By Adriana van Tilburg (courtesy Rolex)
Photography: Courtesy Rolex: Helen Cruden and Thomas Lovelock

Bred in France by Nathalie Chevalier, Cayman Jolly Jumper (Hickstead - Riva de Pleville x Quaprice Bois Margot) is a 13-year old Selle Français gelding, known for his sharp reflexes and fiery character. Earlier this year he claimed an incredible victory in the Rolex Grand Prix at the Dutch Masters that make up the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

Only three combinations made it to the jump-off in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, and Frenchman Simon Delestre was last to go with Cayman Jolly Jumper. To secure the coveted victory they needed to produce a clear round... And they delivered. Cayman Jolly Jumper descends from an Anglo-Arabian dam line, the same lineage that also produced the famous Anglo-Arabian stallion, Nithard.

Particularly sensitive

Nathalie Chevalier vividly remembers the moment she first laid eyes on his dam, Riva de Pleville, a mare by Quaprice Bois Margot. Riva would later become the cornerstone of Chevalier’s breeding program. “I bought Riva de Pleville when she was three years old from Rodolphe Bonnet (Haras du Bois Margot), with whom I have maintained a very good relationship. I was specifically looking for a Quaprice Bois Margot (Quincy) offspring. When I saw her free-jumping, I immediately knew I had to buy her – it was love at first sight.
“She [Riva] had incredible jumping quality, even more than I initially expected, which led me to decide to conduct an embryo transfer from her. I personally created and registered the ‘Jolly Jumper’ breeding suffix under my name, Nathalie Chevalier.
“I chose Hickstead because I had seen him jumping over the jump pillars at the CSIO Jumping International La Baule, and I thought he must have had an extraordinary mindset to have achieved that.
“Cayman Jolly Jumper was born in 2012 and was the first foal born via embryo transfer from Riva de Pleville and Hickstead, and because he turned out so well, I did a second embryo transfer. Evora Jolly Jumper, the second foal, was born in 2014 from Riva de Pleville and Qlassic Bois Margot. She was double clear and tied for first place before the five-year-old final in Fontainebleau, but she was then sold before the final. Since then, she competed successfully at Spruce Meadows in Calgary (1m40/1m50) with Matthew Sampson (under the name Evora BJX), but unfortunately, she later sustained an injury.
“I officially estab-lished my horse breeding business in 2016, trans-ferring the Jolly Jumper prefix to my company. From that point on, all embryo transfers were carried out under SARL Jolly Jumper.”...

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