SPORT HORSE SPECIAL JUMBO JUMBO SPORT HORSE SPECIAL

Mr Big
sire of numerous showing winners. Jumbo’s
dam was grade B show jumper Betty, by the
Thoroughbred Seven Bells.
“I loved the way he moved,” recalls Carolyn.
“He wasn’t bought as a stallion, I just bought
him because I liked him.”
Having been brought up with ponies in
Sussex, Carolyn kept up her involvement with
horses and Jumbo was her second stallion —
her first being the 15hh Thoroughbred Magic
Story, who was bred to show but broke his
shoulder as a yearling. At the time she bought
Britain’s top event horse sire, Jumbo, Carolyn was working in the music
business — she promoted pop artists including Only the late Cavalier Royale tops him in the
Abba, Neil Diamond and The Beatles. She used 2007 roll of sires by the British Eventing points
Jumbo, has Badminton winner to be married to the Radio 1 DJ Simon Bates,
although they are now divorced.
Headley Britannia among his Carolyn says: “I never thought Jumbo would Britannia is Jumbo’s flag bearer, but she is
be an eventing stallion. Ferdi Eilberg rode
him when he won the Masterlock Potential
flag bearers and is still going Dressage Horse competition as a five-year-old.
He gave him a nine for his paces, and said:
strong at 24, says PIPPA ROOME ‘This is a dressage horse’. But a show jumper
told me he should be a show jumper. He could
on him for a heavier type of horse and could
jump a big fence.”
After retiring from eventing, Jumbo show
jumped with William Funnell, won the Spillers
Dressage and Show Jumping Championship at
Blenheim in 1997, whipped-in to the Bicester
with Whaddon Chase, appeared in the
hunt’s inter-relay team and even starred in a
pantomime at Addington with Carl Hester.
“He hated the spotted pantomime horse,”
laughs Carolyn.
These days, Jumbo is still ridden to get fit
for the stud season, and is best known as a sire.
won by their competing progeny.
Badminton and Burghley winner Headley
backed up by a raft of advanced performers,
not least Henry Tankerville, 2006 Bramham
winner under Andrew Nicholson and twice
placed in the top 15 at four-star level. Another
of Andrew’s rides, the 2007 British Novice
Championships runner-up Avebury, is chiefly

T
HERE’S clearly a love affair going
on at Grafham Stud and the
man involved is tall, dark and
handsome. He’s also one of the
grand old men of his trade at 24.
The male in question is Jumbo,
the leading British-based eventing sire. His
lady is Carolyn Bates, who bought him as a six-
month-old foal at the Malvern sales.
When going into Jumbo’s box I turned back
to latch the door, thinking he might make a
run for it.
“Don’t worry, he wouldn’t go anywhere with
Carolyn here,” says her friend, Cathy Wood.
It’s soon obvious what she means — the big
black horse shoves his muzzle in Carolyn’s
hand as she takes his rugs off and willingly
clomps off after her to the indoor school.
Once there, it is hard to believe that
Jumbo is 24 years old. Still a good-looking
horse — Carolyn says he lost some muscle
tone on his stomach after colic surgery
10 years ago, but that is not obvious —
he struts round, checking who’s been
on his patch, then demonstrates
his paces. He’s an excellent mover
and his hock activity would be
outstanding in a horse of any
age, let alone one into his
third decade.
Lucy Wiegersma competing Jumbo’s stallion son
Jigilo II. He is aimed at a three-star this season
For anyone who knows Carolyn, it is no
surprise that her love affair with Jumbo
started at a sale.
“I love going to sales,” says Carolyn.
“But I’m so happy if I come home without
buying anything.”
That didn’t happen at Malvern sales 23 years
ago, but I doubt Carolyn regrets buying the
colt then called Beeston Jumbo Jet.
Jumbo was bred by respected show judge
Archie Smith-Maxwell, being by his Irish
Draught Skippy, a grade A show jumper and
have gone either way, but I loved eventing.” responsible for Jumbo’s place as last year’s
Moira Horton (née Macdonald, who also leading sire of seven-year-olds.
competed at top level under her first married Andrew adds: “Jumbo’s progeny are all
name, Moira Synge) worked straightforward with good
for Carolyn, broke Jumbo
in and started eventing
Jumbo wasn’t bought minds. I haven’t had one
that hasn’t been a good
him, but when she became
pregnant, Carolyn asked
as a stallion, I just bought jumper with good basic
movement. Sometimes
Andrew Nicholson to take
the ride.
him because I liked him they can be a little plain
as three- or four-year-olds,
In 1991, Jumbo finished Carolyn Bates but as they get older they
sixth in the CCI** at Le Lion get lighter and look more
d’Angers, winning the quality — unlike most plain
Young Horse Trophy — at that time any horse four-year-olds who get heavier.”
could contest the CCI** (now restricted to seven- Carolyn says: “Jumbo stamps his youngsters
year-olds) with the leading six- or seven-year-old every time with his movement and
taking this trophy. He remains the only British temperament. You could put a baby in a
stallion to have achieved this. A year later, he pram with him and leave it there all day and
finished 15th in the CCI*** at Boekelo. he’s passed that on. That’s why so many of his
That was the end of Jumbo’s eventing career. colts have not been castrated, because they are
It was rarer for stallions to event then than so normal.”
now and Carolyn felt the risk was too great. Carolyn also owns three Jumbo stallions.
Andrew Nicholson recalls: “He was a very The eldest, Jigilo II, will stand alongside his
straightforward horse and easy to have father at Twemlows in Shropshire this year.
around. Being a stallion made no difference He is an 11-year-old advanced eventer out of
to the way he behaved. He was a powerful ride, the Thoroughbred Summer Jane, by Teofane.
very classy, a good mover. He had a good gallop “He’s like Jumbo on a hot wash, a refined

“He was a powerful ride,

very classy, a good mover,”
says Jumbo’s former rider
Andrew Nicholson

Pictures by Trevor Meeks

Last year’s foals peep out of a barn at Grafham Stud. Can they follow in the footsteps of Headley Britannia, the most famous descendant of the stud’s stallions?

