Funnell Takes Two at Family Fixture

British team horse Sandman 7 continues his comeback from injury with a win, one of two for Pippa Funnell.

- Pippa Roome

PERHAPS not surprisingly, Pippa Funnell is a staunch supporter of the South of England fixtures organised by her mother Jenny Nolan and brother Tim. Last weekend, she scored her 18th and 19th victories at the event in the past decade.

Her triumph in the advanced intermediate (AI) was a first win for 2015 European team silver medallist Sandman 7 — owned by Pippa, Jenny and Ruth McMullen — since his fall at Withington last year. The now 11-year-old incurred a serious neck injury, which meant he spent four months confined to his stable, with an uncertain prognosis.

“I felt a bit apprehensive at Poplar Park [his first intermediate run] and today I didn’t ride the bank well because the vets said we wouldn’t know how he’d be jumping down a big drop until he did it, but I’ve got to get over that,” said Pippa, who paid tribute to vet John Hennessy at Blackdown Equine Clinic for his part in the horse’s recovery.

“We’re taking each day as it comes, but he’s been wriggling his neck and bucking ever since he came back into work last autumn.”