A Kentish property set in 4.2 acres and surrounded by luscious countryside has come on the market and is waiting for a new horsey buyer to call it home.
Kippings Cross Oast is nestled in a rural yet convenient location with access onto the A21 and to Tunbridge Wells (4.3 miles), Tonbridge (6.8 miles) and Paddock Wood (2.7 miles). The local village of Matfield is approximately 2.5 miles away.
Equestrian centres just a stones throw away include: Duckhurst Farm (12 miles), Blue Barn EC (24 miles), Chelsfield EC (23 miles) and Willow Farm Equestrian (33 miles).
Saddlesdane Equestrian Supplies is 30 miles away and hosts a range of fixtures across the season. You are also a 45 minute drive from Charing Racecourse.
If you fancy heading out hunting, go with either the West Kent hunt or the Ashford Valley hunt.
Up the pace of training at one of the local cross-country courses in the area which include: Bonfleur XC (12 miles), Chilham Park (33 miles) or Lodge Farm (12 miles).
Sign up to BSPS Area 14 for a range of local showing fixtures in the area.
The property is advertised at a guide price of £1m — £1.1m and is being offered for sale by Batcheller Monkhouse.
Let’s have a snoop…
The property is approached by double opening electric gates and wooden gates lead into a parking area for trailers and horse boxes, leading onto the stable yard.
There is an American style barn which has eight spacious loose boxes, a tack room, kitchen, wash area and solarium.
There is a further timber block of five stables and a separate hay store. The dressage arena measures 30x40m and there is a Claydon horse walker available by negotiation.
The house is a detached oast and barn conversion with an additional detached barn with scope for conversion.
The classic country decor is intertwined throughout the home. Check out this kitchen/breakfastroom complete with cupboards and granite worktops with an Alpha range cooker and a stable door.
The two roundels as seen above both have doors to the outside are currently house a dining room and a family room.
The master bedroom is set into one roundel and has an en suite shower room. The guest bedroom in the second roundel has stairs to a mezzanine office/study area. There are three further bedrooms.
The gardens have a paved terrace and a summer house as well as trees and hedges to either side. Do we spy a hot tub?
Is this the home for you?
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday.
A barn conversion with an equestrian set-up and a swimming pool, located in prime Suffolk hunt country, has come up for sale.
Situated in Little Henny on the Essex/Suffolk border, the property is nestled in the beautiful surroundings of the Stour Valley, immediately to the south of Sudbury.
Despite being within a daily commute of London, the rural position offers access onto various bridleways and country lanes. Hacking is also available on the riverside tracks in the valley along the River Stour.
Agents The Zoe Napier Group have pitted Lodge Farm — which is in the heart of scenic East Essex Hunt country — as the ideal base for the hunting fan: “located between The Colne & Stour Valleys, The East Essex Hunt have some stunning country, mainly ditches (sometimes big ditches), plough and grassland with much jumping. There are four or five meets within hacking distance, with some of the best exercise routes and bridleways in the region.”
Local equestrian centres include: Topthorn Arena (29 miles); Bardwell Manor (26 miles) and Barrow Hall Stables (29 miles).
If you fancy doing some cross-country schooling, head over to the fabulous course set in 150 acres at Boundary Farm (30 miles).
Showing societies you should sign up to include: BSPS Area 16 and NPS Area 15.
Set in just over 13 acres, the land at Lodge Farm is currently split into seven post and rail paddocks. Two of the fields have shelters and there is also a high-fenced stallion pen.
The farm-style equestrian facilities include three interlinking but separate yard areas. In total there are 13 stables of varying size, ranging from smaller stables to larger stallion boxes.
As well as a horse walker, a wash bay and various other outbuildings — including a groom’s rest room and a pole barn — there is a 20x60m outdoor arena…
The main house is a five-bedroom barn conversion with features including exposed timbers.
Ground floor reception rooms include a sitting room with wood burning stove, a dining room and a drawing/garden room with sealed brick flooring.
The farmhouse kitchen has an AGA and a central island.
On the first level, there are five double size bedrooms, two bathrooms and a cloakroom/w.c.
The property is situated behind its own woodland and the gardens include a central lawn and terrace. A separate swimming pool area has stoned and decked terraces with a summer house.
