One of the most exciting Covid purchases to come out of the pandemic for Nikki Walker was the 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding Atout des Trambles (Nectar Des Forets*HN x Apache D’Adriers), known to his friends as ‘Tito’. The two spent the majority of 2021 getting to know each, other but started out 2022 with a win in the Douglas Elliman CSI4* speed class at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. And just this past weekend they won the Trimac Cup at the Spruce Meadows National in Calgary.
Produced as a young horse by French rider Maelle Martin – who can also be credited with producing Amy Millar’s Truman – Tito competed at the Lanaken (BEL) young horse finals as a seven-year-old. From there, British rider Ashlee Harrison competed him up to the 1.45m level before he was purchased by Walker in 2020 off a video forwarded by her coach, Cian O’Connor.
So Tito is a fun pandemic purchase – was it nerve-wracking buying off a video?
I find most of my horses with Cian and really trust his recommendations. It was during the beginning of the pandemic when travelling was a big challenge and although it was nerve-wracking, I had purchased horses with Cian from a video in the past. We both instantly loved that Tito was so game, competitive and produced by two ladies who ride similarly to myself.
When Cian forwarded the video he noted there was one small “problem”. He then sent a photo to me with Tito standing beside a miniature horse … Tito actually came with a companion mini. Once my mom got wind of this she was so excited!
Kyra, Nikki and Tito. (photos courtesy Nikki Walker)
One-and-a-half for the price of one! What is their relationship like and how does that fit into the logistics of having a grand prix horse when it comes to travel?
He is lovely to deal with on the ground so long as his mini, Mimosa, is in his sight, otherwise he can get a little stressed; once I’m on his back he’s independent. Tito and Mimosa are like Ross and Rachel from Friends. They bicker back and forth, but also need each other. Tito is intelligent and Mimosa is always first in line for the attention.
Tito’s groom, Kyra Holmes: Logistics in the barn are a bit weird, but we have made it work. They ship in a box stall together, and I have gotten really good at leading them together. I was pretty worried when we got them that everyone in FEI stabling would hate us, but it’s the opposite, everyone loves seeing them together! Tito is unbelievably sweet. He loves to be curried in his stall and falls asleep while I braid him … but has to be braided in the stall loose because Mimosa unties him when he is tied up. He really is lovely, so relaxed and easy to work with, as long as she is with him! It’s always a good laugh the first day of turnout after a show – Mimosa will be running flat-out laps around the paddock and Tito just stands there wondering why she is so wild.
As your partnership developed, did you find it helped that he’d been developed by riders with whom you share a similar style? Did your personalities mesh immediately?
I instantly fell in love with his character and kind eye. Shortly before he arrived I had just taken a fall off a young horse and broken part of my left leg and torn most of the ligaments in my left knee, so he was actually at my barn for about three months before I could ride him. During this time I got to spend lots of time with him on the ground. He was a little spooky when he first arrived and challenging in the mouth. I was quite rusty and timid after my injury. We first got in the show ring together during WEF 2021. We jumped a lot of smaller classes together at first so we could get to know each other. I think all this time paid off, as now we totally trust and feel confident with each other. I have never had a horse that is similar to his type, but once I know I can trust a horse then I feel like I can mesh really well with different types of rides.
What’s your routine like at home with him?
Tito rarely jumps when he is at home. I do a lot of practice over poles and general exercises on the flat for rideability. He’s goes in the paddock for most of the day. On the weekends when we don’t have a show my girlfriends love to hack him. He loves to hack and is very relaxed when doing so.
Proudest moment as a partnership?
Winning the Douglas Elliman CSI4* Speed in Wellington this year. I had never won a speed ranking class before. He gave such a wonderful effort. I was very proud of Tito – he is such an intelligent horse and I really believe he knows when it counts and always gives his best in the ring. He’s got a big heart and I think he understands what show jumping is all about.
Theme song?
Golden, Harry Styles.
Fave treats
Kyra: His one big quirk other than the obvious Mimosa is that he hates mints with a passion. He will be very offended if you try to feed him mints instead of cookies or carrots.
Nikki: He gets carrots every time after I ride him and he will stare me down until he has them.
