Bidding goodbye to the Irish Bank

Hickstead is well known for its iconic permanent fences – but one such jump has been removed from the International Arena ahead of this year’s shows.  

The Irish Bank, which featured in the British Speed Derby and the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge, has been carefully removed after a period of consultation.

“It’s the end of an era as we say goodbye to the Irish Bank,” said Hickstead Executive Director Lizzie Bunn. “It has been part of the Hickstead landscape for nearly 60 years but was in need of a complete rebuild at vast cost. Because it was only used in two classes in the year, the decision was made, alongside our chief course designer Kelvin Bywater, to remove the fence instead of reconstructing it.”

The removal of the Irish Bank – not to be confused with the 10ft 6in sloping Al Shira’aa Derby Bank, which very much remains a part of Hickstead’s International Arena – will allow more freedom for the course designers.

“With the Irish Bank gone, it has opened up a huge amount of space at that end of the arena, which will enable different lines to be taken to the water jump,” said Kelvin Bywater. “This will allow the other classes throughout the year to be varied more in their course design.”

The Irish Bank stood at 5ft tall and was designed so that horses jumped on and off it. While banks are common enough in the hunting field or cross-country, it was unusual to see one in showjumping. When it was first used in competition at Hickstead in 1969, it caused a minor rebellion, with some of the leading names at the time including David Broome and Harvey Smith refusing to jump it. However, Marion Coakes cleared it with ease on Daddy’s Girl to win the Ireland Stakes, and the fence has remained in regular use ever since. The story of the rider strike was used as the inspiration for a similar fictional event in Jilly Cooper’s 1980s novel Riders.

Douglas Bunn, the late founder of Hickstead, had always been a visionary, and he was keen for the fences in his beloved showground to strike a chord with the public. “You’ve got to introduce variety,” he said at the time. “You cannot expect people to watch the same old thing time after time. There’s no question about it that when we put the Irish Bank into a class here, you get a little round of applause when a horse does it nicely.”

The fence certainly produced many thrills and spills over the years, especially in the British Speed Derby – Saturday’s smaller but faster precursor to the Al Shira’aa Derby on the Sunday – when it was used just before the treble of Hickstead planks, requiring a horse with the bravery and sure-footedness to cope with the bank, as well as the accuracy to clear three single planks at maximum height right at the very end of the course.

Perhaps the most famous moment occurred in 2023 when Harriet Biddick, who was bidding for a fourth Speed Derby win with Silver Lift, lost her horse’s bridle upon landing after the Irish Bank, leaving her to jump the triple of planks with no bridle. It was a jaw-dropping feat of horsemanship that went on to be viewed more than 50 million times on social media.

Kelvin is currently working on the designs for the revamped British Speed Derby course. “The Irish Bank will be replaced by a natural looking hogsback-type brush fence, and will still be jumped immediately before the treble of Hickstead planks. The rest of the course will be the same as before,” he added.

Reflecting on the change, Lizzie Bunn said: “We know some riders and spectators will be sad to see the Irish Bank gone, and it was a tricky decision for us to make. But we do also hope the change will encourage more riders to take part in the British Speed Derby with their best speed horses, perhaps if they had avoided entering previously because they weren’t sure how their horses would jump it.”

The British Speed Derby will take place on Saturday 20 June during the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting (18-21 June), while the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge will be held on Thursday 23 July at the Agria Royal International Horse Show (21-26 July).

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