FOXHAM’S Georgie Spence heads to Badminton this year with an entry on Wii Limbo, a horse she has produced up the levels from an unbroken three-year-old, writes Nicki Strong.

Spence is understandably proud of the achievement and admits it means more to get there entirely on her own work.

She said of her charge, whose stable name is Woody: “(It means) so much more. I bought Woody as an unbroken three-year-old and he has just surpassed all expectations. Taking him up through the levels myself has been great, he’s a super horse.”

The pair had their first event of the season at Gatcombe recently, with a solid result in the Advanced Intermediate.

“He is feeling fantastic, although we did get just a little bit stuck in the mud. We had a fence down showjumping which was completely my fault, and then had a really strong cross-country round,” said Spence “Belton CIC three-star will probably be his only run before Badminton but if I feel he needs the run we might go to Withington, but would probably withdraw before the showjumping.”

“He has lot of scope so I know he can do the fences, but he is also just so gutsy with a massive heart, and a real fight to the end determination. I’ve grown up with Badminton very nearby so it’s my home event really so there should be plenty of local support.”

Spence is also looking forward to the next batch coming through and has seven horses currently ready to compete for the season.

She revealed: “I have two very smart seven-year-olds who will be aimed towards Hartpury two-star and also the seven-year-old championships. Billy Ball is a particularly exciting horse owned by Lucy Fleming and he came from the Billy Stud.

“He just produced a double clear for sixth place at Gatcombe. He’s almost the opposite to Woody in some ways, he is very genuine with huge scope but can be quite nervous so goes a lot on trust.

“That means he can also lose confidence quite easily. I bought him two years ago when he was just backed, but he’s grown in confidence massively since then.”