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Welcome to Sparrows Farm, a picturesque set-up — for both you and your four-legged companions.
Located in the village of Debden Green in Essex, the gorgeous four-bedroom farmhouse is like something out of a fairytale, with it’s high beams and rustic features. Head outside, and the super-dreamy facilities just keep on giving (see pictures below).
The property is surrounded by countryside and is discretely set down a byway, which continues a fair way beyond to Cutlers Green — perfect for hacking and country dog walks.
Equestrian centres in the area include Beechwood EC (31 miles), Barleylands EC (40 miles) and Runningwell EC (32 miles).
If you like to hunt, get out in the field with The East Essex hunt or the Essex Fox Hounds.
If showing is your discipline, make sure you don’t miss out on local events by signing up to the BSPS Area 15branch or NPS Area 14.
If you want to polish up on your cross-country skills, Berwick Farm Cross-country course could be the place for you, while Pony Club branches in the county include the Essex Hunt North Branch or the Puckeridge Hunt Branch.
Offered for sale by Fine and Country, the property is currently on the market with a price tag of £2M.
We can’t wait to show you round…
There are seven stables, including one large foaling box, set around an L-shape yard. The end stable has its own small turnout yard area. Each stable has an optional rear view window with shutter door and are fitted with Equisoft sealed rubber flooring and automatic drinkers.
As well as a five-bay horse walker, one of the main features of the yard is the 20x60m arena. It has two five bar gated access points, low level lighting, training mirrors at one end and a seated viewing box.
There are 10 separate paddocks with post and rail fencing and via separate negotiation, you could have access to a solarium.
The house is also something of a delight…
Downstairs, timber beams and oak floors are found in most rooms…
…and there is a farmhouse-style kitchen at the heart of the home, which is completed with an AGA.
One of these could be your new bedroom…
We think it’s love…
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
A charity race held at York as part of the biggest fundraising day in British racing ended in a dead heat on Saturday (16 June).
The Macmillan Charity Raceday’s finale, the 5.40pm Best Western Hotels & Macmillan Ride of their Lives, concluded in a tie between X Rated and Apterix, ridden by Sarah Fanning and Chris Brownless respectively.
Chris Hughes, star of ITV2’s Love Island, also took part in the race, crossing the line in fifth place after a late run on the Richard Fahey-trained Carnageo.
“I was so nervous at the start; it’s surreal that I’ve won with Chris,” said 37-year-old Sarah, who fell off in her previous attempt at a charity race at Cheltenham. “Everyone has done amazingly well and raised so much money for Macmillan. That’s what it’s all about.”
Chris Brownless, who at 64 was the oldest of the jockeys, was motivated to take part in the race after losing his younger brother Malcolm to cancer at the age of 57.
“It’s a special day. I was riding today in memory of my brother who died from cancer in 2015. He would have been 60 today,” he said.
Eleven riders took part in the 1 mile, 1 furlong challenge which is run outside of Rules. They had to pass the charity race-riders’ training course, as well as sourcing their own horses. Between them, they raised more than £110,000 for the charity.
Chris Hughes said the six months leading up the race had been an amazing experience, as had the day itself.
“The support from the crowd was unbelievable. I’m disappointed not to win but I’ve loved every minute of the race, the day and the months of training leading up to today, and just want to have another go now,” he said.
“I would like to thank Coral, Jonjo O’Neill, Richard Fahey and Dominic Elsworth and all the other people who’ve all made this possible. It’s one of the best things I’ve done. My fellow jockeys have all been incredible supportive and we’d like to thank everyone who has raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support.”
As well as being is the biggest single fundraiser in Macmillan’s calendar the event is the largest charity raceday in Britain.
This year, more than 21,000 people passed through the course’s gates, raising more than £470,000 for Macmillan and other beneficiaries, including York Against Cancer, St Leonard’s Hospice, Racing Welfare and the Injured Jockeys Fund.
The relationship between York racecourse and cancer charity Macmillan began in 1971 and this year’s raceday also resulted in their passing a landmark £8million in total funds raised.
H&H’s very own Gemma Redrup has started her training in earnest
“To have raised over £8m is an amazing achievement and a tribute to everyone past and present who has contributed to make this raceday such a wonderful event,” said William Derby, York racecourse chief executive and clerk of the course.
