ONE of the biggest problem faced by eventing sires mirrors that of their National Hunt counterparts by the time they have truly proved their worth they are invariably long gone. For Bazaar's Exclusive ('Jack') the opposite should be the case. Only nine years old, he has a couple of five-year-old offspring and a number of four-year-olds set to contest the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifiers in 2005 and with books numbering in the high 40s for the last three stud seasons, he certainly has the numbers on the ground to make his mark in years to come. The son of Welton Crackerjack stands at his owner/breeder Philip Wardle's Brookhouse Farm above the town of Congleton on the sloping edge of the Cloud, a major north west landmark. Born and bred in Staffordshire, Philip moved to Cheshire eight years ago after the land came on the market.

"It was the first bit of land to come up for sale that was remotely suitable and affordable," admits Philip, who endured three years living in a caravan on the site before planning permission came through. 'and I could never go through that again," he adds with a shudder. The end result is definitely worth it, though. The landscaping outside may be unfinished, but inside the place takes on an air that says it has been here forever. Horses have always been in the Wardle blood.  Philip's father, a farmer from Gayton near Stoke-on-Trent, has had the occasional horse in training, while his mother hunted with the Meynell and South Staffs. But it was not until the family moved to Gayton, within spitting distance of the point-to-point course at Sandon, when Philip was four that the first pony arrived on the scene. The 12hh Beauty was shared with Philip's younger brother Robin. "She was too round for a proper saddle, so we used a felt one," recalls Philip. "It was in our interest to sit up straight, otherwise we would slip right round!"

Philip became involved in eventing on a horse sale graduate called State Farm,who was bought from Melton Mowbray for £800 as four-year-old. Within a year she was competing at thePony Club Championships, when one dressage judge got the fright of their life as a startling orange mohican hairstyle was revealed when Philip politely doffed his cap at the start of his test. Having officially left school at the age of 16- in reality 13 is nearer the mark - Philip was given a three-year ultimatum by his father -make a living out of horses or take up farming. It was a challenge he took on readily, dealing in horses initially, not long before his first broodmare, Ward Brook, his father's ex-point-to-pointer, joined the fray.  "She broke down in racing and I persuaded  him to let me breed from her and it all just  snowballed from there." Ward Brook's second foal, by Embla George, was named Bees Knees and evented to advanced level with Richard Carruthers  before qualifying as a working hunter for the Horse of the Year Show, while the third, Bazzar's Texas, is a graded stallion at Embla Stud.  "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE  BAZAAR'S EXCLUSIVE'S YOUNGSTERS OUT COMPETING. THEY ALL HAVE HIS JUMP AND ATHLETIC WAY OF GOING." Dunragit, who really broke the bank at £200, soon joined Ward Brook. Put to Hill Farmer, she produced Bazaar who went advanced, was on a junior team and started Philip's love affair with the grey TB stallion. " I never had a bad one by him" says Philip.  They were all nice types, they jumped and, most importantly, they had the right attitude.  You can have the most talented horse in the world, but if it doesn't want to do it, it might as well be useless"

."By the late 1980s, Philip's band of broodmares numbered 10 and he was mostly using the McMasters' stallions at Embla Stud, which included Hill Farmer and his son Embla Farmer. The offspring were sold off as foals. With the long-term aim of upgrading his mares,  Philip bought Embla Gamble, a half sister to Badminton winner Horton Point, but he couldn't resist the Hill Farmer filly also running with her who was ultimately to become the dam of Jack. The filly was named Embla Express and she evented to intermediate level before being sold to Richard Jones for Young Riders. "She was the most beautiful foal and I couldn't resist her,"says Philip.  Put to Welton Crackerjack, Embla Express produced a neat bay colt. "The idea was to breed an eventer and as he looked the part and was easy to deal with, I kept him entire," says Philip. His first year of competition saw him qualify for the BYEH final on his first outing, netting 15 out of 15 for conformation and the highest mark for jumping.  At the final he was fifth and won the prize for the best British Sports Horse.  He caught more than the eye of the judges, though, and Philip was offered a lot of money for him from an American buyer. "I didn't want to sell him,  even though, realistically, everything is for sale at a price,"says Philip.  "Thank goodness I pitched the price high enough. "Jack's first year of eventing - 2001 - saw him notch up wins and placings at pre-novice level.  The following year he covered some 50 mares and never set foot on a cross-country course, but since then he has combined stud duties with eventing at novice level, hunting and BSJA show jumping. "Before 2003 we limited the covering to specific months, but then he covered a few late mares and it made no difference to his behaviour, so this year we will combine the two," says Philip, who has the Weston Park CCI" in mind for Bazaar's Exclusive. "I can't wait to see his youngsters out competing," says Philip. "They all have his jump and athletic way of going and have been so easy to deal with. "Brookhouse Farm currently resembles a building site as new stallion and foaling boxes near completion just outside the kitchen window.  All the commotion doesn't seem to bother any of the horses, particularly the three three-year-olds,  who calmly walk past the upheaval for a photoshoot down on the old railway line.  Chips off the old  block, they follow their father past a couple of cyclists,  a few joggers and assorted dogwalkers,  even though one has only been broken for a couple of weeks. If having a good attitude is the key to success as an event horse, then these guys are already halfway there....l..

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