Jollybo Is ‘Preggo’ + A Warm Welcome to This Year’s Jumbo Grandfoals

Andrew Nicholson and Jumbo. Photo courtesy of Grafham Stud.

The legacy of deceased legendary sport horse stallion Jumbo, who sired more than 40 Advanced level eventers, lives on. He has had a number of “relations” hitting the ground this spring or in foal for 2021, some of them here in the United States.

Bred in Worcestershire, England, by Archie Smith-Maxwell, the Irish Draught (Skippy x Betty, by the Thoroughbred stallion Seven Bells) was purchased as a weanling by Carolyn Bates. He went on to have a very successful career as an event horse with Andrew Nicholson in the irons. Jumbo won the 7-year-old championship at Le Lions D’Angers in 1991 and finished 15th at Boekelo the following year, after which he retired from eventing.

Jumbo then competed in show jumping with William Funnell and dressage with Lizzie Murray before fully retiring from competing in 1997 to take up full-time duties in the breeding shed. He whipped-in with the Bicester Hunt in his later years.

His contribution as an eventing stallion is enormous — he sired numerous great horses, from three-time Burghley winner Avebury to Headley Britannia, the only mare in history to win Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley, to Padraig McCarthy’s Mr Chunky, who secured team and individual silver for Ireland at the 2018 WEG in Tryon. His best-known stateside progeny may be five-star horses Jumbo’s Jake (Jumbo x Lake Princess) and Jollybo (Jumbo x Polly Coldunnell, by Danzig Connection). Jumbo also sired numerous Grand Prix show jumpers and dressage horses.

Hawley Bennett-Awad and Jollybo at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Speaking of which, Jollybo is expecting! With nothing really happening competition-wise this spring, Hawley hatched an idea: What about breeding her beloved five-star partner Jollybo via embryo transfer? The 16-year-old daughter of Jumbo, owned by Hawley and the Jollybo Syndicate, has twice finished in the top 20 at Kentucky and was Hawley’s 2018 WEG mount. Now, she may have a chance to produce Hawley’s next superstar.

Breeding is a new frontier for Hawley — Jollybo’s foal will be her first crack at the venture. “I just had no idea how to do it,” she says, giving credit to veterinarian Dr. Chris Huth — “the most patient human” — as well as fellow California five-star eventer Jen McFall of Dragonfire Sport Horses, whom she describes as “a genius when it comes to breeding.”

Jen pointed to Diarado, a Holsteiner stallion (Diamant de Semilly x Roxette I, by Corrado I) regarded as one of the the world’s best jumping sires, as a potential suitor. “I didn’t want to breed Jolly to just anybody,” Hawley says. “Diarado is honestly perfect. Jolly has the biggest heart and tries harder than anybody. If I could have a horse that was just a little bigger and a better show jumper that would be a dream come true.”

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EXCTING NEWS 💙💖💙💖 WIll it be a boy or a girl April 15th for Ms Jollybo!!??!! 🎉🎉🎉 A big thank you to Dr @chrisjhuth for being very patient with me as this was my first time doing this!! And, @dragonfirefarm for guiding me in the right direction on deciding who was the right baby daddy!! DF Farm are geniuses when matching mares with stallions. I just didn’t want to pick anyone. Proof is in their breeding program!! The baby daddy is Diarado😍😍 To say I am excited is an understatement!!!! Fingers crossed for an easy pregnancy for the surrogate mare!!! We had frozen semen, a first time mare, and one shot of making this work!!! #nailedit https://schockemoehle.com/eng/service-station-stud/breeding-stallions/diarado.html Thank you @gamalfawad for always supporting me in my crazy adventures!! #babyontheway

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Diarado stands at Paul Schockemöhle’s stud in Germany. With the pandemic, no frozen semen could be shipped from Europe, but they were able to locate a single dose stateside in Texas. Hawley was awed by the precision and timing of the breeding process — from the ovulation window to insemination to flushing for an embryo the size of a pinhead, all with the potential to be undermined by a botched delivery by FedEx — and they had a one-shot chance of making it work — and with a first-time surrogate mare. “It was all about if this mare took,” Hawley says. “It was a wait-and-see, and the surrogate mare ended up getting pregnant.”

The due date is April 15, 2021. Will it be a boy or a girl? (Here at EN, we’re on record as “any sex, so long as it’s healthy,” but of course we’re secretly rooting for a filly, in keeping with Hawley’s girl power track record!)

Top shelf breeding + top shelf training = anything is possible. “In eight years, maybe I can take [Jolly’s baby] to the Olympics in L.A.!” Hawley says.

Congrats are also in order for Nikki Merle-Smith of Merle-Smith Sporthorses and Cabin Society (Jumbo x Bluejean Society, by Imp Society), who recently put a filly on the ground by the young stallion Raven Sky xx, a 2016 Thoroughbred stallion (Dance With Ravens x Skyler’s Rainbow, by Exploit).

A coming-full-circle twist! The Cabin Society filly, named Sky Society, has been purchased by Gayle Davis for Daryl Kinney to produce. Daryl produced and competed Cabin Society, who was owned by Denny/Tamarack at that time.

Contendro I x Jumbo x Kings Lake colt at a week old. Photo by Pippa Woodall.

There are some very exciting developments abroad as well. British breeder Pippa Woodall has had tremendous success with the Jumbo line, including Jumbo’s Jake who twice completed Kentucky and had multiple four-star wins with James Alliston. She, as well as Carolyn Bates of Grafham Stud, who stood Jumbo, both have Contendro I foals on the ground. Pippa’s Jumbo mare also just had a Herald III foal.

“Mine is an embryo transfer from Contendro I out of my homebred full sister to Jumbo’s Jake,” Pippa says. “They are all Jumbo out of a lovely Thoroughbred mare called Lake Princess, who was by Kings Lake x Luthier. She had 13 foals all by Jumbo and all like peas in a pod! There is Simpson II, who went Advanced and is retired here at home, several who went Intermediate, and several Novices. I have several young Jumbos here still and will be putting a small multiple winning point-to-point mare in foal to him imminently.”

Carolyn Bates and Jumbo. Photo courtesy of Grafham Stud.

We look forward to following all of their careers. Rest in peace, Jumbo — your grandfoals are in good hands.

Go Eventing!

Many thanks to Steve Joyce, who contributed to this report.