ONE of the world’s best known event horses, the thoroughbred gelding Over To You, was put down recently at the age of 34. He had been retired from international competition in 2008 having finished 13th of 41 in the CIC3*-W at Tattersalls under his longtime partner, Britian’s Jeanette Brakewell.

While the chesnut spent most of his life in England, he was bred in Co Wexford by Mary Lett out of her Gala Performance mare Another Miller who ran once on the flat, three times in bumpers and twice over hurdles without winning. She was a half-sister to the Deep Run gelding Danny Harrold who won two bumpers, two hurdle races (and was placed many times at the top level), one chase and two point-to-points, and to the dams of Glazeaway and Boston Bob.

Over To You was by the French-bred Over The River who stood with the Hickey family at Garryrichard Stud. He was noted as a sire of staying chasers including the Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, Cool Ground (1992) and Cool Dawn (1998). They were both purchased as young horses by the late Tom Costello and it was that renowned Co Clare dealer who bought Over To You as a foal and sold him as a two-year-old to British client Tony Clegg.

Sent into training the following year with Tom Tate, Over To You showed little promise as a racehorse and was despatched to Doncaster Sales (now Goffs UK) where he failed the vet. He returned to the Cleggs where Irish international event rider Jonty Evans was working at the time and he was given the task of reschooling Over To You for life as a competition horse.

It was by chance that Jeanette Brakewell came to ride Over To You, whose stable-name was Jack, but the combination, who began competing together when the horse was five, came to be known worldwide in eventing circles, particularly as pathfinders for British teams at European and World championships and two Olympic Games.

Their record together shows that they won team silver at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 and team gold at four consecutive European Championships – Luhmühlen (1999), Pau (2001), Punchestown (2003), where they failed to finish having fallen at the water, and Blenheim (2005). While Brakewell often said it was difficult to pinpoint Jack’s greatest performance, they recorded their best result when adding individual silver to team bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera.

On the home international circuit, Brakewell and Over To You finished third at Badminton in 2003, fifth there in 2005 and fourth in 2006. With two fences down show jumping, he finished seventh at Burghley in 2006.

A couple of by-the-bys... The late Tom Costello took a big interest in the career of Over To You but the chesnut wasn’t the first top-class eventer sourced by the Co Clare dealer who sold the 1968 Mexico Olympics British team gold and individual silver medallist Lochinvar to Monica and Tony Dickinson.

There must be plenty of eventers out of Over The River mares competing here and in Britain but we know for sure that there are a number of such horses listed on the Showjumping Ireland website including the Amaretto Darco mare GRS Lady Amaro.

The now nine-year-old was bred by Denis Hickey whose son Patrick amassed 118 SJI points on the chestnut and campaigned her in France and Belgium last year before selling her to his cousin, international rider Mark McAuley. The new combination competed at five-star level at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida early this year, all over Europe during the summer and, on Thursday, won the opening five-star class at CHI Geneva.

GRS Lady Amaro is out of Legal Lady who comes from the family of Into The Red and Over The Road. The 1995 mare had eight thoroughbred foals before producing Irish Sport Horses, GRS Lady Amaro being followed by a 2018 colt by Romanov named MBF Patrick Romanov.