so he can string it all together.”
Judge at B Harry Payne commented on our winner’s test at the conclusion of a great class, “Becky’s test was beautifully presented in a really good balance, it was very consistent all the way through. The music fitted the horse and suited him as well.” Speaking about the judge’s point of view in returning to business as usual here at Hartpury with spectators, tradestands and a packed schedule Harry said, “I’ve enjoyed myself, it’s great to be back out at a show with a great atmosphere.
It’s been a super week for Becky and her team, with three of the feature titles now in her name as well as a strong result on board Jack Diamond in today’s Equitex Advanced Medium, placing second to winner Charlotte Dujardin. Becky concluded by reflecting on the week with her number one, “I am really pleased how he coped with the three days if I'm honest, it's good knowing his stamina is getting better. I just know he’s just such legend and he’s even more a legend now at the end of that isn't he?”
Michael Eilberg and the ten year old Figlio (by Fidertanz) were worthy runners up on 72.37%, whilst local lady Lucinda Elliot with Hawtins Bellegra claimed another podium place with 72.16% for third.
Photo © Kevin Sparrow
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