“Countless individuals and organisations have been so generous with their time, involvement and support of the day from throughout the racing and Yorkshire community – it is a special day everyone associated with it can be very proud of.”
Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, added: “At Macmillan we rely on donations to fund our services and help people living with cancer life live as fully as they can, so we’re hugely grateful to everyone that has been involved.”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
Never been hunting, but would love to have a go? H&H explains how to get started and answers your questions during hunting’s Newcomers’ Week (19-26 October 2019)
How do I find out where to go?
To find your local hunt, visit www.mfha.org.uk/pack_directory. Then ring the hunt secretary. This applies for any day’s hunting when you are not a subscriber to that particular pack. Ask him or her whether you can come out, where the meet is, where you should park and how much you have to pay. This is called the “cap”. It will vary enormously between hunting countries depending on how old you are and whether you are planning to follow on a horse or on foot. Packs often do good deals for under-25s and people who farm in the hunting country.
Do I need a companion?
If you can persuade a hunting friend with a well-behaved horse to accompany you, great, particularly if your horse hasn’t been out before. But it’s not essential. Tell the hunt secretary this is your first time, or that you are fairly inexperienced on the hunting field. He/she may be able to suggest someone to look after you for the day, and at least will be aware and able to keep an eye on you.
Is my horse suitable?
The answer is that you don’t really know until you get there, but there is no reason why any horse shouldn’t learn to hunt well. Many horses get a little overexcited by being at such a terrific “party”, but can you blame them? Autumn hunting is perfect for horses who haven’t hunted, and for young, green animals because things happen at a more gentle pace. There is often more standing-around time for them to absorb what’s going on. If your horse is used to busy collecting rings and doesn’t mind dogs around his feet, there’s every chance he’ll be fine. Use your brain and stay to the side of the main field so your horse has a chance to look at what’s going on, rather than throwing him straight into the middle of the pack.
Do I need to plait?
Not during autumn hunting, which extends until the opening meet at the beginning of November. After that most people will, out of smartness and courtesy to those whose land they are crossing, but it’s not compulsory. Manes should be neat, tidy and clean, but you shouldn’t get sent home for not plaiting.
What should I wear?
During autumn hunting, a tweed jacket and shirt and tie or coloured stock, pale breeches, clean boots and gaiters/half-chaps or long boots, dark gloves and a hat with a dark cover. In the season proper, with most packs adults tend to wear black or navy coats, but you will see some in tweed too. If you don’t own a tweed coat for autumn hunting, don’t worry about it too much. Girls: hairnets, not flowing locks, please. Make-up is fine, but not Jordan-style, and take off jewellery unless you want to risk tearing your earlobes off on low branches. You may wear a body protector, but preferably under your jacket rather than over it.
What should my horse wear?
If you aren’t sure about your brakes, err on the side of caution or take a stronger bit/martingale in the lorry with you. Numnahs should be dark and follow the shape of the saddle — save that white dressage square for another day. If you know he might kick, put a red ribbon on his tail and stay well out of the way whenever possible. Kicking a horse or a rider is bad enough, but kicking a hound is the worst thing you can do. You will get sent home, so make sure your horse’s head is turned towards hounds, not his backside. A green ribbon denotes a young horse, and if someone puts the back of their hand in the hollow of their back, it means “don’t get too close”.
Should he wear boots?
This is up to you. If you live in wall country, knee boots are de rigeur. Otherwise it’s your choice, and you know what suits your horse. But remember the boots will be on for a lot longer during the course of a hunting day than they would be during a cross-country round, and the risks of rubbing and overheating are greater. You’ll find plenty do and plenty don’t.
Will I have to jump huge hedges?
Of course not. Even if your hunt has a reputation for being a serious jumping pack, you can always go round — and there will be other people taking the roundabout route, too. Only jump what you feel happy with; it’s not a competition.
How fit does my horse need to be?
Very rarely does hunting involve galloping flat-out for very long, and autumn hunting in particular can involve a lot of standing around. Your horse needs to be fit enough to canter up a hill without collapsing, but really doesn’t need to be racehorse-fit. And you can go home whenever you like — don’t feel compelled to stay out for hours if you and your horse are knackered.
