In case you missed them, catch up with the key equestrian stories from the past seven days...
Mare sells for record £6.3million at Tattersalls auction
A four-year-old thoroughbred filly became the highest-priced horse ever sold at a European auction after changing hands for 6 million guineas (£6.3million). Double group one winner Marsha was bought by Coolmore’s MV Magnier for a new partnership at Tattersalls December Mare Sale on Tuesday (5 December).
Owners’ heartbreak as horses die in suspicious yard fire
The Essex equestrian community has rallied round after a number of horses died in a livery yard fire. The fire was spotted by passers-by at after 11pm on 3 December, who alerted emergency services and did everything possible to save the horses inside. Essex Police have confirmed the fire is being treated as suspicious and investigations are under way into how it started.
Irish groom sole survivor of car crash that killed two young riders
Irish groom Elaine O’Halloran was the sole survivor of a car crash that killed two young riders in the US. The 24-year-old is recovering in hospital after spinal surgery. Originally from County Sligo, Elaine has been living in Wellington, Florida, where she works as a groom taking care of top level showjumpers. Although the operation was a success, she currently has paralysis from the waist down and it is not yet known whether the condition will be permanent.
‘He was phenomenal’: owner pays tribute to quirky Olympic eventer
Amanda Ratcliffe paid tribute to her “very special” friend, Treveri, a talented four-star horse who was put down this week aged 26. Known at home as “Rio”, the gelding competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and 2002 World Equestrian Games (WEG) under Brazilian rider Vicente De Araujo.
Don’t bark commands or whisper to your horse — try listening, says Dragons’ Den star
Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden shared her opinion that people should be thinking of listening to horses, rather than whispering to them – or “barking commands” at last Thursday’s (30 November) World Horse Welfare annual conference, including telling the tale of her own first pony.
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