David Broome recalls his ride at the 1969 European Showjumping Championships...
Mister Softee and I were in third place as the final day of the European Championships at Hickstead dawned in 1969. I knew that if I took the last leg we could win.
I had been riding Mister Softee for about three years by that point and I knew him pretty well. He must have been 15 or 16. He was a cool horse, but sharp in his reactions. He was very quick with a wonderful technique, his front end just disappeared and that’s what made him so efficient over a fence.
There were two rounds left to be jumped, both against the clock. The first round was over 18 jumps – the first six fences made up the speed element, the second part comprised six puissance-style fences and the last six were Nations Cup fences.
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