A donkey found in Spain with hardly any hair is the saddest looking that Donkey Sanctuary staff had ever seen.

Flor was found in a town in southern Spain, when a neighbour alerted staff at El Refugio del Burrito about her neglect.

“She had virtually no hair, her skin was infected, her body covered in wounds and crawling with flies,” said Chus Moreno of the Spanish branch of the international animal welfare charity.

“She came to us easily and quietly as if she knew we were there to help.

“I was so sad for her, but kept telling myself she was finally safe, which was the most important thing.”

Flor was taken straight away to an isolation area at the sanctuary to ensure she was not contagious before she was introduced to the rest of the herd.

She was treated daily with medicated lotions and bathed with anti-bacterial shampoo.

Now turned out with plenty of shade and good quality food, she is making good progress.

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Tests show there are no underlying serious health issues or any viral or contagious skin disease.

Veterinary staff assume the alopecia and poor skin condition are due to the conditions in which Flor was kept and lack of care.

It will be many months before the donkey’s skin is fully healed.

The Donkey Sanctuary has 10 sanctuaries around the UK and Europe providing lifelong care to more than 6,000 donkeys and mules.

It also helps donkeys in other countries including Mexico, Peru, Egypt, Ethiopia, Romania, Portugal and India.

The charity’s outreach service provides veterinary care and advice on nutrition, housing, working hours, weight of load and welfare-friendly harness and cart design.

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An 18 year-old show pony repeated his winning formula at last weekend’s BHS Royal International Horse Show (RIHS), 11 years after winning the same class with another rider.

Roseview Limited Edition (Eddie) a 14.2hh British riding pony was in the ring on 29 July with owner Sarah Chandler’s 14-year-old son George.

The pair were competing in the BSPS Pretty Polly mixed height show pony Championships on the Sunday.

Eddie had won numerous championships in his five years with the Hertfordshire-based Chandler family with eldest son Harry.

Now aged 17, Harry has moved on to polo leaving Eddie for his younger brother to compete.

The pair were pulled in second out of a strong class of 22 including a Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) winner. After their show they were put up to first.

Eddie has competed at the RIHS for the last 15 years.

On 21 April he qualified at the area 15 competition for this year’s show. “We so thrilled he qualified that day because I already thought this could possibly be his last year,” said Sarah.

Eddie’s 2018 triumph was extra special as 11 years ago he won the same title with previous owner Ellie Kivlochan.

“Harry had tears in his eyes watching,” said Sarah Chandler, who herself started crying the next morning when the win finally sank in.

George and Eddie competed in hurricane-like conditions as the rain poured down on the Sunday.

A few days earlier his mother was competing in blistering heat in another ring on her elder son’s horse Basford Cavalier.

They were fourth in the amateur riding horses class and fifth in the riding horse championship.

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But nothing could compare to Eddie’s triumph, which was the perfect finale to his showing career.

“We will still ride him, but he’s now going into semi-retirement with us. We all adore this very special pony and he will never leave us,” said Sarah.

Also watching Eddie’s final win was Lisa Street, a riding instructor who has followed the pony and taught many of his riders including the Chandler brothers.

Eddie was bred by Heather Banbury and his early showing career flourished with Zoe Cutmore.

In his first year with the Chandlers he qualified for HOYS at the South of England show with Harry, then aged 12.

“He’s been the pony of a lifetime,” said Sarah, who looks after the ponies herself.

This year “because of his age he took a bit longer” to get into show condition, Sarah said, adding: “I put a lot of work into it, but it’s so worthwhile when you do get success.”

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Businesswoman Katie Forrest steered the George Baker-trained Hurricane Harry to success in this year’s Magnolia Cup at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, raising vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

It has been a “whirlwind” few months for the design agency managing director, who stepped up to the challenge in May when one rider dropped out.

The Swarovski-sponsored charity race runs over five furlongs and involves a field of inspirational ladies donning silks and breeches to battle it out for the Magnolia Cup title.

Magnolia Cup jockeys

“I begged to do this race in March, but the riders had already been selected,” said Katie. “Then one dropped out in May and I got my chance to take part. Since then it has been a whirlwind to get ready for this, but it’s been worth it.

“I can’t even put my feelings into words. Mick Fitzgerald said winning [the Grand National] was better than sex and it really is.”

It was also a personal journey for Surrey-based Katie because her father Tim is undergoing treatment for cancer. Both her parents were at Goodwood to watch their daughter walk into the winner’s enclosure.

