Halim has his eyes on Derby after Challenge win

Oxfordshire-based Jay Halim and the former event horse Lachain Crux secured their second Hickstead championship of the season when winning the Douglas Bunn 1.35m Memorial Challenge.

A few months after winning the Doney Championship at the Al Shira'aa Derby Meeting in June, the pair returned to the International Arena to step up to the 1.35m class, the feature class on the final Saturday of the All England September Tour.

The class, which was formed in 2011 in tribute to the founder of Hickstead, features many of the iconic Hickstead obstacles including the Devil’s Dyke and the less steep side of the Derby Bank. But none of the fences caused any concern for the bold 10-year-old Lachain Crux, who previously evented up to two-star level. They completed the course clear in a time of 92.70sec, finishing nearly 2sec faster than runner up Georgina Ellis on Fireball X.

“Crux is very brave – I didn’t know what he would think of the Dyke and the bright blue double of water ditches, but I had a feeling he would be really good, and that this was the perfect opportunity to school round and see what he’s can do – I think he might be the first horse I could jump the Derby on, he’s progressing so much,” said Jay.

This year the gelding has stepped up from jumping 1.20m classes to jumping two-star Grands Prix. “He’s very competitive, and he’s a lovely horse. I thought he might finish the round a little tired but he actually squealed before the last jump so he’s obviously not feeling the heat too much!”

Jay was the penultimate rider to go, so was able to watch the first few rounds before warming up for his own. “I just jumped the first few fences forward and then stayed in the gear, and I’m naturally quite a forward rider anyway so that suited me. He’s very competent in that big ring.”

Hickstead-regular Halim has found the September fixture very useful for producing his string of horses. “The two weeks at this show is invaluable for our showjumping calendar, I’ve brought a whole team of young horses who get to gain experience at Hickstead and jump in the main ring,” he said.

Lachain Crux runs in the name of the Miranda Syndicate, in memory of the daughter of the horse’s owners, Charles and Antonia Filmer, who sadly died of neuroendocrine cancer last summer at the age of just 30. The Miranda Filmer Fund has already raised nearly half a million pounds to help raise crucial awareness of the disease and open up new treatment possibilities for those living with the most aggressive forms of tumour.  

Last week’s Seven Year Old victor Billy Mufasa narrowly missed out on a winning double when pipped at the post by Nicole Lockhead Anderson and Conthargo PS in the All England Seven Year Old Championship. Nicole’s winning time of 38.10sec was just over 1sec quicker than Pippa Funnell and Billy Mufasa.

Thomas Williams’ Conthargo PS has been very consistent at Hickstead this season, with wins at both the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting and the Royal International Horse Show. Nicole was fourth to go in the jump-off on the penultimate day of the All England September Tour. “I just went our own speed and luckily it was fast enough," said Nicole. "We got him in February and he’s just got better and better, he’s definitely one for the future. The jumps are never big enough. He’s everything you’d want in a good horse.”

The final class of Saturday saw Thomas Whitaker and Anna Svedberg’s Nova AEG win the All England 1.30m Open. Nineteen combinations went clear in the first round, with 12 of these producing a double clear – but despite plenty of top riders among them, Thomas ended up almost 2sec clear of the field.

 “It all went to plan,” said Thomas, who finished on a time of 31.29sec. “She has quite a small stride so a couple of distances were short, and that helped me a little bit as I didn’t have to touch the rein.”

Scotland’s Lucinda Stewart has had an incredible two weeks at this show, collecting an impressive nine wins. Her latest came in the All England 1.20m Amateur Championship, courtesy of Cancun II.

“I was first to go in the jump-off so I knew I had to be fast enough to put the pressure on, and I didn’t think I’d done enough but he was phenomenal,” she said. “It’s such an incredible place to come and jump, and it’s definitely a show for our calendar every year.”

In the All England 1.10m Amateur Championship, Millie Dickinson and the 19-year-old Cairo Z took the honours ahead of Charlotte Doel and NPS Easter.

“He’s just the best horse ever,” said Millie. “He’s an old boy but he still loves his jumping. He’s always careful and he’s usually quite quick.”

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