Hello Jefferson

Scott Brash’s Olympic ride “Jezza” is the horse Nick Skelton would have been tempted out of retirement for, boasting a spectacular jump and bundles of charisma, as Jennifer Donald finds out

- Jennifer Donald

RIDER SCOTT BRASH

“FOUR years ago, we were looking for a horse and I went to a couple of shows where I just spent the whole day watching and looking. I saw Jefferson at Peelbergen [with previous rider Charlotte Philippe] and really liked him, but they weren’t too keen to sell at that time. However, we kept in touch and a few months later we bought him.

“I could see there was a lot of quality there – he was powerful, careful and quick – and he gave me a good feeling at the jump, but he was very sharp. There was still a lot of flatwork to be done with him – it felt like he just didn’t understand things to start with.

“When I got him home, he was actually really tricky and hard work – he has a bit of character about him! He’s very clever and has such a busy brain that he always wants to be doing something. But he’s trained on really well and we’ve grown so much as a partnership – we understand each other now and I think he’s a very special horse.