Showjumping superstar Neil 55 is a small but mighty, rosette-winning force of nature. With talented sisters Izabella and Sophia Rogers, 148cm pony Neil has developed an endearing partnership, winning a host of top-flight grands prix, national titles and medals galore, including both team and individual gold at the 2026 pony European Showjumping Championships.
The 14-year-old son of Tangelo Van De Zuuthoeve was bred in Great Britain out of Charlotte Platt’s top showjumping mare Paulien II (Koriander) and has been an out-and-out character since the day he was born.
So how did he develop into one of the world’s best showjumping ponies?
Neil 55, the early days
Neil 55’s success is all in the genes according to his breeder Charlotte Platt.
“We were hoping to breed a special horse, but ended up with a special pony, so that was fine!” she says. “Neil is out of my Nations Cup mare, Paulien, and they are so similar – awesome, but a bit of an idiot, in a lovely way! They just do these random acts of explosiveness and you think, ‘Where did that come from?’ But they have the biggest hearts.
“Neil was always tiny – hence the name, because we had to kneel down to do everything with him,” she explains. “From the moment he was born, he acted more like a dog – he was just the cutest, tamest foal. We always knew he was going to be something special.
“At one point, we had to give all the horses in the field antibiotics and he would come up to us with his mouth open – he’s such a character.
“Loose jumping, he was so elastic, then we took him to a few training shows and shared a video of him jumping a discovery on Facebook and he was sold to Nicola Rogers from there. He couldn’t have ended up in a better home – the way they manage him really works. I love watching him and feel very proud.”
From wild beginnings…
Owner Nicola Rogers bought a five-year-old Neil 55 for her daughters but he was ridden and produced by young rider Courtney Young through his early showjumping days before her older daughter Izabella, then younger daughter Sophia subsequently took the reins.
“What can I say about Neil other than he’s just incredible?” says Nicola.
“When we first tried him, Neil danced and leapt everywhere – it was a show and a half! I could see that he was talented, but he was so sharp, and I looked at Izabella and thought she’s not even 10 years old yet, riding Whinney Lass who is as quiet as a mouse. So I couldn’t see the two connecting. But Courtney absolutely sung Neil’s praises. They only jumped a metre but she said she’d never felt anything like it.”
Courtney ended up riding Neil 55 until just before everything ground to a halt during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
“During lockdown, Izabella fell off Neil, suffered a spiral fracture of the tibia and was off for nearly a year,” recalls Nicola. “But the moment she could stand again, she wanted to get back in the saddle and at dinner one night, she announced that she wanted to qualify Neil for HOYS. Within five weeks, she plucked up enough courage to come off the lunge, qualified for HOYS and Hickstead, and she won both finals – the pony Foxhunter final and JC championship.
“Sophia was always more of a quieter rider so she wasn’t desperate to get on Neil, but gelled with him very quickly and they’ve been incredible together. He’s given us so much pleasure, from being naughty to winning, he’s a real character. If he had the opportunity to come to our house and sit in our room with us, he would – that is where he wants to be.”
“It’s Neil’s world that we all live in!”
Izabella’s younger sister Sophia took over on Neil 55 at the start of 2024.
“It’s Neil’s world that we all live in!” she says. “At first, I felt nervous jumping big classes on him, but Neil really helped me in those early days. We ended up winning the grand prix at our first POYS and everything progressed from there.
“I’ve ridden him for three years now and I trust him completely in the ring. The feeling he gives you over fences is unbelievable. I always pat him when we go in the ring, to say, ‘All right Neil, we’ve got this,’ but it feels like I’m patting my nerves away too.
“He can be a bit of a jerk at home, though! He’ll spook at fillers he’s jumped 50 times and he’ll buck and play. I find it funny now and you just have to go with it, that’s his character. I fall off him quite a lot though! He also prances along and he struts – he has such a funky walk.
“But in the stable, he’s a dope on a rope. He’s stabled in the centre of our barn so he can watch everything – if he were a person, he’d be twitching the curtains.
“In his correct environment he’s proud and confident, but take him out of that he shrinks and worries. He can’t travel by himself and at shows he can’t have the stable door shut, so we use a drape and he’s happy. He’s also horse shy, so in the warm-up, I have to time our jumps carefully so there aren’t ponies near when we land, otherwise he scoots off.
“This year was more nerve racking because it was my last year on ponies, so to win our third team gold and individual gold at the Europeans was amazing," says Sophia. “Mum and I were bawling our eyes out thinking we’d won an individual silver medal, so when it became a gold we cried even more. They were happy tears though! It felt like recognition for everything Neil’s done with my sister and I. To walk into the room and see all my medals does make me think ‘Wow’.
“Everyone wants to buy the world’s best pony, but we’ve made a family decision that he’s staying with us. We’ve learnt just to go with him and we can read him like a book now – you can’t change him, that’s just Neil and we love him for it.”
Neil 55’s best results:
- 2018: won silver league 148cm & under final national championships.
- 2021: won winter JC/JD final Royal International Horse Show, pony Foxhunter Masters national championships, pony Foxhunter championship HOYS.
- 2023: won CSIP Opglabbeek grand prix, team bronze pony European Championships.
- 2024: won POYS 148cm grand prix, team gold pony European Championships.
- 2025: won POYS 148cm grand prix, team gold pony European Championships, leading pony showjumper of the year HOYS, 148cm mini stakes London International Horse Show.
- 2026: won CSIOP Compiègne grand prix, CSIOP Zuidwolde Nations Cup, team and individual gold pony European Championships.
For more exclusive insight about top riders about their horses, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website