Liscalgot

Mare bay 1991  by Touchdown

“Shirley” as we call Liscalgot came to my yard as a 4 year old. I had seen her loose jump the week before and loved her. I knew straight away that she was exceptional! As so many good horses she was not easy as young horse. She was very sensitive but I could soon tell that she was very intelligent.

She was, from the start, an extremely careful horse at the jump and I could feel even over a small fence that she had tremendous scope.

She used to be difficult to load. Basically, she was scared of the ramp so she would just take off at the bottom of the ramp and jump straight into the lorry. That’s how much power she had!

I never did many shows with her as a novice but I would bring her out on important occasions. One was the 5 year old Guinness Championship in Cavan 1996. She jumped three fantastic clear rounds and won the class.

Whenever she turned 8 I started to travel abroad. I would bring her along to produce her for the next level. As a 9 year old she jumped her first Nations’ Cup in Athens and was double clear. After that we were in six winning Nations’ Cup teams and in 2001 we won Team Gold at the European Championship in Arnhem, Holland where Shirley jumped a final clear round to secure Gold. Individually we finished in 6th place.

During the Europeans I got confirmed how much potential Shirley had but I also had to realize that a long championship week requires extreme fitness in a horse. I had to admit that I should have had her even fitter than the normal show fitness.

I learned my lesson: one year later she was top fit to win Individual Gold at the World Championship in Jerez, Spain. She was just unbelievable all week. She knew that now or never it counts and she gave me everything. She once again proved how exceptional she is!

Unfortunately, Shirley got injured in 2003 and she has been out of the sport ever since. She is still at our stable in Holland and still behaves like the Queen. She always has to be fed first and looked after with extra care. We ride her daily and she’s doing great.

There is one thing she hates and that is: the lorry leaving without her. She’s a show jumper with all her heart and if she could she would still be out there winning…
Since her injury we had some embryos taken from her. A filly by For Pleasure and a colt by Cruising were born in 2005, a colt by For Pleasure, two colts by Lord Z and a colt by a son of Darco were born in 2006.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have had a horse like Shirley. She has made me the rider I am. Let’s hope her progeny steps into her footsteps.