Tributes have been paid to a hunting star that died following a team chasing accident.
Dai Harrison’s popular horse, Dutch, had been a stalwart of the Boring Gorings’ open team for the past few seasons.
The 12-year-old gelding was put down after sustaining a leg injury at the Berkeley team chase on 4 October.
By Catherston Liberator, the bay gelding came to the Harrisons’ yard in the summer of 2011 on the condition that he would not be sold.
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Bred to event by Jan Whitehead, the horse found his forte on the hunting field.
Dai, who retired as a master of the Monmouthshire earlier this year, also let his son’s partner Tabby Prest borrow Dutch to learn side-saddle on.
“I rode him for a whole season side-saddle,” Tabby told H&H. “We both learnt together.”
With Dutch, Tabby became the first person to tackle the Royal Welsh inter-hunt relay riding side-saddle.
They combination also took second place in the Dianas of the Chase cross-country side-saddle race in 2014.
“Primarily, he was an amazing hunter who led the field flawlessly over all sorts of obstacles,” said Tabby.
“I have never seen him refuse a fence.”
She remembered how the first hunting fence she jumped side-saddle on him was a set of 1.10 rails — which he cleared with ease.
“He was really a horse for everybody — we are all predictably devastated,” she added.
The horse was featured in H&H’s report of the Meynell and South Staffs team chase, where the team came third in the open.
“My horse actually lacks turn of foot as he is part-warmblood — his grandsire was Dutch Courage — but he makes up for it with his turning and jumping,” Dai told H&H at the time.
