As we near the halfway mark in 2021, several riders have made some notable edits to their competitive string including Lorette Knowles-Taylor, Liam Stevens, Rainer Korber, and Jeanne Korber. But another rider, Ronnie Healy, has also had some changes to his competitive string with the return of his second 1.50m horse, Blue Turtle Atmore.
October of 2019 was the last time Atmore was seen in competition and while most of 2020 was written off due to the global pandemic, many fans were wondering if he would be returning to competition. The graded event hosted by Burlington Stables at the end of February was the event that saw the competitive gelding make his return much to the delight of his fanbase. While only in the 1.10m heights, the following event, Puresan Stokkiesdraai Cup, saw the gelding step up into the 1.20m heights and by Easter Festival, Atmore was back in the 1.30m classes.
With Ronnie losing the ride on Hausberger’s Eldo to wife Ashlee Healy who has now returned after a year’s hiatus, the addition of Atmore to his competitive string is a great way to ensure his strength at the top levels of the sport, along with his other grey gelding Catweazle, and his up and coming talents, Cornet’s Mandarino and Blue Turtle Capital Magic Boy.
Blue Turtle Catweazle has been a stellar partner to Ronnie at the top heights and while there were a few shows early on in the year where the gelding appeared to be unsettled, his recent performances including a 2nd in one of the President’s Cup classes and his 5th place at the recent Outdoor Grand Prix have seen the gelding back in top form to enable Ronnie to competitively aim for his first South African 1.50m title.
-The JumpOff-
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