Jay Halim and Winning Moon Photo courtesy Ellie Birch/Boots and Hooves
Past eventer and show jumping coach to Laura Collett, Jay Halim has scored his first international show jumping victory at Hickstead by winning the Prenetics July Stakes on board Winning Moon
A huge field of 70 starters came forward for the class at Hickstead on Friday 23rd July, with many of showjumping’s leading national talents among them. But it was a rider best known in the sport of eventing who set the pace early on with Olympic rider Gemma Tattersall riding MGH Candy Girl producing a double clear in a time of 30.37 seconds to go into the lead.
But when Jay – a former event rider who now focuses on pure showjumping - rode into the arena, it was obvious he meant business and he kept up a relentless pace to cross the finish in a time of 28.90sec. As it was a two-phase class, where each rider who jumps clear immediately progresses to the timed phase of their round, Jay then had a nervous wait with 40 combinations still to go.
But while many produced fast double clears no one else got close to a sub-30sec time – leaving Jay first, with Gemma and MGH Candy Girl holding on to second and Harriet Biddick (Grey Fortune) taking third place.
“To be honest, I came out of the ring and thought I’d end up second or third,” said Jay. “I could have been tighter to the red double, which was three fences from home, but the mare is really fast and covers the ground naturally. She’s got a big step; it’s quite deceptive because she’s a smaller horse.”
Although Jay won a title at last year’s Science Supplements All England Jumping Championships, this was his first ever international win at Hickstead.
“A few years ago I thought I was going to win the Tom Hudson class at the Derby Meeting, but the last rider went in and beat me into second. I was gutted and it still gripes me to this day! So it’s really lovely to win here, and I’m very lucky that we come here and get to ride in this amazing arena. Hickstead is like being at home for me, I love it here. It’s a really special, family-run event.”
Jay got the ride on the 11-year-old mare at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she is owned by a good friend of his who lives in Majorca. “We’re learning to trust each other,” said Jay about the mare. “She was a little bit tricky when I first got her, but she’s just starting to hit some really good form. She’s becoming really consistent now and I think she’s getting to that point where she’s ready to step up a level, so I’m really excited about that.”
Jay has a nervous week ahead of him as attention turns to the Tokyo Olympics – he trains British team rider Laura Collett and Italy’s Vittoria Panizzon, and will be cheering on both eventers from home. “It’s going to be nerve-wracking. But they can only do what they can do now, and as long as everyone’s healthy and the horses are safe, that’s the main thing,” he added.
Jay Halim and Winning Moon win the Prenetics July Stakes 2021