Autumn hunting is a gentle introduction for young hounds, new hunt staff, horses and followers to the forthcoming season. Carina
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Golden rules for first-timers
Find out who the master is and say good morning
Never overtake the field master, and always listen carefully to his instructions
Always thank traffic that slows down or stops
Never block the road
Don’t park in gateways or driveways unless specifically told you can
If you hear the shout “huntsman please!” or “whip please!” get out of the way sharpish so they can get through
Always call them hounds, not dogs
Always shut gates if you are the last through unless told otherwise, and if the person in front of you shouts “gate, please!” pass it back to the next person
Do turn your mobile phone off, and talk quietly while standing at the side of a covert — the huntsman will not be pleased to hear you shrieking about what you got up to the night before
Never ride across the middle of a field of sown corn, even if you see hunt staff doing so
Do ask questions about what is going on. The more you understand about a day’s hunting, the more you will enjoy it. People will be very happy to answer your queries
Do find the field master/master/secretary before you go home and say thank you and good night, which is the traditional way to say goodbye — even at 9am
This week, the best six- and seven-year-olds in eventing from around the world converge on Le Lion d’Angers in France to fight it out for the prestigious young horse World Championship titles.
These championships often throw up serious horses to watch in the future, such as these previous winners…
The wonderful grey Darien Powers (above) was a winner at Le Lion in 1994 and went on to scale the heights of eventing with Australia’s Andrew Hoy. He won Olympic team gold medals in 1996 and 2000 and claimed the British open title in 1997 at Gatcombe.
Credit: Peter Nixon
Oslo won the six-year-old class at Le Lion in 2008 with William Fox-Pitt. The French-bred horse went on to claim a four-star (now five-star) title at Pau in 2011 when he was just nine, as well as winning the CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) at Tattersalls and the eight- and nine-year-old class at Blenheim in the same year.
Credit: www.trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk
Ingrid Klimke’s ride Sleep Late won at Le Lion in 1998. He went on to win an individual bronze medal at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim and contest the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics for Germany. He was also a team gold medal winner at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Aachen.
Credit: Jon Stroud Media
FischerRocana FST took the six-year-old title at Le Lion in 2011 with Michael Jung. Since then, she has won the premier US event at Kentucky three times and been a team gold and individual silver medallist at the 2014 WEG in Caen, as well as taking individual silver at the 2017 European Championships in Strzegom.
Credit: TT News Agency/Press Association
The great grey Galan De Sauvagère is one of Le Lion’s greatest success stories. He won both the six- (2000) and seven-year-old (2001) classes with Nicolas Touzaint and went on to win the individual European gold medal twice, in 2003 at Punchestown and 2007 at Pratoni. He was also a team gold medallist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
2000 was a vintage year for Le Lion. Not only did the six-year-old class launch Galan De Sauvagere’s career, but Primmore’s Pride won the seven-year-old class. With Pippa Funnell, he went on to win Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley — the only horse to achieve a career grand slam in the roads and tracks and steeplechase days — and take a team silver and individual bronze at the 2004 Olympics.
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
Mister Pooh, the 2006 six-year-old Le Lion winner, was a perennial championship campaigner for Sweden with Niklas Lindbäck. He ran at the 2009 Fontainebleau Europeans, the 2010 WEG in Kentucky, the 2012 London Olympics and crowned his career with team silver at the 2013 Malmö Europeans. He was also fifth at Badminton 2011. It’s worth noting, too, that the runner-up to him at Le Lion was none other than the double Olympic champion La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, who was also second in the seven-year-old championship a year later.
Credit: Peter Nixon
Sara Algotsson-Ostholt’s Mrs Medicott — later renamed Reality 39 — took Le Lion’s six-year-old class in 2010. She too was a great championship horse for Sweden, with team silvers at the Europeans at Malmo (2013) and Strzegom (2017) and runs at the Blair European Championships in 2015 and the Rio Olympics in 2016.
‘Your votes really do mean a lot to all those mentioned in our pages this week, and to the winners
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France’s Nicolas Touzaint piloted Hildago De L’Ile to take the seven-year-old title at Le Lion in 2002. The pair went on to win the first Pau CCI4* (now CCI5*) in 2007 and Badminton 2008. He collected team silver at the Blenheim Europeans in 2005 and contested the 2006 WEG and the 2012 Olympics.
