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After a year of absence from the international competition arenas, Joe Stockdale’s 14-year-old mare Cacharel (Cachas x Quinar Z, bred by Helmut Bohm) has returned to action in Oliva Nova, Spain.

Joe and Cacharel were on the British team that claimed bronze at the 2022 World Championships in Herning (DEN) and placed 9th individually at the 2021 European Championships in Riesenbeck (GER). However, since the Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona (ESP) last year, Cacharel has not been competing – until the beginning of November when she made at comeback at the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour. “I had a trip down to Spain and there was a space in the lorry, so I thought I would take her for a little pop around a few small classes because she would enjoy some sunshine on her back,” Joe tells. “She went to Oliva and she jumped great, it was lovely.”

“When she got back from Barcelona last year, she went through a routine check with our vet – which is what I do with all my horses before and after a big show,” Joe explains. “Although she wasn't in pain and she trotted up well, we put a scanner on and found a beginning of something. It was really lucky that we managed to catch it so early. We didn't want to risk a big injury in the future, and that's why we decided to give her the time off.”

“She wasn't actually lame when we found it, but obviously we wanted to protect her and give her all the time she needed to come back,” Joe continues. “She spent a lot of time in rehab and was staying busy even though it wasn't in the ring as such. We've been riding her long before she came back to the show last week. I'm really trying to build her up as slowly as we can because we knew this year was out of the picture for her – and I didn't want to rush her back.”

While Cacharel has now returned to international competition, Joe will leave the next steps up to her. “I'm looking on to next year. I've tried to tell myself I'm not going to put a solid plan in place for her,” Joe points out. “I think she'll tell me when she's ready to go to a big show. Obviously, we've got the World Championships next year and that would be something I would really love to go and do. However, at the same time, if I don't feel like she is ready, I'm not going to push her. She doesn't owe me anything at this point in her career. If she feels up for it and she's keen to get back in the ring, then that's what we'll do. I'm just going to take each day as it comes and see where she ends up. I'm sure she's going to come back to top level competition at some point – I'm just not 100% on when that's going to be yet.”

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