Badminton Horse Trials hopes for Marlborough eventer Jesse Campbell
Jesse Campbell with KaapachinoKiwi event rider Jesse Campbell, who is based near Marlborough, will have his first ride next week at one of the sport’s top events, the famous Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (May 4-8), on his 13-year-old thoroughbred ex-racehorse Kaapachino.
Jesse missed the UK’s premier four-star competition last year when Kaapachino developed a bacterial infection. Instead they re-routed to Luhmuhlen in Germany, where they finished 16th at their first four-star in hot company.
This year preparations have gone much more smoothly in the lead up to Badminton and the 26-year-old New Zealander is looking forward to this prestigious competition: “Kaapy is a brilliant horse cross country and has all the credentials to tackle those famous fences." "We’ve had a good build up with clears in cross country at Great Witchingham and the CIC3* at Belton International where he gave me a really great feel. He was superb."
"He also produced very good dressage tests at both competitions. Riding at Badminton has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember and to be riding there next week is brilliant.”
It’s an achievement in itself that Kaapachino is to contest Badminton. Prior to last year’s setback, he required a year off to recover from injury caused from his long haul flight from New Zealand: “It’s been a tough road for Kaapy, but we had a great season last year and with hindsight I think it was a good thing that we missed Badminton as it gave us more time to prepare for Luhmuhlen.
"After that he won the CIC3* at Millstreet in Ireland and we were also in the Nations Cup team that represented New Zealand at Boekelo and ensured qualification for the Rio Olympics.”
Jesse is based near Ramsbury where he trains and competes a dozen or so horses. He is one of nine riders on New Zealand's Eventing High Performance squad - vying for Rio Olympic selection.
He grew up in Cambridge, New Zealand in the heart of the horsey area of the Waikato - also home to Sir Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson and Vaughn Jefferis. As a boy he aspired to ride like Mark and Vaughn and moved to the UK in 2010 to work for Andrew Nicholson before setting up his own yard two years later.
“I’ve always had a passion for horses,” he said. “I’ve no idea where it came from, as no one else is horsey in my family. When I was a kid and we visited mum’s friend I got out of my stroller and they found me in the paddock under one of the horses.”
Next week’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials will be Jesse’s toughest test yet: “Yes there is pressure because you want to do well and its on a much bigger stage than I have competed on before, but in reality its just me and my horse and before a big competition I like to imagine I am competing against myself so that I go out and do the best I possibly can for Kaapy.”