Becky Moody’s homebred partner Jagerbomb doesn’t have the dramatic extended trot of Mount St. John, the enormous canter of Glamourdale, nor the airy passage and expressive piaffe of TSF Dalera BB. But what he lacks in “flash” he more than makes up for in correctness.
That’s precisely what moved Moody and 12-year-old KWPN gelding to the top of the Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup Final leaderboard on Thursday in Fort Worth, TX.
“He’s not exceptional at anything, but he’s just really good at everything,” Moody said with a smile, moments after her test. “And the better the crowd, the more he loves it.”
The British rider and her “sweetest of sweethearts” produced a fluid, mistake-free test in Dickies Arena earning a score of 76.761% from the judges. It was half a percentage point off their personal best in the Grand Prix of 77.239%.
The atmosphere, Moody said, added to the challenge—and their performance.
“It was really hard to stay focused going around the edge because the crowd was so enthusiastic. I heard, ‘We love your outfit, Becky!’ and I was thinking, ‘Concentrate, concentrate,’” she recalled. “You can hear the communal intake of breath when someone has a little glitch. You really feel they’re behind you, which is so lovely.”
For Jagerbomb, a homebred sired by Dante Weltino OLD and out of Moody’s own former Grand Prix mare Udysee, the journey to Texas marked his first transatlantic flight—and a major milestone in their long-time partnership.
“He’s only ever competed in Europe, so flying him here was the most stressful part for me. But he coped really well,” she continued.
“When you’ve bred them yourself, it just adds an extra layer that makes the journey super special—working together, developing together, making mistakes together and getting better together. I don’t have children; he’s my pride and joy. He is the sweetest of sweethearts. Ever since we backed him as a three-and-a-half-year-old, he was super straightforward and very trainable—maybe a little lazy and not super exciting.”
After one round, the unexceptional-everything horse has an exceptional shot at the title.