From Ballindenisk’s bold fences to Bovington’s ribbons, Team Rimmer’s Basil, Max, Ippo and Jimmy gave Jess their best year yet
It’s the end of the season! When I tell you March felt like yesterday …
September saw us make a very exciting trip to Ireland with Basil (The Spice Merchant) to compete at Ballindenisk in the 4L. Ordinarily we would aim for the prestigious Blenheim Palace for our September 4L, but this year it hosted the FEI Senior European Eventing Championships – a showcase of the very best of the sport.
GB senior team selection remains the stuff of dreams for Team Rimmer, so off to Ballindenisk we headed – and wow, what an adventure!
Irish eventing has a reputation for being relaxed, fun and slightly chaotic – I think we can safely say Ballindenisk lived up to every expectation and more with its friendly, family-run team, a brilliant cross country track and an underground bar with a surplus of wine. We worked hard, played hard and learned a huge amount.
A little excitement crept into our dressage test, and the cross country track was unlike anything I’ve seen before. It was the biggest challenge Basil and I have faced together by far … big, bold and seriously rewarding of positive riding – which (in theory) suited us just fine. I felt very lucky to be sitting behind such brave, genuine ears – Basil read and understood every question with those ears pricked, jumping one of only 17 clears from 33 starters. Good boy Basil!
Saturday night brought the famous Ballindenisk’s Got Talent show in that underground bar. Rest assured I won’t be hanging up my boots to pursue a singing career any time soon. We celebrated our cross-country in true Irish style before a bright, early trot-up under the September sun.
Despite his efforts on the Irish terrain the previous day, Basil trotted up with a spring in his step and showjumped superbly. I was disappointed to have let him down at fence 3, costing us a double clear, but it’s easy to forget that nine months ago I’d never even sat on Basil! To finish top 20 at this level, with such a new partnership, really is the stuff of dreams. It’s a huge credit to Basil, his owners and our incredible team at home.
Autumn campaign
Although Ballindenisk was our “big” autumn aim, our season was far from over. While Basil enjoyed some well-earned downtime, Jimmy, Max and Ippo still had work to do, with a busy run of autumn events on the horizon.
And boy, did they deliver!
Max won his Novice section at our local event, Bovington, with Ippo close behind in fourth. At Swalcliffe, Ippo improved again for third and Max – not to be outdone – finished second. Jimmy’s feeling properly established at Novice now: although I haven’t let the handbrake off enough to let him win another red ribbon, he finished eighth at Swalcliffe with another consistent run.
We finished our season at one of my favourite internationals, Bicton. Being one of our relatively local events (and home to my first ever BE win), Bicton will always be a special way to end the year. To finish with two horses in the top five of the 2L was the icing on the 2025 cake. Ippo was just superb – finishing on his dressage score of 31 to come second, my best three-day result yet. Max wasn’t far behind, also finishing on his dressage score for fifth. Seeing both in the final-day prizegiving was something special. Such a credit to these two fabulous horses. Jimmy competed in the 2S, where I yet again wouldn’t take the handbrake off (sorry, Jimmy!) – he’s still a little too gangly for Bicton’s hills. Even so, he finished just outside the top 20 in a big section – and although he wasn’t in the ribbons I couldn’t be more pleased with how easy he made it all feel.
He is a real horse for the future … we just have to wait for his body to catch up with his brain!
Whoops, a bit of a lengthy update from our autumn campaign, sorry! And I’m only brushing the surface. You can imagine the mammoth effort behind the scenes. I couldn’t be more grateful to our owners, sponsors and the incredible home team who work tirelessly (and often unseen) to keep the wheels – and hooves – turning.
Time now for a well-earned break for both horses and humans, before regrouping for what’s shaping up to be an exciting 2026 (Oh, and Ballindenisk – can we come back, please?).
