Press release from Thunderbird Show Park

When Charlotte Jacobs (USA) first sat on Rincoola Milsean (Aldatus Z x Cruising) as an 8-year-old, she wasn’t at all sure what heights the tiny, 15.2-hand Irish Sport Horse gelding would be able to reach in the sport.

But she knew she liked him, and she recalls her first ride on the spirited chestnut as the best trial she’d ever had with a horse. “We really clicked straightaway,” she recalled.

Over the course of the last three years, small-but-mighty “Roy” has repaid his rider repeatedly for her belief in him. Sunday at Thunderbird Show Park, he gave Jacobs the biggest win yet of her career in the CSI4* Odlum Brown Grand Prix 1.50m.

The pair bested an eight-horse jump-off, held through rainy conditions—reminiscent of Roy’s Irish roots—in the Thunderbird Arena. The winning time was 36.21 seconds. Kaitlin Campbell (USA) and Castlefield Cornelious (Cornet Obolensky x Contender) finished second (37.05s), with Nayel Nassar (EGY) and Donvier (Don VHP Z x Andiamo Z) third (39.53s).

“This is definitely the biggest win I’ve had in my career so far. I’m over the moon. My horse felt fantastic today,” Jacobs gushed. “I was just pipped and was second in the [FOBI Qualifier], so I really wanted the win today, and my horse came through and jumped amazing.”

It was an eventful class, not without a bit of trademark Conor Swail-induced excitement. Swail and his five star-champion Count Me In impressed over Colm Quinn’s (IRL) first round track, as “Crosby” jumped his rider partially out of his tack; Swail jumped through the triple combination with a single stirrup, his leg position unchanged.

In the jump-off, Jacobs was well aware of the speed that proceeded her in the starting order, with both Swail and Nayel Nassar (EGY) following her. But she tried to not let that information affect her plan.

Her horse was with her every step of the way, as she committed to getting eight strides up the first line and sharpening her turn back to the penultimate oxer. Executing her plan as she hoped, the rest of the class became a waiting game. Last to jump, Swail set out with clear intentions and sped around the short track at a blazing pace, but he took too much risk to the oxer two fences from home. While he crossed the timers with the time in hand, 4 faults would relegate him to fifth.

“I just wanted to ride my round and hope for the best,” Jacobs said.

Roy has been a winner from the start. Jacobs first identified him as a “really, really careful” 7-year-old that didn’t particularly enjoy changing leads and quite frankly, appeared rather wild. But after trying the gelding a year later, she bought him—through her trainer Greg Broderick (IRL)—from Jason Higgins in Ireland. After jumping two 1.30m classes, Jacobs and Roy won a 1.35m Grand Prix event and then almost immediately placed in a ranking class in Spain.

As the jumps got bigger, so did Roy’s personality. While relaxed on the ground at his home stable, Roy maintains a bit of animation in all that he does, which has led Jacobs to describe him as a “cartoon character.” The chestnut prefers a simple routine before competing, enjoying a roll and a light exercise on the longe line, and when he’s at home, he spends as much time as he likes outside in a paddock.

In the ring, Roy has become a 1.50m specialist. According to Jumpr App, the horse averages just 1.3 faults at 1.50m, jumping clear at an eye-opening rate of 72%.

“He has so much heart, so much jump. His feet might have springs in them, I’m not sure,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t expect him to do what he’s done, and he just keeps surpassing expectations, which is amazing.”