“It will be a big boost for my dad and I’ve raised £10,000 to do this, so to win it as well is insane. I owe it all to George Baker and his team, and Harry Hurricane literally carried me home — I didn’t have a clue what I was doing half the time.”

She added: “I got a good start, but the Bakers drilled it into me saying: ‘Nail the start and you will be halfway there’. I got to about a furlong out and thought ‘I don’t know where everyone else is but I’m going to keep going.’ By then my legs had gone and I was wobbling, but the horse kept going and is a legend.”

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Candida Baker, the wife of the winning trainer, said: “Katie has been riding out for us for some months, but she only had six weeks’ preparation for this. We’ve had this horse for a long time and he’s part of the family — Katie proved to us that she was good enough to ride him.

“He’s a strong horse at home and not an easy ride, but towards the end she really got to grips with him. Two weeks ago, I said she could ride him here and she burst into tears — so then I burst into tears.”

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A rider battling a severe form of cancer has made a brave winning return to the dressage arena

British Horse Society coach Clarissa Dawson was diagnosed with terminal leukemia last summer, and endured many rounds of chemotherapy, keeping her out of the saddle for long periods of time. But she made a triumphant return to the dressage arena against the odds last month, when she won an advanced class with an impressive plus-68% at Onley Grounds, Warks, with her mare Primiende.

“I’ve had the mare since she was a three-year-old and she’s been my saving grace,” says Clarissa who, a few days after her win, received the traumatic news that her cancer had returned. “We call her Girlie at home — she always has to put her mascara on — and she’s given me a lot of pleasure over the years. This class was a small thing in comparison to other things, but to me it was a very precious win, on my very precious mare.”

Clarissa, an equine tutor at Moreton Morrell College, trains with Dan Greenwood, who she describes as “fantastic”, and also credits Liz Rogers with keeping Girlie ticking over while she undergoes treatment.

“The chemo leaves you very weak, and my white blood cell count is on the floor so I’m open to infections,” says Clarissa, who hopes to be out of hospital in early August.

“But they’re very good here at the hospital and they let me walk around, as lying in bed you lose so much strength and muscle. I also have a pedal machine that I can use lying on the bed; it’s a hoot, and everyone thinks I’m a bit nuts, but it works!

“It’s all about psychology and mindset; it’s very easy to give up,” continues Clarissa. “You have to have a goal; not a ridiculous one — even if it’s just managing to get on your horse and walk for 20 minutes that’s great. Ultimately my goal is to ride at prix st georges [PSG]. I’ve got the tailcoat but it’s still hanging up in the wardrobe — I haven’t worn it. It’s my incentive to keep fighting, and I’m quite boneheaded so I think that will get me through.

“It annoys me that this has taken my life away and stops me doing what I want to do, but competing when I can gives me a sense of normality. I had a lovely day at Onley: putting the horse in the trailer, going out and being totally independent.

“Then six days later I had the ghastly news the cancer had returned and I was whipped back into hospital to be sorted out. You have to live for the moment, appreciate the good times and take life day by day.”

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A horse rescue centre is appealing for help replacing stolen tack after burglars made off with saddles and bridles worth about £5,000.

The Isleham Horse and Pony Rescue centre in southeast Cambridgeshire, established more than 25 years ago by Wendy Davies, is home to around 100 horses as well as 300 other farm animals.

Wendy’s daughter Hayley, who runs the rescue alongside her mother on a volunteer basis, discovered the items missing when she turned up at 4.30am on Sunday morning (July 1).

“I went to unlock the feed room as usual and found the door was open — I thought mum might have forgotten to lock it at first,” Hayley said. “Then I saw a lot of stuff on the floor and I wondered if it was the yard cats but when I noticed scrape marks on the metal parts of the door, I realised there had been a break-in.

“The first thing I did was check all the stables and fields to make sure the animals were OK and it wasn’t until I came back that I realised our £700 generator and fence batteries were also gone. It was a bit of a sad day for us.”

All animals at the centre have a home for life and the 75-acre facility operates an on-site loan scheme for rescues who can still be ridden. Clients calculated that 14 lots of tack had been taken with a value of around £5,000.

“There were random bits of bridles, headcollars and riding hats gone — including donkey brides for the retired donkeys we have who used to give beach rides,” Hayley said.

“There were tatty old headcollars taken that couldn’t have been worth more than £1 but they belonged to old horses of ours who have died and they had sentimental value.

