“He’s amazing, I’m pretty chuffed with him,” Nikki said about the outstanding stallion by Speilberg sweetly nicknamed Danny. “I think they broke the mould when they made this one, he’s exactly the same at home as he is at shows. Really he’s just a completely cool customer; I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse like this one.”
Nikki and Danny rode to a classical hip hop routine put together by close friend Ros Kay. “Ros has always done my freestyles,” Nikki explained, “The first one she made for me was for a Grand Prix test so we keep saying she’s working her way down!” The funky upbeat tunes made for a nice change and suited her huge bay’s expressive paces.
The Nupafeed Advanced Medium Freestyle Gold is the only class to award a prize to the winning groom. Speaking about her groom Claire Young Nikki said, “She’s massively important to my team! She turns out immaculately and has a huge attention to detail. My horses really like her and she takes a huge amount of pressure of me… being at shows is really easy! Yesterday she even read a book with him in the stable because he needed time to chill out.”
The super team will now head to several premier leagues throughout the summer with the aim of competing nine-year-old Danny at small tour level. Having made his debut at Prix St Georges earlier this month, they will without doubt have much success.