Local showjumping legend, Billy Raymont, has furthered his lead in the 2024 Australian FEI World Cup series by winning his third consecutive World Cup qualifier competition on his unstoppable mount Caprino.
Billy had two horses in the competition, 12-year-old Caprino, and his nine-year-old grey stallion Tulara Dakchico. Only one horse per rider can score points in these qualifier competitions, and Billy is so far ahead of his competitors that he could afford to nominate his less experienced grey horse for the points. Tulara Dakchico came fifth against the best in the nation, so scored some more World Cup points for Billy, enough to give him an unbeatable lead, without him having to compete in the final WC qualifier round in Sale, Victoria, in February. The idea of this was to ready both horses for Europe, in 2025, so that both horses can compete in Hong Kong in February, on the way to the World Cup Final, in Basel Switzerland, in April.
In their latest competition, the Sydney Summer Classic Showjumping World Cup Qualifier, Caprino jumped a sizzling clear first round, over two seconds ahead of his nearest rival. This meant they would be the last to jump in the second round jump off, and Billy would be able to gauge just how fast he needed to go to take the win. He said afterwards, “Caprino was in great form and when you’re hot, you’re hot… I felt a bit of a cowboy after I came out, a bit of a barrel racer. I rode him from his ears to his tail, but he really responded to it, and you know when they feel like that, you get the first fence and it’s on, you can really give it to them. I knew Kerm (Jamie Kermond) was very quick, with one fence down, and I had to either be very careful to jump clear, but the time was just tight enough that it was hard to be that careful, so I felt I had to cover both bases and open him up a gear and give a little more space to the jumps, and actually use his neck and shoulder a bit more… it felt amazing.
“It’s kind of exciting. Maybe go to the World Cup final and not just be there, but have a crack from day one. It’d be cool to be in that situation.”
About his other mount, Tulara Dakchico, Billy explained his plan, “He’s a very good jumper, but he’s greener than he looks. Because of his size I’ve been very careful to go easy on him along the way, but he’s nine now and he’s old enough that I can chip away at getting him fitter and stronger, get the miles into him now. He’s an every day of the week, big fence horse… I think the temperature got to him, although its a bit rainy, it’s quite hot, quite humid, and I could feel both horses struggling a little bit. But Caprino is just a little bit older, you know, he’s blowing, but he’s just fitter.
“I’m really excited about both horses, so I’m hoping sponsors will come on board and help with a long campaign: World Cup final, World Championships in 2026 and Olympics in LA. I think I’ve got the horse power – three, not one – which is a pretty exciting prospect.”
Billy has been travelling from home with his wife, Tesse, who also competes, his four month old daughter, Lainie, and two grooms. The owners of Caprino and Tulara Dakchico are also behind this campaign. His third horse is Blue Balou, a talented young stallion that is rapidly climbing the ranks.
Billy has had extensive overseas experience, having won the Australian WC series in 2004, 2017, and now in 2024. Although he didn’t compete in the WC final in Los Angeles in 2005, he gained valuable experience in Europe after that first big series win.
In 2018 he competed in the Paris FEI WC Final, coming 9th in that show’s Grand Prix, against the world’s best. He and his mount Oaks Redwood then went on to North Carolina to the FEI World Equestrian Games, where they placed 25th in the world. Oaks Redwood was later sold to Bill Gates.
In 2022 Billy again represented Australia in the FEI World Showjumping Championships (formerly called the World Equestrian Games) on the stunning station Black Jack IXE, doing a clear round in the first leg, but accumulating some points in the second leg. Black Jack was then sold to Paul Schockemohle in Germany.
