Showjumper Harriet Biddick made headlines final 12 months when footage of her leaping Hickstead’s velocity Derby on Silver Raise with out a bridle went viral.
The Somerset rider and her Irish sport horse missed out on the prospect to grow to be the primary mixture to win the category 4 instances after that dramatic tack mishap, however Harriet is again after the delivery of her second baby Oliver in December to make one other record-breaking try on this 12 months’s velocity Derby together with her now 19-year-old Hickstead hero.
Harriet Biddick and Silver Raise, who racked up their velocity Derby hat-trick with high-octane victories in 2016, 2019 and 2022, warmed up for this 12 months’s Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Assembly (20-23 June) with a win at her native Tub and West Present in Shepton Mallet final weekend (30 Might-1 June).
“He feels actually good,” Harriet advised H&H. “I’m solely doing a number of exhibits with him. Izzy, who rides for me at residence, has jumped a number of exhibits simply so he’s been out doing ins and outs.”
Harriet Biddick and Silver Raise: probably the most profitable mixture in velocity Derby historical past
“I needed to deliver him to Tub and West for a run on grass and we’ll go to Royal Cornwall after which we’ll intention for the velocity Derby,” mentioned Harriet, who was on track for a fourth win on Hickstead’s hallowed turf when Silver Raise misplaced his bridle after the Irish financial institution final 12 months, dramatically leaping by means of the triple of planks with none steering.
“I received’t have the hackamore on him this time, I’ll journey him within the three-ring!” she mentioned.
Harriet’s horses are simply returning to full health after she had Oliver. She didn’t take them on any excursions this spring, however the horses appeared to enhance because the present went on.
“The bottom was sticky the primary day and Night time Of Glory discovered it a bit squishy, it was taking her bounce away a bit,” she mentioned.
“Within the trial she had a few drained poles in direction of the tip of the course however she was again to herself within the grand prix and was actually recreation for it, whereas she’d felt slightly bit rusty. The bottom had dried out and was nice.”
Harriet can be hoping the 20-year-old A Contact Imperious, with whom she has completed second within the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby an unimaginable 5 instances, may make a return to Hickstead this 12 months after a minor setback 12 months in the past.
You may learn the complete report from Tub and West Present on this week’s Horse & Hound journal, within the retailers Thursday 6 June and we’ll deliver you all of the information of Harriet Biddick’s record-breaking velocity Derby try on the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby assembly this month.
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