Victoria Goff spoke to Gemma Stevens, last year's winner of the Ashby Underwriting Eventers' Challenge
There are very few accolades missing from eventer Gemma Stevens’ somewhat impressive CV.
The West Sussex-based rider has represented Great Britain at several European Championships, as well as the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. She was part of the gold-medal winning British team at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018. She won her first five-star at Bicton in 2021, finished runner-up at Pau in 2018, and has had multiple top-10 placings at Badminton and Burghley.
Last year, Gemma (nee Tattersall) ticked off another achievement from her list when winning the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge at Hickstead, riding the grey Flash Cooley. “I’ve been trying to win this for over half my life!” she said at the press conference afterwards. “At long last, I’ve finally managed to win it.”
Her first attempt in Hickstead’s eventing showcase had been on board Jester’s Quest, the horse who had first taken her to four-star (now five-star) level as well as winning two Young Rider team golds. In those days, the class was known as the Eventing Grand Prix, when showjumpers and eventers went head-to-head round a course of showjumps in the International Arena, and a cross-country course that ran round the grounds of Hickstead Place. “It was a very long time ago, but I remember it not going particularly well!” says Gemma. “But I do remember thinking, one day I'm going to win this.”
But Gemma, who grew up near the showground, might have thought her chances of ever winning here were over when the Eventing Grand Prix was cancelled in 2014, after a change in television coverage meant the cross-country section of the class could not be shown. But the class was brought back in 2015 as the new format Eventers’ Challenge, restricted to event riders only, with all the fences set within the confines of the International Arena.
Gemma had picked up a number of placings in the class over the years, but she truly marked herself as one to watch in 2019. Riding Chico Bella P, the pair finished third, just a few seconds in arrears behind the winners, Nicky Hill and Kilrodan Sailorette, and the runners-up Paul Tapner and Bonza King of Rouges.
Then, of course, there was a two-year absence due to Covid, with the Longines Royal International Horse Show cancelled in 2020 and running without international classes in 2021. But when the class returned in 2022, not long after Gemma’s wedding to her long-term partner Gary Stevens, she was feeling pretty confident. “Flash Cooley is a really handy horse, he's careful and he's fast. Obviously there were a few really good people in the class who had gone well before, but I was hoping to be competitive, and I went in there trying to win it. But these things have to go a little bit in your favour on the day.”
It ended up going right down to the wire. Helen Witchell had set the pace on My Ernie, leaving all the fences up and crossing the finish line in a time of 126.77 sec. Two-time winner Pippa Funnell gave a brilliant effort on Majas Hope, with another clear round, but they finished more than a second in arrears of Helen’s time.
Then Gemma rode in on the attractive dappled grey Flash Cooley, his ears pricked, and they set off in determined fashion – attacking the fences from the offset, taking tight lines through the combinations and keeping up a relentless pace round the course. They were absolutely flying when they just tipped a pole on the Road Crossing, meaning they would have a 4sec penalty added to their time. But such was their early pace that she still finished on a time of 125.26sec to take the lead.
She then had to watch nervously for the final three riders to go. Felicity Collins was pretty quick but four fences down dropped them out of contention. The previous winners, Nicky Hill and Kilrodan Sailorette, set off quickly but took a tumble early on the course. Only last year’s Badminton winner, Laura Collett, could stop Gemma from winning – but two fences fell later on in their round, and Gemma was officially the winner.
“It was just brilliant,” recalls Gemma, whose mother ran a riding school not far from the showground. “Hickstead is so local to me, and it feels very much like home while being very prestigious and special.”
Stevens is a regular at Hickstead’s fixtures, and last year was particularly special – she won a 1.40m Grand Prix with MGH Candy Girl, and made her debut in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with the same mare. Since then, Candy Girl has gone on to compete internationally with Matt Sampson. “Matt is amazing about keeping in touch and letting us know how she's getting on. He had a fantastic show with her on the Sunshine Tour, then he’ll do Windsor five-star. I'm very excited about watching them together.”
Gemma has more than proved her ability to produce top-level showjumpers, but this year the focus will swing back more to eventing. “Because of the horsepower I’ve got, I’ve got more event horses to run this year, and just a few showjumping horses. I’ve got some really nice six- and seven-year-olds, perhaps the best team of young horses I've had in my life, which is really exciting. But the aim is to level out a bit, and have a few more jumpers and a few less event horses over the years, with the aim of jumping in some bigger classes.”
She also hopes to return this week to defend her title in the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge, and plans to bring either reigning champion Flash Cooley back for another tilt at winning, or the talented Santiago Bay, who has also been placed in the class previously. Flash Cooley has certainly remained on form since his Hickstead win, finishing third at Millstreet CCI-S4* last August, fifth at Blenheim in September, while this year he’s been eighth in the OI at Poplar Park and 12th in the CCI-S4* at Burnham Market.
Gemma is a force to be reckoned with across-country, and she’s certainly at home over Hickstead’s famous permanent obstacles. On her list of Hickstead ambitions is the British Speed Derby, as well as a second win in the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge. “Those kind of classes really suit me and my way of riding. I've always loved doing them, and it's really fun to have a good horse to do them with.” It might have taken Gemma a while to win this class for the first time, but we dare say there’ll be less of a wait before she wins it again.
This article first appeared in July 2023
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