‘I hope I don’t fall off!’ Badminton rider lends top horse to her friend for 90cm pairs – and takes the ride on her ‘little black cob’

A horse and rider who jumped clear across country at Badminton are taking on a 90cm hunter trials pairs class – but not together.

Fiona Kashel’s good friend Lynn Roberts is to take the reins of Fiona’s veteran five-star ride Creevagh Silver De Haar (Hero), and Fiona will ride Lynn’s 15hh Robbie Cob, at Munstead on 12 July. The pair have already raised nearly £600 of their £1,000 fundraising target for the Georgie Campbell Foundation.

Dealer Lynn and Fiona, whose yards are close together and who have known each other over 12 years, both told H&H the idea started as banter between friends.

“Fiona was teasing me, saying ‘You could ride Hero round a hunter trial and I’ll ride your cob’,” Lynn said. “I’m 60 this year and a bit of a wuss, and I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t. So I’ve stepped up to do this – and I’m literally bricking myself!”

The fundraising page is open now

Lynn said she has evented in the past.

“But I’m not very good at it,” she said. “My last event, I got eliminated in the showjumping and said I wasn’t doing it again. So I whizz round on my little black cob and we have a lovely time. We did try dressage and it didn’t go down well; cross-country is my thing and his thing, and I love him to bits.

“Fiona will hopefully let me ride Hero beforehand – I said she’d given him a tune-up round Badminton so he should be all right – but I don’t think she should ride the cob first, I think that’s fair enough!

“I wanted to do the 80cm but Fiona said the 90cm so hang on to your hats!” she added. “I rose to the challenge and will put my brave pants on; I used to be brave so I’m sure it will come back.”

Lynn said she and Fiona hope to find cross-country shirts in purple so they can ride in the colours, as well as the memory, of Georgie Campbell, the eventer who died after a cross-country fall a year ago. The foundation set up in her memory aims to improve safety in the sport and support young riders. Fiona knew Georgie, having competed alongside her, and Lynn also met her.

“We thought this would be fitting,” Lynn said.

Fiona told H&H Hero is “so straightforward and lovely”, and will look after Lynn.

“I just hope I don’t fall off the cob; the pressure is going to be unreal!” she said. “She’d better let me have a practice – I haven’t ridden a cob for a while; I think I will probably be more nervous about this than about Badminton!”

She added that she hopes to surpass their fundraising target in memory of Georgie, whom she had known for years.

“A couple of days after we put the fundraising page up it had raised over £500, which is amazing,” she said. “We thought it was good timing to do something for Georgie’s foundation, and wanted to do something close to her heart.”

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