Oliver Edgecombe rides Inca NZPH Credit: KAMPIC / Sarah Lord
Brooke Edgecombe needs little introduction to the jumping scene, the fantastic partnership she had with the lovely LT Holst Andrea has seen her pick up pretty much every NZ title you could wish for. But she is also a highly appraised young horse producer, and this hard work has come to fruition this season with her very comfortably taking out the Equitak Excel 6 Year Old Breeding Series with Inca NZPH.
“She is lovely to work with, very trainable and workmanlike. I can put her under pressure against the clock and it doesn’t seem to faze her which is a really nice feeling as a young horse”.
Whilst Brooke didn’t chase the series, the consistency of this lovely young Up to You mare evidently paid off in the long run. “It seems to be that if you have a nice constant horse, you are rewarded with the win. Just focus on the shows you want to go to, go out and jump good rounds and the series prizes fall into place”.
No truer words spoken, as Inca NZPH won two of the most highly contended titles. The first being with Brooke at the National Young Horse Show and then topping the season off with husband Oliver winning the 6 Year Old of the Year at HOY to secure the win in the series.
“It’s very handy and convenient to have a pretty good catch rider like Oliver to pick up the reins when needs be, and he was very good at taking instruction too!”
When asked if Oliver would be taking over the reins next season, Brooke replied with a very firm NO! “Last year, after the cyclone, I catch rode Takapoto Tinka at the Takapoto show and I loved her, but Oliver was very quick to replace me. So no, he won’t be taking over the ride on Inca although he did a great job when I was away”.
Again, as many know, Brooke made the tough decision to leave Oliver and daughter Sophie for a couple of months and headed across the globe with her superstar Andrea, to compete in the mighty USA! As they settled into the technical courses and a different way of going, their journey was cut short just as they started to find their feet. This unfortunate circumstance left Brooke with the heartbreaking decision to leave Andrea in America, in a breeding retirement home where she will want for nothing, and return to the land of the long white cloud alone.
“Knowing I had Inca to come home to made me feel slightly better about leaving Andrea. Andrea had the biggest heart and would do anything for you, I don’t think there will be another horse like Andrea – for me anyway, and I get quite sad thinking about that. But Inca is careful with lots of scope and is showing all the right signs to progress up the grades to hopefully jump the bigger tracks. While she certainly has very big shoes to fill, I am excited about her future, and I hope I get to keep her long term. But when you have a nice one, they become harder to hold on to!”.
Brooke also expressed her gratitude to fellow competitor and friend Julie Davey who produced Inca in her early years. Opportunities like this don’t come around that often, Julie had plans to go overseas which have unfortunately been postponed, so I’m very lucky to have her and thankful to Julie for allowing me to buy her”.
Inca is now on a well deserved break for a couple of months, and whilst Brooke states that it’s “almost an impossibility to replace Andrea”, Inca is the one that she hopes will bring her future success.
Elanco is a global animal health company working to advocate for their customers, and innovating to improve the health of animals through products, expertise, and service. Ultramox and Equitak Excel are trademarks of Elanco. This season they have sponsored the Six Year old Breeding series under the Equitak Excel product. Equitak Excel is a 3-in-1 combination wormer for the treatment and control of all roundworms, tapeworms, bot and abamectin resistant parascaris equorum in horses, helping them live healthy, quality lives.
Final Series Results:
1st Inca NZPH (76 points)
owned and ridden by Brooke Edgecombe
Sire Up to You / Dam Cinnamon NZPH by Pezatas du Rouet
Breeder New Zealand Sport Horses
2nd Parisian Affair (61)
Owned by Paula Brocklehurst and ridden by Jaime Campbell
Sire Euro Sport Centavos / Dam Total Eclipse by John
Breeder Paula Brocklehurst
3rd Double J Saga (42)
Owned by Wendy Jacobs and Kimberly Carrington, ridden by Kimberly Carrington
Sire Euro Sport Centavos / Dam Double J Barmaid by Double J Repicharge
Breeder Double J Stud
=4th Haupouri Incognito (40)
Owned and ridden by Heloise Tolo
Sire Amant Du Chateau / Haupouri Du Jour NZPH by Kannan
Breeder Haupouri Sport Horses
=4th Stiletto C (40)
Owned and ridden by Vicki Prendergast
Sire Cohinoor VDL / Sofee by Powerfee
Breeder Vicki Prendergast
6th Gladiator ECPH (39)
owned by Nicki Booth, ridden by Logan Massie
Sire Grand Slam VDL / Dam Phoebe Nimmerdor by Ephebe For Ever
Breeder East Coast Performance Horses
24 May 2024