His name has become a familiar one in the world of showjumping: speed, precision, and victories at the highest level. Hello Jefferson, the impressive gelding ridden by British showjumper Scott Brash, made history this year by winning the Rolex Grand Prix in Calgary. But behind this remarkable sport horse career lies a story far less straightforward than his performances might suggest. As a foal, he was registered with the Belgian Warmblood (BWP) under the name Jerenmias van het Hulstenhof. Breeder Bernard Mols tells the remarkable story behind this exceptional showjumper.
English roots
Hello Jefferson’s dam originally came from England. Bernard Mols looks back on how this remarkable story began:
“I rode for about two to three years with Malcolm Pyrah. During that time, I also rode some of his horses, and he coached me. In my last year there, I brought Hovis – the mother of Hello Jefferson – from England. I bought her through Malcolm. With that mare, I rode the Belgian Championships and was part of the B team. She performed at a high level.”
The mare Hovis was registered in England with only an identification document, but through the Belgian Warmblood Studbook (BWP), she received official registration. Her sire, Irco Mena (Irco Marco x Ballymena Park by Menelek xx), was one of the most influential Swedish stallions of the 1980s and 1990s. He combined top-level sport performances with a lasting legacy in breeding, producing numerous international showjumpers up to 1.60m level.
A mare that jumped out of the field
Bernard Mols vividly remembers how he first got to know Hovis:
“I was 21 when I was at Malcolm’s, for a total of three years, while also doing my military service. Malcolm told me about a special mare – Hovis – and advised me to go see her. The owner told me that Hovis’s dam kept jumping out of the field. If the fence wasn’t high enough and she had some room for a run-up, she would just jump over it. That says something about the character in that bloodline.”
Once in Belgium, Hovis quickly showed her quality – both in sport and in temperament.
“With Hovis I achieved some nice results myself. I rode her at the Belgian Championships and internationally up to 1.50m. At the show organized by Harrie Theeuwes, she was named the best horse of the competition, after finishing in the top three every day for three days. As a seven-year-old, she ranked in the top ten of the national young horse cycle. Because of her quality, I decided to use her for breeding.”
What made Hovis unique, according to Mols, was her tremendous ‘go’ – her boundless will to perform. “She consistently passed that trait on to her offspring. Such mares are rare. At the highest level, you can only make it with horses that have that same drive and determination.”
The combination with Cooper van de Heffinck
The cross with Cooper van de Heffinck proved decisive for Hello Jefferson’s success. “Cooper brought clarity. Where the damline had tremendous energy, Cooper added the calm needed to channel that energy. You could see that perfectly in Hello Jefferson: his enormous go, combined with control. That made him special.”
Hello Jefferson stood out even as a foal. “From day one he trotted after me without a halter, as if asking: what are we going to do? That was truly unique.”
Cooper van de Heffinck descends from the same Holsteiner line as Quaprice Bois Margot (stamm 504 – the famous Wella line), which has produced countless international showjumpers. That also partly explains the genetic foundation of Hello Jefferson’s exceptional talent.
A bloodline full of top sport horses
The influence of Hovis lives on in the following generations.
“There are seven or eight offspring of Cooper van de Heffinck out of Hovis and her daughters. The Cassini II daughter Hovina produced, among others, Mia van ’t Hulstenhof, who now competes with Roy van Beek and already won a Grand Prix among the young riders in Valkenswaard. From that same line come several more offspring by Cooper van de Heffinck, such as Tiamo van ’t Hulstenhof and Ubelle van ’t Hulstenhof.”
Mols himself continued to both breed and ride from this line.
“Hovina, the Cassini II mare, I rode up to 1.45m. I still have a few offspring from that line – among them a seven- or eight-year-old Cooper van de Heffinck and a Zirocco Blue mare. From her came Oscar van het Hulstenhof, who competed in Eindhoven.”
The qualities that once set Hovis apart – energy, character, and intelligence – came together through Cooper van de Heffinck in Hello Jefferson.
What began at the modest Hulstenhof in Belgium grew into an international success story that reached its peak in Calgary.
There, under the saddle of Scott Brash, Hello Jefferson proved that the same untamable spirit that defined him as a foal still drives him today in the world’s greatest arenas.
