We’re excited to welcome Team Rimmer to the BV equestrian section, kicking off a new monthly column sharing life in a busy eventing yard
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Team Rimmer are really excited to be here, and we’re looking forward to sharing our stories with you every month! We figured the best way to start is probably with some introductions … I’m Jess, and I make up 50 per cent of Team Rimmer. The other half is my mum, Jo, who you will no doubt hear from in future columns!
We are a close-knit family business based at Fontmell Parva, just outside of Child Okeford, where we run a yard of competition horses alongside Joe Roome – also known as ‘Boy Joe’.
Although our focus is Eventing, our top priorities are happy horses, happy staff, and a work hard, play hard mantra!
Daily life on the yard consists of caring for and training around 20 competition horses, give or take – mum keeps telling us she’s cutting down. We’ll believe it when we see it!
Perhaps a quick Eventing 101 would be a good way to introduce this crazy sport … Many describe Eventing as an equestrian triathlon. It consists of three phases: dressage, showjumping and cross-country. It is a test of trainability, bravery and precision, and was originally designed to prepare military horses for the diverse range of challenges they might face. Event horses must be obedient yet bold, confident in themselves, yet trusting of their rider.
Trainability is perhaps the most important aspect when looking for a top Event horse – and it’s one which our best horse, Isaac Newton, is severely lacking! Known to his friends as ‘Newt’ he is a cheeky, playful character who sees the funny side to life. He also thinks hard work is totally overrated. Mum always describes him as being the ‘rascal schoolboy’ who would be turning his maths tests into paper aeroplanes, but somehow manage to pull it out of the bag on exam day.
Despite his slightly rebellious attitude, he has completed three 5* International events – the highest level there is – and he represented Great Britain in the Nations Cup series. He has enormous talent, and his partnership with mum was fairly unrivalled. More recently, I’ve been lucky enough to take over the reins, and we have some exciting plans as we head into the 2024 season
Returning to the schoolboy theme, it seems fitting to introduce Mattie (The Real McKay) who is on the other end of the spectrum to Newt. He would defintely have difficulty with his times-tables, but he does ALL his homework with 110 per cent effort. He wouldn’t ever be one of the ‘cool kids’, but he would always be the one to make sure everyone was included at play time.
Mattie would be hanging out in the playground with Jimmy (Talan Blue) – he’s the lanky, gawpy and kind one – and the pair of them would spend their time swooning over the beautiful ‘Lisnaught’ ladies: Princess Elsa (Lisnaught Lady Cruise) and Bisous (Lisnaught Are You With Me). Who would in their turn be totally uninterested, naturally!
Right, I had better leave it there before this turns into a novel … there is still the rest of the classroom to fill, but it’ll have to wait ‘til next month!
