HH Prince Torki Bin Mohammed Al Saud, a great supporter of showjumping who “loved to win”, would have been thrilled to see his horses take first and second in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at the Royal International Horse Show last weekend (29 July). But the same day as Shane Breen on the 11-year-old mare Haya (pictured, above) and Harriet Biddick riding Night Of Glory OL topped the podium in their Old Lodge Stud livery, news also broke of founder Prince Torki’s sudden death.
“He’d have been very proud of that result,” said Shane, whose partnership with Prince Torki goes back many years, beginning with the great stallion Golden Hawk. “He always loved having a winner, as we all do, but he’s had Olympic medal success [a bronze in 2012 with Sultan V, who he bred, with the Saudi Arabia team] and it meant as much to him winning an Olympic medal as it did winning the newcomers – he was just a real supporter of horses and riders.
“He was a good friend, a good mentor and a great character, and he’ll be very much missed.”
A statement from Old Lodge read: “We are all deeply saddened by the sudden passing of His Highness Prince Torki.
Prince Torki, founder of the Old Lodge Stud at Ashdown Forest.
Prince Torki “loved Hickstead”
Harriet Biddick has been a rider for Old Lodge for the past five years, since she was sent then eight-year-old Night Of Glory OL.
“She has been an amazing horse for me, always very competitive and he always wanted to win,” she said. “It would have been nice if he’d had the chance to have celebrated the result a little bit.
“He loved Hickstead, it was one of his favourite venues, and he would go to the Royal International every year before Covid. He would have a table in hospitality and you would see him clapping everyone, whether they were his rider or not.
“I think he loved the way we produced horses in the UK, how competitive as a country we are and how much we enjoy the sport. He really wanted to support showjumping in our country.”
John Whitaker, who rode the 14-year-old Sharid for Prince Torki, said he “would be much missed”.
Many people will remember his brilliant Super Trooper De Ness, with whom Nicky Charles produced many great successes in this country, while Sultan V and early rider Bruce Menzies won the Foxhunter final in 2009.
Proving that Prince Torki and Old Lodge’s legacy will live on within the sport, another of his riders, Steven Franks, produced another two of his horses, Active Spirit and Celebrity OL, to further success at Chard this week.
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