The government is to address “best practice” on tethering following a debate at parliament yesterday (20 February).

MPs raised concerns about the risk of neglect and welfare issues in tethered horses at the adjournment debate in the House of Commons.

MP Luke Hall, who opened the debate, said as tethered horses can be moved quickly it is “virtually impossible” to monitor their welfare.

“This debate follows the Break the Chain campaign run by the excellent HorseWorld trust, a leading equine rescue charity in the southwest, just next door to my constituency,” he said. “The Break the Chain campaign aims to amend the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to include restrictions on the tethering of horses.

“We are seeing horses being tethered all across the country, potentially leaving them open to neglect, cruelty and abuse, and potentially posing a danger to the people around them, too.​

“Tethering is not deemed enough of a breach of the Animal Welfare Act to allow horse charities to intervene. A tethered horse also does not have the freedom to interact with its own species, as the Act says it should. Leaving horses isolated has been shown to increase stress levels and stress-related hormones, which can cause them to display stereotypical behaviours that cause physical and psychological harm.”

Mr Hall added that long-term tethering is in “direct conflict” with legislation.

“In many instances authorities have not felt that the Animal Welfare Act is strong enough grounds to rescue [tethered] horses, despite the obvious suffering. It is therefore my belief, and the belief of the charity that initiated this campaign, that the Act needs to be amended to state explicitly what constitutes inappropriate tethering,” said Mr Hall.

Parliamentary under-secretary for Defra David Rutley responded to say the aim of the government’s work in this area is to “hightlight that tethering should be for the short term”.

“I should clarify that tethering is not a banned activity, as there are circumstances in which tethering may avoid a greater risk of harm arising—for example, if a horse strayed into a place of danger,” said Mr Rutley.

“The 2006 Act is backed up by a number of statutory codes of practice, including the code for the welfare of horses, ponies, donkeys and their hybrids. The code provides owners and keepers with information on how to meet their animals’ welfare needs and includes a specific section on how to tether horses and other animals covered by the code.

“Although tethering is not prevented or illegal under the code, the code does include detailed specific advice on tethering and how it should be done properly. It details which animals are not suitable for tethering and provides advice on a suitable and appropriate site—for example, a site should not allow the horse access to a public highway or public footpaths.

“The appropriate tethering of horses is an important issue that the government is taking action to address. We have put a number of protections in the 2006 Act, the code for the welfare of horses and the 2015 Act. The strong arguments made today and the concerns that have been raised mean that I shall call for a meeting with key stakeholders in the months ahead to see what more can be done in sharing and documenting best practice on horse tethering and ensuring that messages on best practice are more actively disseminated to horse owners.”

Tethering to be debated in parliament as charity highlights risks of ‘severe’ suffering

The charity received more than 5,000 complaints last year about tethered horses

Bright future for injured filly found tangled in twine

The youngster has returned to World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre to continue her education

Subscribe to Horse & Hound from just £25.49 and save 35%

Take advantage of our sale on Horse & Hound magazine subscriptions today

HorseWorld fundraising and communications manager Stephen Poole told H&H the debate marks a “major milestone” in the charity’s campaign to end the practice of tethering a horse for long periods of time.

“It’s significant progress and the best possible outcome from this adjournment,” he said.

RSPCA equine welfare expert Mark Kennedy said: “We are pleased to hear the government plans to hold a round table with key stakeholders to discuss the issue further and consider options, and we look forward to contributing to this.”

A livery yard and competition centre has re-opened to the public seven weeks after it went on lockdown owing to strangles.

Richmond Equestrian Centre in North Yorkshire announced on 13 August that all upcoming events, including its British Eventing fixture (30 August to 1 September) were cancelled. The centre reopened yesterday (3 October).

Co-owner Abigail Turnbull told H&H five of 26 horses on livery at the centre were diagnosed with the disease.

“Within 10 minutes of receiving the first diagnosis, we went on lockdown,” she said.

“Two days later a second case was confirmed. We have five different yards which we isolated; we knew which horses had been in contact with the initial one and sure enough they were the ones who went down with it.”

Abigail said all horses at the venue are now clear of the disease.

“It’s been quite intense and we’ve been really belts and braces about it,” she said.

“One horse was no longer showing symptoms of strangles and looked fine to the naked eye, but we did a guttural pouch procedure to make sure he had definitely got rid of the infection and it took multiple procedures to get rid of it. Had we not done that he would have turned into a carrier.”

