Hello Jefferson

The better, the merrier? For Scott Brash’s Hello Jefferson, this saying has to be rewritten as “the older, the better”. The lively Belgian has always been an exceptional horse. But he was also lucky to have met the right riders along the way. Hello Jefferson’s story shows how empathy and patience can turn a supposedly problem horse into a star.

Roots from Holstein, Sweden and Great Britain

Hello Jefferson’s breeder Bernard Mols was also a successful show jumper. He brought the gray mare Hovis home to Belgium from a training stay with Malcolm Pyrah in England. Her pedigree included Irco Mena, a successful son of Irco Marco up to 1.60 meters on the sire’s side, and a Dutch Gelderland mare on the dam’s side. The latter is actually known for her powerful movement. However, Hovis’ ancestors were characterized early on by their willingness to jump. As Bernard Mols reported in an interview after Hello Jefferson’s victory at Spruce Meadows in 2025, Hovis’ breeder told him that the dam could hardly be kept in a paddock. She would jump any fence that wasn’t high enough to deter her. They were probably few and far between.

Will and go were also what made Hovis stand out. With her new owner, she successfully jumped up to 1.50 meters in Belgium. He then wanted to breed her. The Holstein Caretino son Cooper van de Heffinck seemed to be a suitable partner. “What Cooper van de Heffinck added above all was overview. Where Hovis’ dam had so much go that she wanted to do everything at once, Cooper van de Heffinck contributed the ability to stay focused and concentrate energy effectively. This was particularly evident with Hello Jefferson: his huge will combined with the overview that came from Cooper van de Heffinck made him really special.”

However, it took some time before Hello Jefferson became Hello Jefferson. When he was born, he was called Jerenmias van het Hulstenhof and had already acquired a certain reputation as a young horse. Not a particularly positive one, as his former owner, the Belgian Charlotte Philippe, once revealed in an interview.

The gelding had had around 10 to 15 riders before she took him under her wing. She got to know Jerenmias van het Hulstenhof when he was five years old. He had been broken in a year earlier. Even if a suitable rider had been found, Bernard Mols would not have wanted to show him in young horse competitions. He jumped too cautiously, even over a lying pole on the ground.

But given this horse’s temperament and his own head, there was no question of competitions at first anyway. But his qualities were obvious and Charlotte Philippe liked him and bought him. A stroke of luck for Jerenmias.

With patience and spit

He was sweet and well-behaved when being handled, says Philippe. But under the rider, there were days when they stood in a corner for 15 minutes for seemingly no reason and couldn’t get out because their pupil wouldn’t take another step. Then her mother had to come and get her.

But Charlotte Philippe was not deterred. She believed in this horse and when the knot was finally tied, they made rapid progress. At the age of eight, Jerenmias competed in his first 1.40 jumping competitions, including internationally. It was on one such occasion that Scott Brash became aware of the gelding. He saw the pair in Peelbergen and approached Charlotte Philippe. She hesitated.

“He was my favorite horse and still is today,” she said in retrospect in an interview with the French magazine Grand Prix. It was difficult for her to give him up. In the end, she made up her mind. “I knew that he would have no chance of competing in five-star tournaments with me. Yes, I wanted to keep my horse for myself. But I also wanted to give him the chance to not only be my star, but to become the star of the entire audience.”

How lucky for them and for Jerenmias that it was Scott Brash who noticed the genius of this actually quite plain light bay gelding.

A genius with a work ethic

Like all horses owned by Scott Brash and his owners, Lord and Lady Harris and Lord and Lady Kirkham, Jerenmias was given the “first name” Hello. Jerenmias also became Jefferson. Hello Jefferson had just turned nine years old. It was 2018 and the future was bright for him.

Scott Brash quickly recognized what his new addition needed: “He has to be busy, always doing something. His brain never switches off. He is ready to go out and work.” He resembles a gifted rider, says Brash. The only Rolex Grand Slam winner appreciates qualities that many would describe as exhausting. “He is very intelligent, careful and also has a great translation. He combines the many qualities you look for in top horses,” says Brash.

In 2020, a good two years after he got him into the stable, Brash was certain: “The best is yet to come with him.” How right he was.