Our most recent additions to the team, Sue Little and Khan, have been nicked from the Thoroughly Breds. Sue must be one of the most desirable pieces of stolen property in the Team Chasing World. She is unfailingly cheerful, never refuses a request to ride, shares our evil sense of humour, drinks like a good ‘un and oops, nearly forgot – boy can she ride! She is now a jealously guarded member of the team. Having Sue on board was the equine equivalent of signing Wayne Rooney. In the real world Sue is head of Science at Cheltenham school and can tell us the atomic number of every element….

Photograph Courtesy PCImages

Photograph Courtesy PCImages

Angie Murphie on Lad is the perfect third horse. It’s always said that a really good horses usually distinguish themselves by being a bit quirky. Lad suffers from no quirk deficiency. He bites, wind sucks, cribs, weaves and makes it his business to tread on your toes whenever he gests half a chance. He is the most fabulous point to pointer and won best performing pointer in the area three years ago. So Open Team Chasing for him is a retirement! He lives out on top of a Welsh hill and on a competition day, Angie’s alarm clock goes off at 4.30, she stomps across a muddy field in the pitch black to find the little toad hiding behind a tree. This Autumn season Angie and Lad have put in a one hundred per cent performance. Angie has a particular brand of super glue which never fails her and she is always up with the leaders at the finishing line ensuring excellent times this Season.

Nicky Wenban has the best cv of all of us and indeed continues to teach us to ride. Nicky has completed Badminton twice and is an invaluable asset course walking telling us exactly what we can do and where. And reminding us on the way round……. Again she has been a fabulous performer this Season and has been faultless over fences at every outing. And don’t the photos and videos prove it! Style and ability oozes! Even more exciting, Nicky’s daughter Bryony is riding for the Teme Valley Cubs so there will be generations of Tigers to come.

Any member of the Tigers is sufficiently talented to be lead rider, but because Sarah Myhill does the entries and provides the beers at the end, she is cheeky enough to slap her name down first. Sarah rides her 17hh Belgium Warmblood dressage horse Queen Van T Bakkershop (otherwise known as Maggie) whose special interest is bucking her rider off. This occurs regularly out eventing (who else has been bucked off in a dressage test…?) but she goes too dammed fast Chasing to stick in a buck. Sarah and Maggie are both painfully aware they are on a sharp learning curve but the Team have been good enough to put with them this Season.

When Sarah Myhill received a telephone call from Hannah Jordan in the Summer, little did she know what a talent was at the end of the line. At the first outing to the Grafton Intermediate Team Chase Sarah was astounded to see Hannah in touch the whole round, culminating in a win! Not bad for a first outing! Hannah and Hamish have shown themselves to be very consistent performers and Myhill’s main worry is that she will be knocking on the door of lead rider…..

Photograph Courtesy PCImages

Lightening can’t strike twice. Or so we thought until Helen Goodwin joined the Tiggers with Crystal. Myhill’s job is definitely on the line. Helen has been quite incredible. Again, new to Chasing, she has taken to it like a duck to water, competed like an experienced old hand and never failed to put in a first class performance, culminating in a win at the North Cotswold, and with it the Total Recall League Championship. The amazing thing is how cool she is about it – totally unassuming and generous – so anyone who moans about modern young people have something to answer for……. So anybody who reads this website – you must know that Hannah and Helen have a price on their heads!

The third regular performer is Sarah Myhill on her darling Con. He distinguished himself whilst at Hindlip College as a ride for the students by filling the accident book with so many incidents that he had to be sent home to his owner Carola Morrison. Carola has been generous enough to loan Con to Sarah where he has proved himself a wonderful Chaser. Even when the impossible is asked of him he rises to the occasion and is the most photogenic horse because his ears are invariably forward. He has to lead because Sarah can’t hold him in any other place!

For the Autumn Season we have had several fourth riders. At the Bicester Robert Hodges rode for us on Maggie (Sarah’s Open horse). This was his first Team Chase ever and it was an Open. Although he won Best Point to Point Jockey for the Area in 2004, he confessed that he had never been so frightened in his life, nor jumped so big! He put in a first class performance and declared himself a Team Chasing addict at the end! Neil Warrilow also rode at the Pytchley and did his usual job of shouting us round! At the North Cotswold, Nettie Higgins rode at the rear and was the perfect insurance policy!