Jagerbomb – Becky Moody on her charismatic home-bred star

Jagerbomb is the Olympic group bronze medal-winning trip of Becky Moody and one in every of Britain’s most fun and charismatic group horses.

“He all the time needs to make folks blissful, and he’s such a cheerful particular person himself,” says Becky. “If he had been human, he’d be the one on the social gathering going as much as everybody to say whats up.”

Nevertheless, as a younger horse, Becky wasn’t certain Jagerbomb had what it takes to succeed in the higher echelons of the game.

Jagerbomb’s early years

Jagerbomb is a homebred, sired by Dante Weltino, and he’s out of Udysee (by Jazz), a mare Becky educated as much as grand prix.

“Jagerbombs are my favorite drink and I’ve all the time needed to call a horse after it,” defined Becky. “So it was heaven-sent when the mare produced me a stupendous J-reg colt to call!

“He was all the time really easy to cope with as a younger horse, and he was very easy to again. However he wasn’t very athletic, and he didn’t have that take a look at me issue.”

Jagerbomb had a handful of outings at novice as a four-year-old, below Becky and her then-stable rider Joshua Mellor.

“It was no secret that I’d have offered him at that time, however I’m so glad now I didn’t,” Becky admits. “However I by no means thought he would find yourself being my high horse.

“He all the time had essentially the most unbelievable coronary heart, although, and he’s such a trier – I might by no means fault his temperament.”

Jagerbomb’s nationwide breakthrough got here when he gained the seven-year-old ultimate and was twice runner-up within the prix st georges lessons to Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep on the Nationwide Championships.

Becky Moody: “I feel he may very well be fairly epic”

“I keep in mind within the seven-year-old class he simply piaffed all through the prize giving. It was such a beautiful feeling that the vitality and pleasure created that response in him,” Becky remembers

From that time on, Jagerbomb went from power to power. In 2022, he took house all of the small tour titles on the Winter Championships.

“As he’s getting stronger, he’s getting sharper,” Becky advised H&H. “I most likely solely college him thrice per week, which isn’t a lot at his stage. He does loads of hacking and hill work – I’m cautious to not overdo it.”

His worldwide debut got here three months later at Hartpury CDI1*, the place he once more scored a hat-trick of small tour wins.

The pair gained the inter I on 77.32% – nearly 6% away from their nearest rival – on the identical present the place Becky debuted Jagerbomb’s now-iconic Intercourse Bomb routine.

“I feel the music fits him,” Becky advised H&H after her win. “It’s because of Kim Masson, my groom – she advised Tom Jones. I resisted for a very long time, then lastly accepted that tacky was good!”

At this stage, Jagerbomb had dipped beneath 70% solely as soon as, with 31 wins from 52 begins. Nonetheless, Becky wasn’t certain he had what it took to succeed in the highest stage.

“My concern has all the time been whether or not he would have a ok engine to maintain going right through – it’s a hell of a activity,” she stated.

“However these wins gave me confidence that he’ll, as a result of I feel the extra environment he has, the higher he’s – I feel he may very well be fairly epic.”

Becky Moody: “There’s nonetheless a lot extra to come back”

Extra wins adopted on the Nationwide Championships – regardless of Becky struggling a collapsed lung lower than a month beforehand – and on the Dressage Future Elite Championships, cementing Jagerbomb’s standing because the standout small tour horse of 2022.

Becky Moody and Jagerbomb on their Nations Cup debut at Compiègne. Credit score: Kim Masson

He made his grand prix debut in February 2023, successful with 76.09% at Reaseheath Faculty.

His worldwide debut got here in Might at Hickstead CDI3*, the place he completed fourth within the grand prix on 71.02% and gained his first worldwide grand prix freestyle with 75.71%.

The remainder of 2023 was a highlights reel, capped that summer time by a 79.99% freestyle at Hartpury CDI3* and Jagerbomb’s choice as reserve for the European Championships – an achievement Becky known as “merely insane.”

A standout debut on the London Worldwide Horse Present adopted, the place the pair posted private bests to complete third in each the grand prix (75.09%) and freestyle (83.67%).

“He was phenomenal and liked each second of it, and I feel you may see that on his face,” Becky stated. “I got here right here for a lot of, a few years watching and attending to trip right here has taken fairly a very long time. However I’m right here now.

“The larger the group, the higher he’s – he simply thrives on it and actually needs to do it. He got here down the centre line saying ‘let’s go’, which is wonderful.”

An sudden Olympic call-up

In 2024, Becky and Jagerbomb stepped as much as five-star stage, inserting at each Rotterdam and Compiègne CDIO5* as a part of Britain’s Nations Cup groups, of their bid for a reserve spot on the Paris Olympics.

However only a week earlier than the Video games, destiny took a flip: following Charlotte’s withdrawal and suspension, Becky and Jagerbomb had been thrust into the highlight. They stepped onto the group below an simple cloud.

Nevertheless, smiling each step of the way in which, Becky handled the stress with grace and aplomb and conjured fabulous performances.

“I used to be anticipating a beautiful 10-day vacation in France, nevertheless it hasn’t come to that – I feel it’s fairly a bit higher,” Becky joked. “There have been moments of maximum nausea, however I haven’t felt exterior stress.”

Becky Moody driving Jagerbomb within the grand prix particular on the 2024 Paris Olympics. Credit score: Peter Nixon

Within the grand prix, Becky received the ball rolling with a mistake-free 74.93%.

“That was insane,” she stated. “What a stadium, what a crowd, what a horse! He likes to be on the market – the extra folks watching, the higher.”

Within the particular, the pair produced the check of their lives, scoring a brand new private better of 76.49% because the pathfinders to present the group a cushty margin within the race for the bronze medal.

“He’s a complete dude and such a beautiful, pretty horse,” stated Becky. “He’s been fairly spicy right here this week. Carl Hester has helped me out an terrible lot to search out that inside calm in each of us.

“Initially of the check, we had been fairly excited and didn’t actually need to stand nonetheless so we did a really fast halt – it was transient sufficient only for me to drop my hand, however as quickly as we had been there and going, we had been on it.”

Becky and Jagerbomb capped their championship debut with a sensational freestyle, scoring one other private better of 84.36% to complete eighth.

“I had just about accepted I wasn’t ever going to trip on the Olympics. Towards the tip of the 2023 season, although, that’s once I realised how good a horse Jagerbomb is,” Becky mirrored.

“I’ve change into the poster lady for ‘don’t ever hand over.’ Carry on studying, and generally desires do come true.”

Since then, the pair have firmly established themselves among the many world’s high combos.

In a full-circle second, they returned to London – the present that launched them a 12 months earlier – and beat teammates Lottie Fry and Glamourdale within the grand prix with yet one more private better of 76.7%.

Within the freestyle, they slipped down the rankings, however debuted a model new Beatles routine, putting off the Tom Jones soundtrack that had change into their signature. It felt symbolic: they had been now not the plucky underdogs. That they had arrived.

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H&H dressage and sport horse editor

Oscar graduated from York St John College with a grasp’s diploma in Literature in 2021 and joined Horse & Hound in October 2023. Oscar labored for high dressage rider Emile Faurie for 4 years after ending an equine administration course at school. Below Emile’s tutelage, Oscar competed on the 2015 Nationwide Dressage Championships and travelled with Emile’s horses to CDIs at Aachen, Vidauban, Saumur and Achlieiten. Oscar continues to compete in dressage, alongside his day job.