Stuart Jenkins and the nine-year-old mare Fairview Alicana won the 2023 Australian Senior Jumping Championship in Sydney last week.

The bay was totally consistent right through the three days of competition winning the first round, fourth in round two and second in the final round.

At a time where megadollars are paid for imported showjumping horses, even for junior riders, it’s pleasing that Alicana is home-bred.

Her dam, RSB Jacana, was bred by Debbie Warne, supposedly to make her name as a dressage horse from a mare called Northern Cue by Meteor from Peter and Jan Powles’ stud.

“She came to us as a three-year-old,” said Becky Jenkins, explaining that her breeders decided she might make a better jumper as she kept jumping out of her paddock.

“I rode her and competed on her most of her life. Stuart did ride her also with success in big classes.”

Jacana had an injury, so while she was in the paddock recovering, she was put in foal to Fairview Aliquidam, a horse bred by Adam and Heidi Meller, bought by Stuart as a young horse and campaigned before being sold to Irish showjumping rider Denis Lynch and competing successfully overseas.

Alicana was the result of the mating.

“After recovering, Jacana then returned to competition till five years ago we tried to get a foal again and we lost the pair of them,” Becky said, so Alicana is one of a kind.

Brought along carefully, the young mare showed a lot of talent, but Becky said with a sigh “she’s not for me, we just don’t get along that well, but for Stuart it’s another matter”.

Nine is young by top level showjumping standards and Alicana has bloomed over the last year.

With Stuart riding, she was leading young horse at Sydney and the Brisbane Ekka last year and this year at Brisbane she won all the part one events, the Grand Prix, was leading young horse and leading part one horse. She won and placed in every event at Melbourne Royal.

So where to from here?

“We are going to get some embryos out of her so we have the line,” Becky said.

“As for other plans, there’s nothing in concrete we are just enjoying the experience at this stage.”

This article appeared on The Regional on 8 November 2023.

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