When Vicki and Amanda Wilson headed off to Europe on a shopping mission four years ago, they were after two horses, and two horses only.
They’d already snapped up the exciting Holstein stallion, Daminos, and a Dutch-bred mare, Quintesse Z. But then the sisters spied Carpaccio BDV Z, a striking steel grey colt by the Clinton sire Clintissimo Z and out of an Indoctro mare.
“Vicki fell in love with him, so we bid on him without telling our sister Kelly that we were bringing a third horse home. She was a bit cross – but she won’t be now,” laughs Amanda, celebrating Carpaccio’s victory with Vicki in the hotly-contested Seven-year-old Horse of the Year title class.
Carpaccio has been somewhat overshadowed by the exceptionally scopey Daminos – who until now had been unbeaten in the seven-year-old classes – but all that changed today in the Premier Arena at the 2020 Land Rover Horse of the Year Show.
“I’ve always thought he would be the better horse,” Vicki says. “He just needed a bit of time. At home he’s called Waffle, because he’s from Belgium and he’s got such a soft nature.”
It’s been a few years since Vicki has been a title winner at HOY, as she has been recovering from a string of injuries, and rebuilding a team of exciting young horses.
But it feels just as good as it ever did; the normally cool and collected Vicki was visibly emotional when she realised she’d won. “It’s a fantastic class to win, and there were some sensational horses in it. The distances really made you think, and being first out in the jump-off I knew I had to go forward. Then it was a long wait to see how everybody else went.”
Just five of the 31 seven-year-old horses had gone clear in the first round, and in the jump-off Vicki’s stallion was in exceptional form, but tipped a rail at the Wade Equine oxer when turning in the air.
So, with four faults on the board, Vicki though it was probably all over.
But one by one, her rivals each had a rail, and none of them were able to match her 45.9 second time.
Tegan Fitzsimon was second with Campari (Corofino II/Liliana), owned by Penny Tapley, Vicki Prendergast third on her homebred Selena C (Cardento VDL/Sofee), and Pieta Milne fourth on Global PH Mylorde (Mylord Carthago/Sinfonie D).
Vicki says her future plans are to take both Carpaccio and Daminos back to Europe to compete. “They are two exceptional horses for the future, and their foals at home in the paddock are even better.”
