An ‘indomitable will’ and great love for his sport: farewell to top horse aged 29

The owner of the top endurance horse J St Jake has paid tribute to his “indomitable will” and love of his sport after his death aged 29.

In 18 consecutive seasons, Jake and Helen McFarland represented Ireland over some of the toughest rides there and in Britain. They completed 19 160km/100-mile rides, Jake’s last at the age of 24. Among their most notable achievements were winning the Scottish and northern championships and a premier award at the Golden Horseshoe Ride.

Helen told H&H she bought 14.2hh Jake, who was by an Arab stallion and out of a traditional Connemara mare, when he was seven.

“He was sold as a hunting pony but one who was too strong for a child!” she said. “As soon as I saw him, I knew there was Arab in him, and as soon as I rode him, I realised he loved nothing more than to go.”

Helen and Jake took on shorter rides of 40-60km in their first season together but by their second, were ready for the 160km challenge. Helen explained that it is unusual for horses to get to this level in their second season but Jake’s fitness from hunting, and junior eventing, plus his enjoyment of endurance, meant he was happy to take on the challenge.

“We did the Cairngorm 160km four times, which no other horse has done,” she said. “I think there are some who have done two but he did four, in consecutive years.

“In rides like the Cairngorm, there are fewer riders at that ultimate level so you’re often on your own, with your horse for company, so you really need to enjoy each other’s company and have a horse who’s a willing partner. And you only have to think; almost before you’ve put your leg on, the horse is keen to go.”

Jake’s love of going made him stand out, Helen said, adding: “Anyone who rode him – and very few were prepared to! – or ever saw him towing grown men around the vet gate while impatient to return to the route, realised that control was something to aspire to rather than a realistic expectation. It’s quite ignominious, being carted by a 14.2hh!

“I got the feeling, the first endurance ride I took him on; I felt him sigh, as if to say ‘This is what I was made for. Thank you’. That first ride was in the Wicklow Hills, which isn’t for the faint-hearted but after three and a half hours, he was still pulling like a train. From his first ride, he was in love with the sport and wanted nothing more than to chase down those miles. He was an absolute pet to deal with; a kind horse who no one could say a bad word about – and with an indomitable will.”

Helen also remembered the second day of a Golden Horseshoe ride when having completed 50 miles on the first day, aged 20, Jake came out ears pricked, desperate to take on the next day’s challenge.

Helen was keen to point out the differences between endurance as she knows it and that in some other countries.

“This type of endurance is the absolute opposite to certain types of competition,” she said. “It’s never about speed, we do it for the pleasure that both horse and rider get from it.”

But having recorded just over 11,000km (6,837 miles) with Helen, Jake was retired after his final Cairngorm ride in 2019; he had a minor injury a few weeks later, then the next year, a heart murmur he had became slightly more troubling.

“I thought ‘That’s it’,” Helen said. “He had a retirement anybody would be happy to have, living on 20 acres with his friend.

“He’d been great until the end of August, then started losing a bit of condition. Bloods were clear, his teeth were done and there was no obvious reason, then one morning he was gone – like everything else, he took the decision out of my hands.

“There’s no easy thing when you love them so much, it rips you apart, but I think, and hope, he had a fantastic life. He enriched everything in the 23 years we shared.”

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