Abigail wants more people to be aware of the facts around strangles.

“It’s about educating people who don’t understand it,” she said. “People can take simple steps like when they go to a competition, giving the temporary stable a quick spray down with disinfectant and not grazing at venues – it’s common sense things, but they’re so important.

“Since having strangles we’ve learnt so much and people need to realise how easy it is to get the infection. Some think if a horse has had it once they can’t get it again – but they can. Or if a horse has had strangles and looks over it, but the owner doesn’t realise it can still become a carrier.”

Richmond Equestrian has taken the Redwings’ pledge to ‘Stamp Out Strangles’. The campaign asks owners and yards to make an online pledge showing their commitment to prevent the disease by taking good biosecurity practices and agreeing to communicate openly about the disease. Richmond has also joined the SRUC Veterinary Services Premium Assured Strangles Scheme, an initiative for yard owners, gaining gold status which means they agree to testing all horses at the yard for the disease annually.

“We’ve been quite vocal about having strangles and have gained respect for doing it that way and for taking a stance. What’s been difficult is the amount of people who said we should have covered it up which I’m gobsmacked at,” said Abigail.

“If we’d opened to the public and let horses come and go the disease is so highly contagious it would have spread like wildfire. Financially it’s been a huge loss, but we’re trying to turn a negative into a positive now.”

The centre is holding an unaffiliated hunter trial on 19 and 20 October with classes from 70cm to 100cm. Entries cost £30 with a starting fee of £10 – discounted for owners who make the Redwings pledge.

“We’ve decided to reduce the start fee from £10 to £5 if people take the pledge and bring their certificates with them. We will also be collecting money for Redwings in donation buckets and hope to make it an annual event,” said Abigail.

“We can’t wait. We’re building cross-country jumps and getting the course ready. All the classes are sponsored and we have £800 in cash prizes.”

Article continued below…

Abigail said public support for the centre had been “massive”.

“We announced on Facebook we were re-opening and the comments have been brilliant. We’ve been inundated with people offering to volunteer at the hunter trials,” she said.

“People are glad that we’ve been honest – it’s horse welfare at the end of the day, it’s not always about making money. We’ve also had fantastic support from our vets, Redwings, the British Horse Society and the British Equestrian Veterinary Association.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Ireland’s Paul Kennedy and the home-bred Cartown Danger Mouse (Maddy) scored a breath-taking win in the Equerry Horse Feeds Bolesworth grand prix on the final day of Equerry Bolesworth International Horse Show.

This combination had already scored a brilliant four-star victory in the Watts Commercial Finance competition earlier in the week and when they produced a foot-perfect first round clear in a sharp time to earn pole position, the odds considerably shortened for a grand prix win.

Chasing fast times set by next placed Billy Twomey (Kimba Flamenco/38.65) and John Whitaker (Cassinis Chaplin/40.07) Paul soaked up the pressure like a sponge to bring the daughter of Harlequin Du Carel home in 38.56.

“Maddy has jumped well all week and although she has her own style, she has a massive heart and tries for you.

“I knew just what we had to and didn’t feel any pressure coming down the tunnel, but when I saw the time flash up on the scoreboard, I wasn’t sure we had won; it was so close.

“This is a day I’ll won’t forget in a hurry, as I never thought I would be standing ahead of two of my idols Billy Twomey and John Whitaker,” said Paul, who is based with Dave and Sharon Quigley in nearby Whitchurch.

Billy Twomey was also delighted with Kim Barzilay’s home-bred Kimba Flamenco, a nine-year-old who is by Billy’s former top ride Je T’Aime Flamenco.

“The course proved difficult enough and tested jumping ability and scope. I’m disappointed not to win, but Kimba is just stepping up to this level and he performed really well,” said Billy.

John Whitaker was also moving up Cassinis Chaplin up a gear and was delighted to post one of their best results.

“He’s a big, strong horse with plenty of power,” said John.

Kelvin Bywater set a suitably testing 13-fence first round course which included lots of committed distances and a couple of lines offering riders a choice of strides.

Apart from the 16-jumping-efforts required to post a clear round, the time allowed also proved a stern test with seven combinations finishing over the 68 seconds limit.

Frustratingly, four of those had jumped clear to incur a single time fault, and four of those combinations producing first round clears had run it close by finishing less than one second off that time allowed.

