Millfield Baloney, the two-time British national showjumping champion and phenomenal force on the county circuit, has died aged 18.
Adrian Speight said that Judith Witham’s Balou Du Rouet gelding, known as “Louie”, became ill with an infection, and despite best efforts to save him, they “had to say goodbye”.
“He’s been unbelievable, and the majority of the time, unbeatable. It’s just been a fantastic partnership and he’s missed already,” Adrian told H&H.
Adrian gained the ride on Louie five years ago, through his former employer Pam Dunny. They became a force to be reckoned with, admired by riders and fans alike, for their blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jump-offs, countless international stairway wins, and famous moment at the Great Yorkshire Show in 2022 when they jumped a fence as it blew down beneath them.
In 2021 they won two area trials, and topped the British Showjumping gold league, then won the international stairway final to claim the British national champion title – a feat they repeated in 2023.
This summer they made Royal Highland Show history when they won the grand prix for the third year in a row; Adrian said, “to win it once is great, twice is fantastic, but three times is bloody brilliant!”.
Adrian told H&H that the loss of Louie has “shocked us all”.
“He’s just one of those horses that kept going, but he got this illness and just didn’t get over it,” he said.
“Five years ago Pam suggested Judith send Louie my way, and I’m very thankful and grateful for them giving me the opportunity with him. We hit the ground running, literally, and never looked back.
“The highlight has been his consistency; to do the Highland three years on the trot, to be national champion twice, I’ve won a puissance, we’ve jumped speed classes, ranking classes, I couldn’t pick one stand out competition. Of all the classes he’s done, he’s been there or thereabouts.
“We were a commentator’s dream, I had several commentators contact me and say how fantastic Louie was in the ring and he gave them plenty to talk about.”
Charlotte Walker, Adrian’s groom, added that she always looked forward to going to a show because she knew Louie would be in the line up.
“It almost got a bit repetitive. You could put your money on them each time,” she said.
“He was kind, and he was a character at the same time. You can’t replace Louie, he was so consistent and he and Adrian were such a partnership together, they just knew each other and they had their routine.”
Adrian thanked all those who had sent support and messages, and everyone who had been part of his and Louie’s journey together.
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