Ireland's Billy Twomey enjoyed an amazing run of success at the 2016 BHS Royal International Horse Show, including a win in the Longines BHS King George V Gold Cup. Victoria Goff spoke to him about his golden run.
Can there be any better feeling for a sportsman than hitting one of those golden runs of success, when you can do nothing wrong, when the wins just keep on coming? That was the case for Ireland’s Billy Twomey last summer at the Longines Royal International Horse Show when he picked up an incredible four international victories in the space of four days, including the €200,000 Longines King George V Gold Cup. “There is a lot to be said for times when you’ve got your tail up and are full of confidence,” said Billy after his King George win.
What was more remarkable was that he’d also been crowned leading rider of the show at Dublin the week before his Hickstead triumph, with two seconds in international speed classes and a win in the Speed Derby. Twelve months on and he’s more philosophical about that extraordinary purple patch last summer. “It’s happened to me a few times in the past, at the Belfast International Horse Show one year I was first or second in every class. Sometimes you get a run of form like that. The most obvious thing is that it helps your confidence levels knowing you can go in there and win.”
It was Billy’s first victory in the Longines King George V Gold Cup, making him the first Irishman to lift the famous gold trophy since Kevin Babington in 2003. The feature Grand Prix saw 13 riders go clear in the first round, with Billy having the enviable last draw. Keeping a cool head, he was able to shave almost half a second off Wout-Jan Van Der Schans’ leading time, despite an awkward moment when his foot somehow got stuck in the loop of his reins. Incredibly, Billy’s chestnut mare Lizziemary had never set foot in the International Arena before her victory, but he knew it would suit her. “Ordinarily, horses need to know that arena, but she’s really brave and has a big rangy gallop that covers the ground, so it suits her,” he said after his win.
It was a class he’d always wanted to add to his CV. “It’s very special. It’s one of those historic classes that have been around for more than 100 years, and a lot of great riders have won it in the past. Only the best riders in the world are eligible to compete at the show, and I’m fortunate it all came together for me on the day,” says the Cork-born rider, who turned 40 this year.
Billy describes his winning horse as ‘a real chestnut mare’ – she’s quirky, but incredibly talented. “She’s extremely competitive, she’s always looking for her turns and for her next fence, ready to help you,” he says of the 11-year-old mare, who has since been sold to the States. “She has a lot of blood and lot of energy, everything she does she does quickly.” Emma-Jo Slater had originally produced Lizziemary, before Billy got offered the ride. “A lot of my good horses have come from Kim Barzilay, where Tinka’s Serenade came from, and Kim sent Lizziemary on to me.”
His other three international wins at this show last year were the Bunn Leisure Salver with Diaghilev, plus the British Speed Classic and the Bunn Leisure Vase with Thomas. But it wasn’t just at the Longines Royal International Horse Show where Billy picked up prizemoney, he was also in the ribbons at the Hickstead Derby Meeting, winning the Tom Hudson Derby Trophy with Thomas and finishing runner-up in the Derby itself with Diaghilev. “Hickstead has always been a good place for me, ever since I was in Young Riders, though I could do with a bit more luck in the Derby – I’ve been second five times!” he says, somewhat wryly.
Two four-fault rounds with the 14-year-old bay gelding Diaghilev have seen Billy take the Derby runner-up spot for the past two years, yet a win in Hickstead’s legendary class still eludes them. The horse boasts an impressive Derby record, winning Hamburg’s version last summer, and you wouldn’t be surprised to see the pair finally conquer the Al Shira’aa Derby course at Hickstead. What’s unusual about Diaghilev – these days at least – is that he’s as at home jumping over Derby fences as he is in Grand Prix classes or five-star Nations Cups. In addition to his run of success at Hickstead last summer, Billy and Diaghilev produced a clear and a four-fault round in the FEI Nations Cup of Great Britain, helping Ireland to a very close second place behind Germany.
“He’s a very versatile horse and so brave, he’s not bothered by water, ditches or anything. He’s got a lot of blood too so he doesn’t get tired and has a lot of energy,” says Billy, who is keen to disprove the theory that you need to have a specialist horse to do a Derby. “In the 1970s and 1980s, all the best Grand Prix horses would also jump in the Derby, it was just a case of getting their eye in over a few Derby fences beforehand. Nowadays there’s this idea that a good Derby horse wouldn’t be able to jump a Grand Prix, but that’s not the case. I think people can get a bit precious about it.”
Billy hails from a very horsey family - his mother ran a riding school near Cork, his uncle Kelvin was a National Hunt trainer, his aunt was a showjumping trainer and his grandmother officiated at major shows. He won the 128cms championship at Dublin and worked his way up the levels in showjumping, before making the move on to horses. A stint in Holland to train with Albert Voorn was followed by a move to England, and from there the teenage Billy landed a job as stable jockey to none other than Michael Whitaker. “Michael is a brilliant teacher and I can't put a value on the experience I gained with him,” he says.
He later set up a yard of his own with his partner Joanne, now his wife, initially in Leicestershire and then in Nantwich in Cheshire. He has enjoyed plenty of international success, with top horses including Luidam, Je T'Aime Flamenco, Tinka’s Serenade and Romanov, and has competed at two European Championships, two FEI World Cup Finals, two FEI World Equestrian Games and represented Ireland as an individual at the London Olympics.
In 2011, the Twomey family moved to a new base in Nottinghamshire, and he has spent the years since crafting the house and yard into a stunning family home and top-class training facility. “We’ve got 20 stables there, and I also have my own grass jumping arena with various Hickstead-style fences set up, which I’m lucky to be able to train over,” he says.
Billy has been competing at the highest levels for the best part of two decades, travelling to shows all over the world, but he always loves coming to Hickstead because his wife Joanne and their three children, Lily, Evie and George, are able to join him. “Last year there was me, three kids and three dogs all sleeping in a campervan, and I kept being woken up at 5am by dogs barking, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It’s great to have the kids and Joanne here to support me, I’m usually competing all over the world so I was really proud they were there to watch me win the King George.”
And while he might have to wait a few years to have quite so many international wins all in the space of a week at Hickstead, it’s a place he loves coming to. “The Bunn family is great, and the arena is phenomenal, it’s one of the best four in the world: Calgary, Aachen, Dublin and Hickstead.” High praise indeed.
This article first appeared in July 2017.
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