Continued below…

More news from Bolesworth:

With the rules of the competition dictating the top 25% of the 41-strong field, or all clear rounds qualify for the next round, two of the fastest carrying a single penalty did progress to the final round to compete alongside the nine combinations finishing clear.

Two other riders also produced double clears, William Whitaker (Illusionata Van’t Meulenhof) and Pedro Junqueira Muylaert (Prince Royal Z MFS) filling fourth and fifth places.

Good second round clears secured sixth and sevenths place for Ireland’s Richard Howley (Dolores) and Mexican rider Eugenio Garza Perez (Pappa Ante Portas 2) who finished on one time fault apiece.

Don’t miss the full report from Equerry Bolesworth International Horse Show in next Thursday’s Horse & Hound, on sale 21 June 2018.

The Warwickshire’s team chase has been cancelled due to the severe impact the extended dry spell has had on the course.

The fixture was scheduled to be the first of the 2018 autumn season on 2 September at Watergall (not pictured), with the exception of the arena team chase at Lands Eventing.

The cancellation serves a further blow to the 2018 British Team Chasing calendar, which suffered a much depleted spring fixture list due to ice, snow and heavy rain.

But the organisers have pledged to turn the disappointing news into a positive, using the time to improve the course and hedges for 2019.

The committee made the tough decision after walking the course last week following “fears regarding the ground”.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

“As a result of the extremes of weather that we suffered last winter and have endured this summer, the ground has taken an absolute battering,” said a statement from the organisers.

“Despite being really good, reliable old turf, the drought has really sapped all life out of the course and caused large holes and cracks to appear in front of the hedges and sporadically around the whole track.

“The committee discussed at length the different options that we had regarding the condition of the ground, but ultimately it was decided that the safety of the competitors and horses must always come first and may be put at risk if we were to run the event.”

All entries will be refunded.

“Everyone is absolutely shattered by the decision but we will endeavour to use the year off to improve the course, lay new hedges and let our existing hedges get bigger and better for 2019.

“We hope that you enjoy the rest of the team chasing season as there are many other events on close to Warwickshire.”

The next fixture in the British Team Chasing calendar is the Belvoir at Garthorpe on 9 September.

“Please go and support them and British Team Chasing, it is a great event,” added the statement.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

“What a day, what a mare and what a rider – sometimes everything just comes together at the right moment and that’s what dreams are made of,” so said Northern Ireland’s Joanne Sloan Allen after her chestnut mare Suma’s Zorro won showjumping’s richest prize, the $1million CP International presented by Rolex on Sunday (9 September) under Egyptian rider Sameh El Dahan.

“Fourteen years ago, a little chestnut filly was born who believed nothing was impossible, and luckily three months later, fate made her cross my path – another stubborn chestnut mare who believes nothing is impossible and dreams are made,” said Joanne. “Then seven years from that, a revolution in Egypt made the triad complete – Sam [El Dahan] came into all our lives and our journey to this started.”

The scene of this great triumph was the Spruce Meadows Masters in Canada. Sameh and Zorro, an Irish-bred mare by Ard VDL Douglas, produced three foot-perfect rounds to clinch victory in what is considered to be the “world’s toughest grand prix” over fences standing at 1.70m.

“The feeling is indescribable – I need to take a few days to make sure everything sinks in and then I can believe it actually happened,” said Sameh, 33, who studied medicine at university in Cairo but moved to Northern Ireland to concentrate on showjumping.

Zorro was bred at the Suma Stud in Co Kilkenny by Marily Power and Susan Lanigan O’Keeffe. Joanne and Sycamore Stables bought her as a foal.

“She jumped a five-bar gate when she was six-months-old, so they knew she had a jumper!” said Sameh. “Joanne did an amazing job with her – until the mare was seven she mostly rode her, and then I took over the ride. She really trusts us and believes in us.

“She’s very chilled at home and likes her own space – if things are noisy, she will stand in the far corner of her stable with her ears back until it quietens down. Her only real quirk is that she hates the clippers – you cannot get near her legs with them – and if she recognises the vet, she will put her ears back and do tiny jumps in her stable. Other than that, she’s great to do everything with. Joanne does most of the riding on her – I just do the jumping, so I have to thank her for doing such a great job.”

Joanne describes the mare as “an example of all that makes the Irish horse great — a mixture of heritage, breeds and blood and a fighting spirit instilled in our horses down the generations”.

