A glass of vintage class in Classic Moet
Jonelle Price’s (NZL) ride Classic Moet is the oldest horse competing at this year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials at the age of 19.
Owned by Trisha Rickards and Jonelle, the British-bred mare was bred by Elaine Hepworth and is by the thoroughbred Classic out of a mare, Gamston Bubbles, by Bohemond. She was produced to two-star level by Karen Dixon then acquired by Trisha and ridden by Darrell Scaife and Elizabeth Power before the ride passed to Jonelle in 2013. The pair finished third at Burghley in 2016, fifth in 2015 and won Badminton in 2018.
The black mare is renowned for her speed and flair across country and Jonelle admitted that there is no sign of her slowing down:
“She still looks as well and feels as good as she ever did,” she said. “She had a couple of years off due to Covid and we take it one day at a time but she keeps putting her hand up and says that she wants to do it, so we do.”
“It’s great to be back here with her as she’s a Badminton and Burghley specialist,” she added. “Burghley is the ultimate endurance test. I know she can make the trip and I know she can make it fast – there’s really no excuses for me on cross-country day.
“I do feel the pressure riding her here to be honest as she’s so renowned for being a fabulous cross-country horse – come 1pm today I’ll be sat on one of the best in the business so we’ll be giving it our best shot.”