A five-star rider and his long-term partner have marked their comeback with a win – as they eye a return to Badminton in spring.
It has been anything but smooth sailing for Gubby Leech and Royal Harvest, who have both had time out to injury. But the pair showed they are back with a bang when they landed the Childéric Saddles CCI4*-S section D, at Little Downham International.
“He got a complex leg injury in 2024, and we’ve just been giving him as much time as possible,” explained Gubby, of Sarah and Jonathan Houston’s 15-year-old gelding.
“He was back competing at the end of June. I hoped I’d get him to Burghley, but when he came back it was pretty apparent he was a bit rusty. It’s been challenging getting the preparation in for high-level competition, weighing up the conditions and hard ground.”
Disaster then struck for Gubby just before Hartpury, when he came off a “fresh and sparky” Royal Harvest at home and broke his heel, having landed on his feet.
“The consultant told me it was going to take six to eight weeks before I could do anything. But I said: ‘That doesn’t happen with us event riders!’,” said Gubby, who was back in the saddle in under three weeks.
Gubby had a pole showjumping and picked up 7.6 time-penalties across country, to finish on 47.4. The pair were the quickest of the 26 cross-country starters, many of whom were using Little Downham as a preparation for Pau five-star (22–25 October).
“It’s quite a twisty and turny course, so it’s not easy to get the time here. I could have gone faster, but my plan was to give him a good run and gauge where he’s at,” said Gubby.
“We’re delighted he’s not only back competing at four-star, but to get the win was the cherry on top.
“I’m just delighted I’ve got my horse back. I’ll put him away now for winter, then we’ll hopefully have a good spring campaign. And all being well and good, we’ll aim for Badminton.”
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