“They only left a few bits behind and we aren’t keeping them on site any more,” she added.

The centre has since had some items of tack donated but has also set up a JustGiving page which has so far raised £1,280.

“People have been brilliant, we have a saddle fitter who has given time for free to come out and fit saddles that have been donated — we’ll hopefully be able to use some of them but what we can’t find we will have to buy, as it’s unlikely that we have a saddle perfect for each horse,” Hayley said.

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“We’re not a registered charity, so we have to go out and fundraise for everything.”

Most of the stolen tack was cob or full and included a 17.5” interchangeable gullet saddle, a black 16.5” Wintec and a Pony Club Thorowgood.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police confirmed that the force were called to a burglary of a business in Crickwillow Road, and that officers were investigating.

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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.

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“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

Additional reporting by Selene Scarsi

Isabell Werth’s 2014 World Equestrian Games ride Bella Rose has made her long-awaited return to competition, after almost four years out. The chestnut mare, whom Isabell referred to in 2017 as “the best horse of my life”, won the grand prix for special with 77.52% at the Fritzens-Schindlof CDI4* in Austria, before topping the special with 80.17%.

The elegant Belissimo M daughter, now aged 14, was last seen in action in November 2014, having been withdrawn from the 2014 WEG in Caen after scoring 81.53% for Germany in the grand prix, finishing second behind Valegro. Details were released stating that Bella Rose developed signs of an acute inflammation in the sole of her hoof.

She and Isabell returned to competition later that year, delivering an 81.94% grand prix special in Stuttgart, but it was to be the last time the mare was seen in action, as she sustained a knee injury.

“This was one of the most beautiful days of my horsey life,” Isabell told H&H after her highly emotional grand prix performance. “It was a dream come true that she came back [from injury]. It wasn’t perfect, but it was very good already so I’m very very happy.”

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It was an excellent weekend for Britain’s Emile Faurie and Hayley Watson-Greaves, too. Emile’s 11-year-old gelding Dono Di Maggio (below) scored two international personal bests of 74.02% and 75.6% to finish third in the grand prix for special and second in the special behind Isabell and Bella Rose. Emile has long tipped the Dimaggio son as the best of his current grand prix string, and is aiming him for WEG selection this year.

Hayley and her 14-year-old Rubin Royal son Rubins Nite had a disappointing grand prix, finishing seventh, but were back on top form for the freestyle, scoring 75.75% to fill third place behind Isabell Werth and Emilio and Dorothee Schneider with Rock N Rose.

Don’t miss this week’s issue of H&H for the full report from Fritzens, on sale Thursday 5 July.

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An event horse whose limit was thought to be intermediate, but went clear inside the time round Badminton’s cross-country, has been put down aged 20 after a happy retirement.

Hannah Bate completed Badminton and Burghley twice each on Finbury Hill, as well as finishing in the top 10 at Blair, Bramham and Chatworth three-stars (now four-stars).

He retired in 2016 to live with his owner Susie Guild.

“Susie bought him as a four-year-old, from Vere Phillipps, and he came to me to sell aged 11 as they thought he was no more than an intermediate horse,” Hannah told H&H.

Hannah said she jumped the two-star (now three-star) at Weston Park soon after she took on the ride.

“He absolutely flew round and I thought ‘let’s have a crack at Bramham next year’,” she said. “He finished on his dressage score then, and at Blenheim, and at Badminton went clear, inside the time.

“He had the biggest heart in the world – what he lacked in ability, his heart made up for; he was an absolute little superstar.”

Hannah described “Finn” as “a funny little horse”.

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‘Her heart made her’: rider pays tribute to four-star mare

The eventer has said goodbye to her European Championships partner, who would ‘never give up’

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The rule has been met with frustration from riders, leading to numerous appeals, and pressure is mounting on the FEI

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“He had unknown breeding on his dam’s side but we’re sure there was some pony in there,” she said. “He had a whinny like a pony and a face like a pony.

“He wasn’t quirky either; you often feel like the top ones have to be but he wasn’t. He wasn’t a natural mover or jumper, but he was a natural galloper who was super-brilliant cross-country; he always found a fifth leg.”

Hannah became pregnant with her son Billy and hoped to compete Finn, who was “really straight and easy; good to do in all ways” at Tattersalls 2016, after she gave birth but he sustained an injury and was retired.

He went to live with Ms Guild, keeping a homebred company, but succumbed to age-related issues.