“Zorro, today you have proved that giants truly do come in all sizes,” she added. “You may be small in stature but today you proved to the world you are a champion. To everyone who has ever dreamed, let this inspire you – work hard, dream big and never give up.”

Continues below…

This success comes just two months after Suma’s Zorro and Sameh El Dahan received a standing ovation for taking a five-star victory in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Paris.

The winning pair now head for the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and then will concentrate on trying to win more legs of the Rolex Grand Slam.

You can read the full story of their success in Calgary in this week’s H&H, out Thursday 13 September.

Twenty-four-year-old Bella Innes-Ker managed to hold her dressage lead in the CCI3* at the SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials after the cross-country today (15 September). Riding Carolyn, she jumped round clear inside the time to stay on a score of 24.4.

“I’m so excited and slightly speechless,” smiled Bella. “It’s the first time we’ve gone inside the optimum time at a CCI3*. She dug so deep for me.”

Bella Innes Ker on Carolyn

The top two remain unchanged, with Pippa Funnell and MGH Grafton Street holding second on 26.7.

“He felt great,” said Pippa. “If you go out there and you’re not thinking about getting the time, it doesn’t put you in the right frame of mind. You need to ride forward to make these courses ride well at three-days.”

Oliver Townend and Ulises complete the top three. They also jumped clear inside the time to finish the second phase on 28.

“He’s very fast and has endless gallop, like [half-brother] Armada [on whom Oliver was second at Badminton],” said Oliver. “He made it feel very easy; he could have gone round twice.”

William Fox-Pitt, who first competed at Blenheim in 1990, is very excited about his CCI3* ride here this year, Oratorio II. They sit in fourth on 28.7.

“This felt so easy for him today,” said William of the nine-year-old. “I think very highly of him and he doesn’t know the meaning of the word tired!”

Continued below…

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Australian rider Amanda Ross, who was first reserve for her country’s World Equestrian Games team, is fifth with Koko Popping Candy, while Kitty King and Vendredi Biats are sixth. The top 12 horses all jumped clear inside the time across country.

Kitty’s second ride, Ceylor L A N, who had been sitting in third after the dressage, didn’t seem to lock onto a corner after a table at fence four. After jumping the alternative, Kitty decided to retire.

The final horse inspection will take place tomorrow morning at 8.15am.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest reports from Blenheim via horseandhound.co.uk and don’t miss the full report in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, out on 20 September

An event rider has died as a result of an accident while cross-country schooling in the US.

Mother of one Nicolle Villers-Amatt fell as she was jumping a log fence at Morven Park International Equestrian Center in Leesburg, Virginia, yesterday (8 October).

The 40-year-old was treated immediately by medics and taken to hospital but her life could not be saved.

Ms Villers-Amatt had been eventing since the 1990s, competing up to advanced level (fence height 3’11”). She also rode the diminutive Theodore O’Connor, later ridden at the top level by US rider Karen O’Connor, at CCI* level early in his career.

Her husband Neil Amatt said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that me and my daughter lost my wife and mother yesterday due to a catastrophic riding accident.

“Nicolle died doing what she loved. It was quick and painless, and she was not alone – I thank Katie MacSwain for being with her. She was the best mother and wife any man could ask for.

“Details of Nicolle’s memorial service we will be announced at a later date. Please keep her mother and our daughter in your prayers.”

Mrs Villers-Amatt lived with her husband and two-year-old daughter Zara in Hamilton, Virginia. She ran Five Point Performance Horses, which produced young hunters and eventers.

Morven Park executive director Sheryl Williams said: “The staff and trustees of Morven Park are devastated to hear of the accident.

“We join everyone in the equestrian community in sending our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the rider involved.”

The horse Mrs Villers-Amatt was riding sustained superficial injuries.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

A young handler made her in-hand class debut a winning one as she scooped the supreme accolade at the North West Championship show with her Welsh section A pony.

Six-year-old Honey Ohara led out her grey gelding Gilfac Zac to perfection to be called top of the 25-stong young handler class before landing the supreme accolade.

“She was the smallest in there by a long way,” said Honey’s mum Chloe, who produces their small team of ponies from their home in Rochdale.

While she is a super keen young horsewoman, Honey’s early years have certainly not been without difficulty. At age two she was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia and has been in and out of hospital ever since.