Full report from this year’s Le Lion in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine (dated 24 October).
This was on FB today and it made me feel solidarity and pride in the grace of wonderful horse people. Thank you for loving your horse until the end.
How to love your old horses:
Tomorrow my best friend is letting go of her life-long, childhood horse that she has been blessed to have for 28 years.
28 years she has loved this mare – cared for her, ridden her thousands and thousands of miles, shared her secrets and her hopes and her dreams.
She met her when she was less than a day old – and came to own her as a six month old filly. From that day forward she has been dedicated to this lovely red lady – kept her through every life change: teenage jobs, service in the military, marriage, becoming a mom, several cross country moves, career changes, etc.
She continued to love her when she was no longer rideable.
She continued to love her when she needed more care than the “average” horse.
She continued to love and care for her when she knew her days were drawing short and their time together was coming to an end.
And most importantly – she has loved her enough to be able to look into those kind, quiet eyes and know when to let her go – despite her own pain and heartache in saying goodbye to one of the best friends she has ever known.
This, folks, is how you treat your old horses. This is how you give back to those horses that have given you their whole life – their heart – their everything.
I love you, Shawnee Armstrong, and love the huge heart you have for every animal that crosses your path and joins you on your life’s journey.
Little One could never have been blessed to have had a better life or a more loving caretaker.
Do right by your horses, friends.
Give them the love, dignity and goodbye that they deserve. It’s the least we can do.
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Every May, Windsor undergoes a horsey transformation to host the wonderful Royal Windsor Horse Show (8-12 May). Whether you are horse-mad, want to shop ’til you drop, or just want to enjoy a spectacular performance, it has something for everyone and now is the time to get your Royal Windsor Horse Show tickets.
A variety of tickets are available prior to the show, details of which can be found below.
The show is action-packed and visitors will be have the option to to watch leading international dressage riders competing in the CDI4* Al Shira’aa dressage class, as well as CSI5* showjumping classes, top level showing, driving and endurance competition and so much more. You can also watch the DAKS Pony Club mounted games, the Shetland Pony Grand National and The Pageant, a 90-minute show celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, will run on the evenings of 9—11 May too, for which separate tickets are available.
Prices of Royal Windsor Horse Show tickets
Ticket prices depend on the day you wish to attend and whereabouts you would like to sit and access.
General entry tickets
General entry allows you access to the whole showground including its five arenas and the extensive shopping village.
General entry tickets start from £10 on the Wednesday and include unreserved seating access. These tickets then increase in price throughout the rest of the week, costing £29.50 on the Saturday and Sunday.
Castle Arena seating
There is limited unreserved seating in the Castle Arena during the daytime performances which is available on a first come first served basis. But you can reserve your seat in the West grandstand of the Castle Arena for the dressage competitions on Thursday and Friday, and you also have the option to reserve your seat for the whole of the Saturday and Sunday daytime performances. All reserved seating is covered so you are protected from the elements. This extra cost ranges from £7.50 to £15.
The Windsor Enclosure
The Windsor Enclosure features a purpose-built structure designed to be light and airy, offering a bar and bistro for meals and snacks. Outside there is a lawn with casual seating where you can enjoy the atmosphere before taking up your reserved, covered seat for your selected performance in The Queen’s Stand, where you can enjoy first class views of all the sporting action in the Castle Arena. Seats are only available during the daytime performances as Pageant tickets will be required during the evenings. Daytime prices range from £25 up to £56 as the week goes on.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show Club
This club was formed in the show’s earliest years and its members are a valued part of the organising committee. During the show, members and their guests enjoy the very best views of all the sporting action and entertainment in the Castle Arena. Club members will also be invited to attend a drinks party at the show and will receive invitations to other equestrian sporting fixtures. Becoming a member of the club provides free entry to the show for you and a guest each day, exclusive access to the Club Enclosure with its restaurant, bar and arena-side lawn, premium seating alongside the Royal Box, forward car parking for the duration of the show and complimentary tickets to other equestrian events. Club members can purchase additional guest badges for individual days of the show.
