The top show cob Colebrooke has died aged 23.
The heavyweight contender was known for his partnership with show horse producer Matthew Ainsworth, who credits the upstanding gelding for putting him on the map during the early years of his career.
Colebrooke, known as Lordy at home, was discovered by cob specialist Reid Finlay and sold to his long-term owner Hayley Hyde-Andrews in 2005.
Matthew was first acquainted with him when he worked for the late Robert Oliver. When Matthew set up his own production business, Lordy was one of the first horses to join his team.
“I owe this horse everything; he set me alight,” said Matthew. “For such a big horse he was so nimble. For a couple of seasons while he got going he was wobbly and unbalanced, but when he turned seven years old he was a machine.”
Matthew and Lordy went to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and the Royal International Horse Show multiple times and they won most major titles on the county show circuit, including at the British Show Horse Association championships, Royal Cheshire and Three Counties.
“We also won the Queen’s Cup at Royal Cornwall once; I will always remember being presented with an award by Princess Anne,” said Matthew, who eventually bought Lordy from Hayley. “He did other jobs, too, always with a smile on his face.
“He became the first cob to qualify for HOYS in the ladies’ side-saddle final, with Emma Wilesmith. In 2015, we went for a nice day out to the New Forest. Lordy dinged it and won the class; he’d only had a side-saddle on his back once prior!”
Lordy spent his later years with the Ainsworth’s friends, Tor and Jimmy Verdin, hacking around their farmland in Herefordshire.
“He was a Christian and the children used to ride him, too,” Matthew said.
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