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‘I want to end on a high’: 19-year-old horse with unique style to retire after 11 five-star runs

Pippa Roome Pippa Roome

    • Emily Hamel’s ride Corvett will retire from top-level eventing today after the showjumping at Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (26 April).

    The big-jumping grey owned by Black Flag Option LLC celebrates his 19th birthday today and, all being well in the final phase, will complete his 11th five-star this afternoon. The pair are in the elite group of combinations who have completed all the northern hemisphere five-stars.

    “He’s great and I want to end on a high,” said Emily after her clear jumping round across country yesterday with the horse known as Barry.

    “Corvett won’t fully retire — he would hate that – but he’ll do something else, like some showcases. Maybe I’ll go do the jumpers [showjumping].”

    Emily and Corvett had four time-faults yesterday and sit 11th going into showjumping.

    “He used to be even more fresh, which had its moments, but it’s a little easier to have discussions with him now,” she said. “And he really understands the game, so it’s fun. He knows to look for the flags and even if it gets a little sticky, he’s going fight to get out.

    “I was trying for the time but it’s hard out there and we do waste a little time in the air.”

    Emily said she may be “a complete mess” at the end of showjumping today.

    “My whole thing this weekend was to enjoy the ride, knowing that this is our last one,” she said. “So I was just trying to take it all in while we were going round the cross-country and it really did feel like everything slowed down.

    “I could hear people, say, ‘Go Barry’ and it was just really, really cool.”

    Emily and Corvett have jumped clear across country in eight of their 11 five-star runs.

    Last year at Kentucky, the rider had to perform an incredible save to stay on in the showjumping when one of Barry’s helicopter leaps when stratospheric.

    Five-star tally for Emily Hamel and Corvett

    • 2021: Kentucky, 21st
    • 2021: Maryland, 14th
    • 2022: Badminton, 52nd
    • 2022: Burghley, 2oth
    • 2023: Kentucky, 10th
    • 2023: Maryland, 11th
    • 2024: Luhmühlen, 15th
    • 2024: Maryland, seventh
    • 2025: Kentucky, 12th
    • 2025: Pau, 14th
    • 2026: Kentucky – the pair will hopefully complete their 11th five-star this afternoon

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    Pippa Roome
    Pippa Roome

    H&H magazine editor and eventing editor
    Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
    Pippa Roome

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