“This means she can’t tolerate a lot of food and often has to go on a drip,” explained Chloe. “I’ve nearly lost her twice.

“Last June, she was rushed to hospital and had to have a bolt put through her skull as she has chiari 1 malformation [where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal].”

“She is on daily medication but despite all this she is so dedicated to her ponies and she has so much enthusiasm. She does her ponies every single day unless she’s in hospital.

Continues below…

‘I’d rather ride than have a longer life without horses’: inspirational young rider will not let illness control her life

‘If something does happen, I know I’ve had a fulfilling life; that’s all anyone can ask for’

The fastest jump-off in history? Watch pony and his tiny rider smash their competition

Watch out Ruby Walsh, hold on to your hat Shane Breen, because a seriously speedy — and stylish — new

<a href="https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/horse-hound-subscription-offer-651358" rel="bookmark" name="*Autumn sale* Save 40% on Horse & Hound subscriptions”>*Autumn sale* Save 40% on Horse & Hound subscriptions

Take advantage of our sale on Horse & Hound magazine subscriptions today

“When she was in hospital last summer she kept telling the nurses to hurry up and get her out as she had a Horse of the Year Show qualifier to ride in. Three days after she was out, she rode in that very class. She is just incredible.”

At North West Champs, Honey also picked up two fourth places riding her lead rein hunter pony, before netting the top in-hand title with Zac in the evening performance.

“She declared a few weeks ago that she wanted to have a go at in-hand so she’s been practising non-stop,”  added Chloe. “The judge told her that she has never seen anyone run a pony out so straight. Honey now wants to compete at the Royal Welsh next.”

Character building and soul-destroying in equal measure, surviving a naughty first pony is a rite of passage. The Horse & Hound team recounts some of their early memories of life in the saddle…

Pippa Roome, magazine editor

“I had this pony called Fly (pictured above) on loan and he was a total saint except that he did have a wicked buck and drop shoulder manoeuvre which he used to drop me a few times. Mum and I spent a good deal of time chasing him across the common after I’d fallen off and I learnt never to let go of the reins if you fall off, which I’m pretty good at to this day.

“He also wasn’t shod at all when I first rode him and later only in front and he used this as an excuse to walk as slowly as possible at all times when on any sort of hard or stony surface. I remember going to my first show — me, a friend and Mum — and hacking there and back, which took about 90min each way for a pretty short ride.

“At the end of the day we were so exhausted and after we’d left the pony at his home (he still lived with his actual owners in our village at that point although he later came to live with us) we walked to my Gran and Grandad’s and basically collapsed into their house and they gave us drinks and food and drove us home. Grandparents are the best.”

Madeleine Silver, features editor

“Oh it’s all so humiliating, I’ve tactically deleted most of the memories of my childhood ponies. There was the Exmoor who would only reach the other end of the bending poles if his field mate was standing at the opposite side of the ring — a logistical nightmare — the New Forest who would put her head down to eat grass mid-canter so I would slide down her neck in slow motion, and the Connemara whose only reliable characteristic was that we could be certain that every show would begin with the commentator calling ‘loose horse’ as she made another break for freedom from the trailer.

“Piecing all those early ponies together 20 years on, I can’t help now wondering if these recurring blunders might have been more to do with my own Thelwell rider status… On the plus side, by the time I was in my mid-teens and had graduated onto a horse who vaguely did what I wanted him to do, I felt like I had been gifted a Badminton-winning prodigy. He was God.”

Carol Phillips, website editor

“I remember riding a beautiful chestnut pony with white socks and a flaxen mane and tail called Fly, who used to always have to be rear-file in the riding school because if another pony got too close behind him, he would spin round and charge at it teeth bared.

“Being rear file was fine until the exercise required the lesson to do something like cantering from the front of the ride to the back. I remember falling off him four times in one lesson when he spun around before vowing to never ride him again.

“Taking pity on me, my instructor agreed for a while, before deciding to stick me back on him much to my distress some months later. My riding must have progressed so I was slightly less of a passenger at this point, as he proceeded to be a total angle and I had the most brilliant lesson, including jumping a row of barrels for the first time. I was then hooked and asked to ride him every week until it was decided that I really was too tall for him and I had to move on something larger.”

