I really think Victoria (known to the family and friends as Boo) is the key added ingredient that has brought together my most successful year – and the most successful year ever for Team Jones.
More and more dressage has become a key element in successful top-level eventing, and being married to a top dressage rider has added a classical dressage element to my event horses’ training.
Long before we were married, while I was tearing around the countryside hunting up here in Rutland, the young Victoria Jones (née Simpson) was making a much more serious mark in the dressage world. As a talented BYRDS rider and member of the British Junior and Young Rider teams, she competed at Europeans and Internationals.
She then suffered from serious ME but picked herself up and married me. Two fabulous children later, she’s back on song. Last year she was selected to compete for GB international competitions at Hartpury and Hickstead, the year before in Compiègne. She has also completed 3 years of international small tour competitions on Tijs H and Wiepke.
Boo has some great horses – stars would be 5yo Lexington, Extra – a 9yo aimed at small tour in 2019, and two exciting 3yos have just arrived at the yard fresh from Germany – one the graded Hanoverian stallion Ray Ban that we may well see in young horse classes next year – watch this space – so plenty to look forward to.
The event horses consider themselves seriously lucky to have found Boo as a dressage trainer – they get to go with her on her training sessions at Gareth Hughes yard where they learn how to turn their eventing feet to tempi changes and working pirouettes! Who would have thought it? An eventing horse doing one times! Videos to follow!
To find out more about what’s happening, visit www.teamjonesequestrian.com, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and check out the Instagram account.
Team Jones is based at Lowlands Farm in Rutland. Richard, wife Victoria and the team have just finished a new full all-weather cross-country course to add to their facilities so that training can go on for youngsters and established eventers alike.