When New Zealand show jumper Uma O’Neill and Clockwise Of Greenhill Z won the CSI3* tbird Grand Prix (British Columbia) last week, their photo made headlines for unexpected reasons. The pair have a longstanding partnership that was put to the test when, at the second-to-last fence in the first round, “Clockwise’s” bridle slipped off. Thanks to his figure-eight noseband staying put, the stallion kept the bit in his mouth, but the rest of his bridle was hanging below his muzzle as he gamely took a right turn to the final fence and completed the round. 

Undaunted, the pair came back—bridle back in place—to win the competition by posting the fastest of five rides in the jump-off, crossing the finish line of Joey Rycroft’s course in 41.11 seconds. Korea’s Jaehee Jeon was second with Kadans Van De Mispelaere (41.78), followed by Canadian Kassidy Keith and Havana, who had the fastest round (40.57) but had a rail down. It was the final international grand prix event of the 2023 season at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, British Columbia.

Photographer and social media manager Kady Risby, who was standing on an elevated patio next to the ring, took a series of photos of the pair completing course that have since lit up the internet. 

“[O’Neill] came in and everything looked fine as she started her course,” Risby said “The third from last jump, jump 11, was a line across the diagonal. I noticed the bonnet was falling down over his eye and was concerned because I didn’t think he could see, but as she went past me I could see the bridle coming down over his ears—that’s the photo over the brown oxer—and then the crownpiece was coming down, and the bonnet fell off on the ground. 

“Everyone gasped simultaneously,” she continued. “I had one moment of panic and didn’t shoot the second-to-last jump, and then realized that she was going to jump the final fence, so I kept shooting.”

Risby laughed recalling the moment.

“I had that split second where the horsewoman in me kicked in, and I thought I should try to help,” she said, “and then I remembered, ‘Wait, I’m the photographer, I need to keep shooting!’ ”

Risby, of Edmonton, Alberta, owns Kaden Ave Communications, a social media and communications company through which she runs Thunderbird’s social media accounts.

“I really wanted [O’Neill] to win—what a story!” she said. “In the jump-off Tiffany Foster [on Kadans] was first in the ring and had [an] uncharacteristic [rail]. Uma was next and jumped clear and nobody could catch her. What a day from a social media and photography standpoint!”

Risby started working with Thunderbird in 2018 and needed to take photos, so she improved her skills and now does Instagram reels and shoots all of the national competitions as well as some of the international competition when other professional photographers can’t be there. This was her first time shooting the three-star by herself, though she’s also photographed the Nations Cup and World Cup there.

“I monitor all the social media comments and have been interacting as tbird, and people have asked about sharing the photos,” she said. “I tell them all to go for it; tbird is a really great horse show run by awesome people and it’s great to work for them.”

An Decade-Long Partnership

Born in Hawaii and based in Santa Cruz, California, Uma O’Neill, 28 has been riding for New Zealand, her father’s native country, since 2019. Clockwise is a 16-year-old Zangersheide stallion (Clearway—Gala, Caretino 2) that her grandfather purchased from Paul Schockemöhle in Germany, and they have been partners for nearly a decade. They had a successful Young Rider career together, and were the traveling reserve horse and rider for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They also won the 2018 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Vancouver, held at Thunderbird.

The bridle mishap was testament to the strength and trust of their partnership. 

“The bridle fell off on the landing of Fence 11, and we were already clear to that point, out of 13 jumps,” O’Neill said. “He was jumping super and really confident, and the headstall part came off over his ears about two and a half strides to the second-to-last jump. At that point there was really no pulling up or away from it, so I just kept my leg on and kept going, and he didn’t seem that fazed by it.”

“I wasn’t really sure what was happening, entirely,” she continued. “The last jump was on the rail, turning to the right, so I still couldn’t pull up since it was kind of in my way. I think I was just fully focused on my course and my plan, and I don’t think I fully realized quite the extent that the bridle had come off. The flash was still around his nose, of the figure-eight, and the bit was still in his mouth, so I still had the same feel of his mouth, it didn’t really change the contact.”

The final jump was not too far from the in-gate, so O’Neill just cantered directly over to the gate after the last fence. 

“Someone was there with a cookie—someone’s always there with a cookie—so he knew to go there and stop,” she said. 

Considering her equipment, O’Neill said that she would not be making any changes. 

“I think it was kind of a freak thing, with the wet weather,” she said. “He’s had that same bridle set up since the beginning of 2019. There was nothing new, it was just a freak thing that happened. The bonnet was very wet, so we didn’t use the bonnet for the jump-off, but otherwise it didn’t feel like something to over think and try to fix.”

Regarding the photos, O’Neill said, “There are some pretty epic pictures, and my social media has been getting a lot of attention. Thunderbird has been a fantastic venue for both Clockwise’s and my career.”

Watch the (fully tacked) jump-off round that sealed their victory in the tbird Grand Prix, courtesy of Thunderbird Show Park: