Huge congratulations to our equestrian columnist Jess Rimmer, who has been selected (along with The Spice Merchant) by British Eventing to represent Great Britain at the 2026 Under-25 World Championships in Millstreet, Ireland later this month.
Jess and her horse Basil (The Spice Merchant) are among just six combinations (horse and rider) chosen to wear the GB colours – a richly deserved reward for years of hard work, talent and dedication. In eventing, riders aren’t selected alone – it’s the horse-and-rider partnership that earns its place on Team GB.
If you’re not a huge equestrian fan and usually skip Jess’ column, might we suggest giving it a go anyway? She’s always hugely entertaining, whether you know a bridle from a girth strap or not.
Back in April last year, Jess introduced us to Basil (The Spice Merchant) in her column Enter the Spice Merchant:
‘The Spice Merchant, known to his friends as Basil (or Baz, Bazman, Big Baz… you get the idea!), is a brilliant horse, made even more special to me because of the story behind him.
‘A good friend of mine, Alex Munn, bought Basil as a seven-year-old BE100 horse. They flew up the levels together and competed at some of the most prestigious events – Bramham, Blenheim, Millstreet and Hartpury – representing Alex’s home country of South Africa.
‘Thanks to the incredible generosity of both Alex and the Portman Ladies Syndicate, I’ve now taken over Basil’s reins. I’m learning his “buttons” and how to get the best tune from him, as well as discovering his likes and dislikes. So far, I’ve found he likes his dinner about the same consistency as soup, loves having the inside of his ears scratched, and treats grazing time as his own personal “Horse vs Food” challenge.’
Amazingly, this announcement comes just days after we celebrated local boxer Ruby White earning her place at the Commonwealth Games. For a sparsely populated corner of rural England, North Dorset is certainly punching well above its weight on the international sporting stage.
We’ll all be cheering Jess and Basil on later this month. Best of luck from us all at Dorset Life! 
