High And Mighty
Horse & Hound|January 07, 2021
The dun gelding took consecutive Badminton titles in the 1950s, and put the “glamour girl” of eventing Sheila Willcox on the map. Madeleine Silver charts his swift – and turbulent – rise to the top
Madeleine Silver
High And Mighty

WATCHING High And Mighty thrashing around in merciless sinking sand, Sheila Willcox – who died in 2017 – wondered if she was about to lose the gelding that she’d brought home to Lancashire just a few short months earlier.

Hacking in the country behind the seaside town of Lytham, she had approached a stream which “Chips” had leapt at in an effort to stay dry, resulting in both horse and rider landing in the water. Scrambling out, Sheila turned to see her new mount trying in vain to reach the bank. A breathless dash to a nearby farm followed, and Chips was rescued with a tractor.

As her brother John Willcox says: “Sheila was always good with horses, but I think she had a particularly good bond with High And Mighty – and I would imagine that got a bit stronger when she saved his life.”

It wasn’t the only episode that threatened to derail Chips’ career – which would climax with consecutive Badminton titles in 1957 and 1958, as well as the team and individual medals at the 1957 European Eventing Championships – before it had begun. While temporarily stabled with Blackpool’s beach ponies, he was accidentally mistaken by the knackerman for a pony that needed to be destroyed, being saved in the nick of time by a stable hand.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 07, 2021 من Horse & Hound.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 07, 2021 من Horse & Hound.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من HORSE & HOUND مشاهدة الكل
City Of Troy hailed as greatest ever
Horse & Hound

City Of Troy hailed as greatest ever

The megastar colt silences his critics with an emphatic Derby success and there's plenty to celebrate for the Gredley family in the historic race

time-read
2 mins  |
June 06, 2024
Head in the Games
Horse & Hound

Head in the Games

Caring for elite horses is something a world leading groom takes in their stride, but how do they tackle their day job when their charge is an Olympic competitor? Bethany Stone asks those all-important questions

time-read
5 mins  |
June 06, 2024
Horserail continues to set the pace
Horse & Hound

Horserail continues to set the pace

More than 25 years on since launching its unique plastic fencing, Horserail is still making strides in the equestrian fencing market with its innovation

time-read
2 mins  |
June 06, 2024
Changes through the ages
Horse & Hound

Changes through the ages

Horse management has unquestionably revolutionised over the past 14 decades – but is it always for the better? Catherine Austen charts the changes

time-read
8 mins  |
June 06, 2024
'A great joy thousands of soldiers'
Horse & Hound

'A great joy thousands of soldiers'

Throughout World War II, the Horse & Hound team never missed publishing the magazine, despite the editor being killed in a bombing, sport being decimated and the printers being shelled. Former H&H deputy editor Pippa Cuckson discovers a Blitz-spirit mentality that held the magazine together and boosted morale in those dark years

time-read
7 mins  |
June 06, 2024
'Every Whitaker is successful in one way or another
Horse & Hound

'Every Whitaker is successful in one way or another

As part of H€9H’s 140th anniversary, we've been celebrating Britain’s eminent rider families with a series of interviews. In our fourth and final instalment, we meet four of the Whitaker dynasty: Michael, John, Jack and Robert

time-read
8 mins  |
June 06, 2024
Cover in glory
Horse & Hound

Cover in glory

The great and the good of the equestrian world remember the first time they featured in H&9H. Luz Wollocombe speaks to the superstars

time-read
9 mins  |
June 06, 2024
A tricky start
Horse & Hound

A tricky start

Health problems in the first phases of life require prompt attention. Equine nurse Samantha Feighery RVN discusses common disorders in newborn foals

time-read
7 mins  |
June 06, 2024
'Every Finnish person is mad about the Olympics'
Horse & Hound

'Every Finnish person is mad about the Olympics'

Six-time Olympian Kyra Kyrklund discusses competing behind the Iron Curtain, sleeping in the stable and coping when calamity strikes

time-read
4 mins  |
June 06, 2024
Private investigator
Horse & Hound

Private investigator

Sean Memory is a retired detective now assisting the National Trainers Federation, dealing with online and in-person abuse

time-read
3 mins  |
June 06, 2024