Horse & Hound Festival of Eventing competitor Kerry Lockwood was actually looking for a donkey when she ended up with a yearling 10 years ago.

The retired police officer had wanted a companion for her horse at the time and was planning on buying a donkey.

“A friend of mine is a farrier — he was driving near the M25 when some people flagged him down and asked him to tend to their horses’ feet,” explained Kerry who rides Boxer V in the 80cm class.

“They gave him Boxer and another pony in lieu of payment.”

Kerry added she took Boxer on and “never thought” he would be big enough to ride.

However the horse kept growing and blossomed from a nervous youngster into a smart 15.2hh cob.

With the help of her trainer Lisa Clarke-Spence, Kerry has brought on Boxer and the pair enjoy eventing and hunting.

In a bid to try and find out more about Boxer’s origins, Kerry had the gelding DNA tested.

She found he shares bloodlines with a traditional gypsy cob stallion named King Arthur, who has won numerous titles including the 2011 supreme champion traditional of the year at the Traditional Gypsy Cob Association National Championships.
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The pair have hunted with the East Essex since 2007 and their aim for 2018 is a double clear at British Eventing BE80(T).

“He is intelligent — a cob with a brain,” laughed Kerry, who also runs her own herd of pedigree Aberdeen Angus Cattle in Suffolk.

“My trainer is always pushing me to do things that are out of my comfort zone, I was terrified before the dressage, but after that it was a big relief and now I can enjoy it.”

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

The full report from the H&H Festival of Eventing in Horse & Hound, run in association with KBIS, will be in this week’s issue of the magazine — on sale Thursday, 7 June

Filed under: Riding Tips

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