news Alex proves himself a Good Boy at Barbury

• Tara Jefferies and Good Boy Alex win NTF RoR Eventing Championship
• Tokyo quarantine restrictions deny Piggy March and Our Old Fella a shot at title

The NTF Retrained Racehorse Eventing Championship, sponsored by The National Trainers Federation, concluded on Sunday with an exciting finish and victory for the 9-year-old gelding, Good Boy Alex, ridden by Tara Jefferies, who took first prize with a final score of 30.8 penalties.

Held as part of the Barbury International Horse Trials, the class started on Friday when the seventeen former racehorses and their riders took their dressage tests followed by rounds of show jumping and cross-country. The top ten riders after those three phases then qualified for a final round of show jumping on Sunday to decide the winner.

Unfortunately, due to quarantine restrictions for competitors at the Tokyo Olympics taking effect over the weekend, despite leading the class at the close of Friday on Our Old Fella, Piggy French was unable to take part in the final round of show jumping on Sunday.

Having inherited the lead, Tara Jefferies and Good Boy Alex had the task of fending off a host of challenges, including from the 2018 winner, Andrew Downes and Gold Nugget, who eventually finished second and Olive Nicholls on God’s Ground who took third place.

Good Boy Alex had what can only be described as an undistinguished racing career on the Flat when trained by Alan Berry, finishing last on all but one of his six starts. Since retiring from racing aged five, Tara has slowly produced Good Boy Alex to Intermediate level having only completed their first Novice in July 2020 with the guidance of event rider, Harry Denis.

Afterwards, Tara said: “I am in total shock and could not be more proud! The plan is to hopefully keep going up the levels as he feels like has hasn’t reach his limit.”

This year the NTF Retrained Racehorse Eventing Championship returned to Barbury International Horse Trials. The class is run as an Intermediate Novice with Dressage and Showjumping at Intermediate standard but the Cross Country phase at Novice level. The top ten after the final phase on Friday were invited back to compete in a final Showjumping round to decide the overall winner.

Di Arbuthnot, Chief Executive of RoR, added: “We are thrilled with how the class went both in terms of the calibre of the horses and riders it attracted and the transfer of the event to back Barbury International Horse Trials.”