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 SPORT HORSE SPECIAL JUMBO
blood version,” says Cathy Wood, who helps
with the stud’s marketing.
Lucy Wiegersma took over from Anthony
Clark competing the stallions last year. This year
she will aim Jigilo at early two-stars at Barocca
in Portugal and then an end-of-season CCI***.
“I didn’t start riding Jigilo until May last
year when he had started covering and he was
a bit preoccupied,” she says. “He’s quite sharp
compared to Brief Encounter — he’s a lot more
Thoroughbred and you can definitely tell.
“This year he’ll have two intensive
months competing, then two or three
months covering, then he can be an event
horse properly. Only then will we get a real
impression of what he will be — I think he
could be a very useful horse. He’s classy across
country and really gallops.”
In contrast, combining covering and
competing suits Brief Encounter, an eight-year-
old who will aim at a two-star this season.
“He’s laid-back and would spend his whole
life chilling and eating if he had the chance,”
says Lucy. “Covering perks him up. I’ve been
hunting him this winter which will hopefully
have woken him up too.” Carolyn Bates with two of Jumbo’s sons, Brief Encounter and Jigilo II, who both event and stand at stud
The 16hh smart mover is a smaller, classier
looking horse than his full-brother Henry rang and said I’d got a colt. I said, ‘She doesn’t owner ever” when her horses compete. She
Tankerville, who is no great beauty although have colts, go and check’, and he said, ‘I’ve seen also hates foaling.
a top-class performer. Lucy Wiegersma and enough foals to know what a colt looks like’.” “I hate the sight of blood,” she says. “When
Carolyn also share a full-sister, Just A Vision. Pulling back Free Spirit’s rugs, Carolyn the foaling alarm goes off I want to die.”
Their dam is Grafham Society, who, like many continues: “He’s the most like Jumbo in his So what does she like about breeding?
of Carolyn’s foundation mares, is from Poland. head and front end. He’s such a poser as he did “I love it when you see the youngsters
“I used to go round with a state inspector a lot of showing as a youngster.” starting work and loose jumping. Summer days
and see 3,000 youngsters in a week,” says The stud’s other two stallions are unrelated. when all the foals are healthy and foaling is
Carolyn. “They’d run past One is a Gribaldi five-year- finished. And I get a lot of pleasure out of seeing
and if you wanted one
you’d say ‘yes’. I looked for Jigilo is like Jumbo on old called Wish Upon A
Star, bought on a whim at a
Jumbo’s [progeny] competing while not having
the bills. It’s very satisfying when you get all the
quality, good movement
and a good feeling.” a hot wash, a refined sale in Holland.
“I didn’t go to buy
mares in-foal too — I see it as a challenge.”
Most of the horses are in barns — and spend
A couple of times the
wrong horse turned up blood version anything, let alone a
chestnut stallion,” says
time in the field — at Carolyn’s Upper Combe
Farm, near Tiverton, Devon, so she can do the
— one Carolyn kept anyway, Cathy Wood Carolyn. “I fell in love with majority of the work herself. She admits this
another was sent home, him. I tend to go with my is chiefly for financial reasons, but I sense she
in-foal to Jumbo. gut feeling.” likes it that way. Her move from the south-east
Grafham Society is now 22, in-foal to Jigilo, Carolyn’s clairvoyant has predicted a great to Devon in 2001 was prompted by liking the
and has two Jumbo foals due this year by future for Wish Upon A Star — and he got peace, quiet and her own company.
embryo transfer. 15 out of 15 for conformation in a Burghley “I’m due another move,” she says, explaining
Carolyn’s third Jumbo stallion is the Young Event Horse qualifier last year. she normally moves every seven years. “But
piebald eight-year-old Free Spirit, out of the The last of the pack is Moonshine Pharo, a I think I’ll stay here a few more years. The
coloured mare Annie XII, who lost her own cremello four-year-old bought with the aim of intention is to cut back by not replacing the
mother at birth and was given to Carolyn for breeding duns, but possibly destined for the mares — I’ve got a lot that I bought as three-year-
50p. Wanting to breed a coloured Jumbo colt, transfer list. He will compete in dressage. olds in Poland which are now 18 to 22 years old.”
Carolyn was continually disappointed when “I’m not sure people are ready for a Cathy smiles. She clearly doesn’t think
Annie kept producing fillies. cremello event horse,” says Carolyn, who that cutting back is seriously on Carolyn’s
“I sent her to John Rawding to foal, and he cheerfully admits she is the “most nervous agenda. H&H

A 2007 foal by the piebald Jumbo son Free Spirit shows off his paces Wish Upon A Star, by Gribaldi, whom Carolyn bought at a sale in Holland
.
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