A limited number of new memberships are available and can be purchased for £350. Guest tickets range from £35 to £70.
The Pageant
All pageant ticket holders will be able to access the show from 3pm onwards and enjoy the international action and extensive shopping village. There are two ticket types for The Pageant; general seating and the Windsor Enclosure.
General seating includes a reserved seat in the west or south grandstands for The Pageant, as well as access to Royal Windsor Horse Show from 3pm.
The majority of seating is covered, apart from the front two rows, which have a discounted price.
Top-priced tickets range between £22.50-49 per adult, second-priced tickets range between £17.50-39 per adult, while third-priced tickets range between £15-34.
Which one of these 9 working hunter horses and ponies would you most like to take home?
1. Red Why Salute
Danny Carroll rode his own 2017 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) winner to pick up the first ticket of 2018 at Sports Horse Breeding (GB) in April. The pair were also victorious around a testing track at the Great Yorkshire Show.
2. Cashel Bay JJ
The 16-year-old Connemara needs no introduction, having won both HOYS and the Royal International (RIHS) with the Eddis family. The multi-garlanded 153cm competes in both native and plaited worker ranks and was crowned supreme working hunter pony at Hickstead in July and was also a winner at the BSPS winter championships.
3. Birchmoor Drover
Pam Brown rode Elaine Tomlinson’s plucky Shetland to win the 122cm RIHS qualifier and stand section reserve at the NPS Spring Festival held at Vale View.
4. Allandy Gold Spark
This gorgeous coloured topped the 143cm section of the Desert Orchid Blue Riband final at the BSPS summer championships with Madeline Plumb. The duo also won their section of the Burghley Gold Cup final and qualified for HOYS.
5. Kenlis Carrera
Barbie, as she is known at home, was crowned working hunter champion at the 2018 Royal Windsor Horse Show with Rory Gilsenan at the helm. Owned by Christian Kwek, the lightweight was also Blue Chip supreme ridden champion at the Irish Draught breed show, proving her versatility.
6. Killaughey Golden Cascade
This scopey 13 hander is pictured landing the HOYS working hunter pony championship at Kent with Izzy Stanley, who also rode the mare to be eighth in the final despite only being a novice.
7. Lislan Defi
Eleanor Hirst qualified this then 10-year-old liver chestnut gelding to pick up a Hickstead ticket at BSPS Area 15A, scoring a near perfect 19/20 for their round.
8. Corries Jack In A Box
A trip over from Dublin for the BSPS Gold Cup final paid off for the connections of this nine-year-old grey 13 hander, who claimed his section with Allegra Hancock.
9. Nobel Peppermint
Ruby Ward and night-year-old sports pony finished off their incredible 2018 season with the working hunter pony of the year title at the NEC.
For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday
Matt Sampson’s magnificent joint puissance win with star Irish teenager Michael Pender raised the roof at the finale to an action-packed day at Liverpool, which featured superheroes, a British one-two in the CSI4* speed class, plus the continuation of a cracking week for Polly Shaw in the amateur classes
Matt Sampson and Top Dollar VI
Britain and Ireland shared the top honours in a gripping five-round puissance class on the third day of the Theraplate UK Liverpool International Horse Show (30 December).
Matt Sampson, 28, and catch ride Top Dollar VI shared the spoils with Irish teenager Michael Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux after both cleared 2.20m (7ft 2.6in) in the class, sponsored by Equitop GLME.
Top Dollar’s owner/rider Laura Renwick asked Matt if he would jump the horse less than an hour before the start of the class.
“Laura rang me about an hour before and asked me what I was doing, I said ‘nothing’ and she said ‘would you like to ride [Top Dollar] in the puissance?’,” said Matt, who also won the 2017 British Speed Derby on a catch ride.
“It was a bit different as I hadn’t jumped the horse before – I didn’t really know him, which was maybe wasn’t such a bad thing.
“I just tried to ride forward and give him a little bit of room as he is such a big horse and keep him confident.
“It was easier as time went on as I figured out how to ride him and trusted him a bit more.”
Matt hailed a cab as he went over the wall for a final time, before landing to huge cheers from the packed arena.
Michael, 19, finished second at Bolesworth and shared the puissance victory at Dublin earlier this year on the same horse.