“He looked incredible but he was struggling,” Hannah said.

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The owner of a pony whose weight dropped to 260kg as she nursed him through grass sickness said she never thought he would return to the show ring.

Amber Smalley’s now-eight-year-old 14hh cob Joey was diagnosed with the disease in May 2018.

“Joey had a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and I was asked if I wanted him put down but I said no. He was my first horse and I didn’t want to let him go without trying,” Amber told H&H.

“He spent a week in hospital and when I got him home he had to be fed every hour by syringe. I was going to the yard four times a day, as well as friends going to help feed him.”

Over six months Joey’s condition improved and by November his weight had increased to 345kg.

“He was doing well but after new year, he got an infection and became very poorly again; discharge was coming out of his nose and he had a high temperature. We aren’t sure what caused it but he was given a course of antibiotics and after a few weeks he improved.

“I started riding him again in February and it was the best feeling I could ever have. When he was diagnosed I’d packed all my tack away and never expected to take it out again.”

Amber spent the summer working on Joey’s fitness and on 18 August they returned to competition at a Rochdale & District Riding Club show.

“I didn’t think we would be out again,” she said. “We did ridden cob, novice show cob and in-hand cob which he was fourth in. We weren’t placed in the ridden class but the judge said in six months’ time he’ll be winning classes.

“On 20 October we did the annual North West Championships show and made it through to the evening performance of the traditional ridden cob class. I’m so proud of him, I never thought we’d be doing anything like this again.”

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‘Don’t give up hope’ says owner of grass sickness survivor

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Amber said Joey will need six-monthly vet check-ups but she is looking forward to a full show season next year and hopes to compete in dressage in the future.

“He is still quite lean and the vet said he might always look a bit underweight after what he went through. He needs to have sloppy feeds as he still struggles with swallowing but he is back to his cheeky self,” she said.

“During his illness I had times where I didn’t think he would make it but it feels like we’ve been given a fresh start. Nursing wasn’t an easy route and you’ve got to make sure it’s the right decision for the horse but I’m so glad we got through it. I hadn’t heard of grass sickness before he was diagnosed so I’m hoping to raise some more awareness of the disease and do some charity rides in the future for the Equine Grass Sickness fund.”

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Two youngsters rescued within days of each other are facing “sparkling futures”after they were found weak and unwell.

Diamond and Quartz were rescued in February after concerned members of the public called World Horse Welfare.

Field officer Sarah Tucker arrived at an industrial estate in east Middlesbrough, where she found a colt (now named Diamond) tied tightly to railings. He was extremely weak and underweight.

“Diamond was clearly only a matter of months old, far too young to be without his mother and suffering badly from poor nutrition,” she said.

“His bones were sticking out through his thick, fluffy coat and his demeanour was dull and lethargic. He was clearly in urgent need of veterinary attention and as we couldn’t locate an owner, we worked with the RSPCA to post an abandonment notice before transporting him to a safe location nearby.”

Once the pony was well enough, he moved from the safe location where he was temporarily staying to World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm near Blackpool.

“No owner has come forward so he is now in World Horse Welfare’s ownership and is thriving at the farm, living the life a young pony deserves,” she added.

Diamond in the care of World Horse Welfare

Days later, Ms Tucker was called to another pony who had been found loose in a poorly fenced field close to the A1 near Pontefract.

“Quartz was clearly very unwell, scouring badly and appeared to be suffering from worms but he was also unhandled and very nervous so I couldn’t get close enough to properly assess his condition,” she said.

Quartz when he was found

“I was also worried about him becoming frightened and getting onto the A1 so I contacted fellow equine charity Bransby Horses, who attended with their penning system to help us safely contain and catch him.

“Once he was in the safety of temporary boarding stables, he was assessed by a vet who found him suffering, with a dangerously high temperature and a severe worm infestation.”

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Quartz now

She added he is now doing “really well and growing healthier every day” at Penny Farm.

“As with Diamond, no owner could be found so he is now in the care of World Horse Welfare,” she said.

“The plights of these two young ponies within a matter of days of each other, shows the scale of the welfare challenges facing our equine population and highlights the importance of people keeping alert for horses in need of our help.

“As a team of 16 field officers covering huge geographical areas, we rely on the public to be our eyes and ears.

“Reporting welfare concerns is essential in helping ensure we can reach as many horses as possible and in this instance it is thanks to two callers that both Diamond and Quartz are now safe, well and ready to have sparkling futures.”

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