Rachael Turner, news writer

“My first pony, Pippin, was a very pretty 12.2hh New Forest mare. She looked like butter wouldn’t melt but was an absolute minx. Her tricks including dashing out of the trailer backwards, galloping home on hacks and pulling off her bridle in showing classes. I wouldn’t hear a word against her though and was beside myself when I outgrew her.”

Martha Terry, sub editor

“Harlequin was a really zippy 14.2hh, thoroughbred x New Forest. I wish we’d had pony racing in my day because he was so speedy. He used to gallop everywhere, the moment he set foot on grass he’d tuck his pretty head in and charge off, which was great fun, until I took him hunting. I simply could not stop him overtaking the master.

“My hands were rubbed raw with blisters and I was crying with embarrassment and aches. I was finally asked to take my pony home, but couldn’t get him to leave the party, when a lovely master, the late Sir Willie Aldous, came alongside me, and took Quin and me hacking round the fields for an hour to try to get him to calm down so I could rejoin the hunt. He never did, but I remember that kindness 25 years on!”

Continued below…

Alex Robinson, showing editor and features assistant

“After moving from my first pony who was the ultimate little gem (an Irish bog pony called Sydney we bought from a dealer), I got a 12hh chestnut Welsh section A gelding called Cosy, who was anything but.

“He might have been small (and so was I at the time) but he was the strongest thing I think I’ve ever ridden in my life. I will never forget going in the Nursery Stakes at the Ponies UK Summer Championships, jumping the first two fences and then getting tanked off with a flat out gallop round and round the arena. A man who was standing at the side of the ring had to jump under the fence and grab him before leading him out, with me crying.”

Gemma Redrup, online journalist

“My first pony was called Treasure. Never was a pony so poorly named. My late grandparents left me some money, and aged six, I paid £600 for the 12hh chestnut mare. She was wonderful in many ways but had a real ‘character building’ streak.

“Her greatest accolade was being banned from our local Pony Club, the Burghley. The tipping point was at my first mini Pony Club camp in Burghley Park in 1996. Treasure had a fantastic knack of rearing up and falling over backwards (I hasten to add, there was no veterinary reason for this). When she did it twice on the final day of camp, her pièce de résistance being dumping me in a thick patch of nettles, the powers that be said enough was enough. And rightly so. Despite some great days with us and plenty of rosettes (usually for improving/trying rather than winning), she went on to teach countless tots to ride in our local riding school, where she fully lived up to her name.”

Don’t miss this week’s Horse & Hound magazine (7 June 2018) for our pony special, where top riders remember their naughty first ponies, and we find out how to find the dream child’s pony

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

National Hunt legend Denman has been put down “painlessly” at home at the age of 18.

The 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner had had a “fantastic” life since his retirement from the racecourse in 2011 but had started to go downhill, his former trainer Paul Nicholls said, so the decision was made to put him down as “we did not want to see him suffer”.

Denman won 14 of his 24 starts under Rules and earned more than £1m, but “mere statistics cannot possibly do him justice”, Paul said.

“Denman was known affectionately to punters and race goers as ‘The Tank’ which I always felt was a fitting description,” he added. “He was a magic horse who had a tremendous following because of the wholehearted way he went about his racing.

“He was tough, hardy and willing, wasn’t the easiest to train and would bite your hand off in his box given half a chance.

“He came along at the right time and was one of our superstars during a golden era for Team Ditcheat.”

Paul praised Denman’s “never say die” attitude, and cited the showdown between him and his stablemate Kauto Star in the 2008 Gold Cup as a “promoter’s dream”.

“I feel so privileged to have trained the pair of them as they were two of the best chasers ever seen on a racecourse,” he said.

After his racing career, Denman went to the yard of Charlotte Alexander, who retrained him to enjoy hunting and team chasing, until he was retired fully to live at owner Paul Barber’s Ditcheat farm last year.

“RIP you gorgeous horse,” said Charlotte. “A horse who loved life and was as brave as a lion. Blessed in having the most wonderful owner in PK Barber.

Continues below…

“I was the luckiest girl to have had the honour of looking after The Tank in his active retirement.”

Paul added on social media: “Denman thank you for all the memories. You were pure gold. Rest in peace big fella.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

The latest edition (31 May) is a training special, including a look at the world’s top trainers and whether you should have multiple coaches. Also check out our summer clothing guide, interview with showjumper and recent winner of the Hamburg Derby Matt Sampson, and feature on health problems in miniature horses