‘We were told he’d never jump again – we lost all hope’: top stallion defies the odds to win grand prix

British showjumper Graham Gillespie and the hugely successful stallion Warriors Glory jumped to a fairytale grand prix victory on (Saturday) 8 February.

The landmark win was a remarkable comeback for the 16-year-old stallion, known at home as Gorilla, who was retired from the sport in 2023 with a serious tendon injury.

“I’d only recently started riding him when the injury happened out in Vilamoura,” Graham told H&H. “It was quite bad and we didn’t have too much hope for him at that point.”

Gorilla’s owner and Graham’s business partner, Sean Cubitt, said, “Two vets told us he would never jump again. We found this company in Holland called Equi Laser and at first I thought, ‘That’s never going to work’. But we took him there for six weeks and they kept him for 14 months! The guy rode him every day, treated him like a normal horse, took him out into the field and lasered him every day.”

The innovative Equi Laser treatment is said to involve “five patented wavelengths” to “produce a combination of anti-inflammatory, pain relief and bio-stimulation of tissues, which causes regeneration”.

Graham Gillespie on Warriors Glory’s comeback: “What they did for him was incredible”

Graham started bringing the Brendon Stud-bred stallion (Warrior x Caretino Glory) back into work three months ago.

“What they did for him was incredible,” said Graham. “They were always very positive about his recovery.”

Graham’s first show back with Warriors Glory came at Oliva at the end of January before they stepped up to the CSI4* classes on the Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain.

“He just did a lot of roadwork and hacking in the early days, then he did a few 1.30m classes at Oliva and he ended up finishing second in a 1.45m there,” said Graham. “By the time he came to Vejer, he was ready to rock and roll!”

“I’ve never given a fist pump in my life, but I had to let one go this time!”

In Saturday’s CSI4* Tesalia 1.45m small grand prix, Graham Gillespie and Warriors Glory swept to victory from an advantageous final draw in a high-calibre 13-way jump-off, edging ahead of French showjumper Penelope Leprevost and Djagger Semilly by 0.03sec. James Whitaker and Just Call Me Henry completed the rankings class podium in third.

“What a retirement!” said Sean of his horse’s remarkable comeback.

“There were a few good names in the jump-off,” said Graham. “We had a little plan drawn up and we managed to execute it. It was great. Diving through the finish with the screen on my right showing the green numbers was brilliant. I’ve never given a fist pump in my life, but I had to let one go this time!”

Warriors Glory has jumped successfully up to five-star level with a string of leading international riders and is now “back where he belongs” said Graham of the son of 2012 Olympic contender Warrior.

“Gorilla is just a winner – that’s what he’s always done, it’s his thing, so it’s great to be a part of his amazing journey once again.”

Graham has several other horses with him on the tour, including top ride, the 17-year-old Veneno, who will hopefully be back in grand prix mode this week, paving the way for a very exciting year ahead.

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