Michael Pender riding Hearton Du Bois Halleux
The pair produced five magnificent jumps over the wall, despite needing the farrier between the final two rounds, to be crown joint winners tonight.
“The first round he was a little bit sticky, then from the second round he started to feel more confident,” said Michael.
“The last round was his best and it felt like he could even jump bigger, so I’m delighted.”
Ireland’s Shane Breen (Acorad 3), Nano Healy (KMS Clintland) and Michael Whyte (Amaretto) finished joint third after clearing 2.10m (6ft 11in), but knocking the final wall.
Need for speed
Young riders shone in the Hope Valley Saddlery CSI4* 1.45m speed class with two rising British stars filling the top spots.
Harry Charles and his own Doulita took the win, while 20-year-old Graham Babes and Boucheron claimed the runner-up spot. Both riders were on the gold medal-winning team at the 2018 European Championships for young riders this summer.
Turkey’s Derin Demirsoy and Dadjak Ter Puttenen were drawn first to go and led for most of the class, making the course look easy.
But confident and quick clears from both Harry and Graham pushed Derin down the leaderboard into third.
Harry, 19, finished third aboard Doulita in yesterday’s world ranking class and said the result was a confidence boost.
“She’s my horse — the only horse I’ve ever owned myself — so I’ve put a lot of work into her behind the scenes at home,” he explained, adding he bought her last year from Australia’s Rowan Willis.
“She felt really good and really confident, so I said I would let her have another go today — I let her off from the very start and she was even better again today.”
He added she is “not the easiest” and has found the hackamore/gag combination suits her.
“She has a very funny mouth, but the way I set her up I let her poke her nose and do her own thing — it suits her and she jumps fantastically,” he said.
“She’s naturally very quick, actually she is deceptively fast as she sometimes doesn’t look as quick as the other horses, but she has a very nice step on her and a big jump, I don’t think we have seen the best of her yet, which is exciting.”
Superheroes to the rescue…
Speed demons Harriet Nuttall and Sula von Bulow could not be caught in the Archco Developments mini major relay.
Sula, aged eight-and-a-half, and her pony Bellfield Benjamin took some breathtaking turns to jump clear. Harriet, dressed as Superwoman, and her 2016 Hickstead Speed Derby winner Silver Lift produced a speedy round to take them into the lead in a time of 48.87 seconds — even with a three-second penalty for demolishing a fence.
“He is the best pony in the world,” said Sula, adding the 17-year-old is partial to grapes as a treat.
“He can go from sleeping to galloping round in less than a second. I love him with my whole heart.”
Harriet, who won Saturday’s feature CSI4* class, was full of praise for her “mini”.
“That was so much fun, Sula is amazing,” she said.
“Those classes are great for the kids, great for the crowd and we all try really hard — we don’t want to let these guys down as they are so competitive.”
In second were “Ironman” Paul Barker and Isabella Saunders-Cook in a time of 50.14 seconds, with “The Incredible Hulk” Emily Ward and Persia Calderbank close behind in third in 50.16 seconds.
Noora von Bulow, Lilly Aspell and a lightening-fast Eve McCoy were among the many other exceptional rounds in the talented class.
A top quality list of starters came forward for the Horseware Ireland 1.50m jump-off class, won by Luxembourg’s Charlotte Bettendorf on Hope Street.
Britain’s Holly Smith and the talented Claddagh Iroko produced two superb rounds, but were pipped to the win by 0.4 seconds. Ireland’s Billy Twomey completed the international podium in third with Chat Botte E.D.
Charlotte said the atmosphere was “amazing”.
“Today was a full house and you come into the ring and the crowd are all really into it, it is incredible,” she said.
“My mare is very sensitive, when I rode her this morning she could hear them opening Champagne bottles and was getting excited, but when I went into the ring she was focused on the fences.”
Charlotte, who won the CSI2* grand prix with the mare two weeks ago in Prague, added she is hoping for a “bit of luck” for tomorrow’s grand prix.
“I haven’t had her very long, she came over from the States and I’ve been riding her for two-and-a-half months — she gets better and better.”
Harry Charles riding Doulita
Thanks to her fantastic coach Ryan O’Sullivan he has hard job slowing her down 
