National Champion horse for £2500?

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Raych

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I was reading an article today in a pony magazine about Carl Hester, he has a new TV show coming out on Horse&Country TV, not sure when.
But anyway, they were inteviewing him about the new series.

One of the questions was:
"Which of your own horses is your all-time favourite, and why"

His Answer:
"Democrat. He was a national champion 3 times and got to the European Championships in the late 90's. He was a £2500 carriage horse with unknown breeding..."

I know top riders are able to bring on horses to a good standard, but I thought this was amazing. This horse may have been wasted as a carriage horse, luckily he wasnt and turned into a brilliant competition horse, probably worth 10 times the original price at the peak of his career.

Anyone else have any opinions? Or any other similar stories? x
 
It goes to show that not every pony/horse that has no breeding etc is used to it's potential! Not to say the pony in question wouldn't have made a great carriage horse, but i bet the old owners never thought it'd go on to do what it did!

I know of someone who bought a gelding, no breeding recorded, plain bay, hunter type, apparently jumping 1:50/60 loose. Now i haven't seen it, so don't know about that one, but he would be sold as a hunter, because he has the bone...But it's one i'd have to see to believe.

We have a 14.2hh pony, who jumps 1.20, loose, but with plenty of scope, she's no breeding recorded, looks very pretty but wouldn't have thought she'd have a talent for jumping that height!
 
There was a succesful small little puissance horse years ago,named Dundrum. He spent years pulling a milk float! I think a lot of ex racers are completly underestimated.
 
Went to a demo of Carl Hester's a couple of years ago and the big chestnut he was riding (can't remember name) apparently only cost him about £3k because he failed grading on continent and if I remember rightly Steph Croxford's Mr President was also a very good buy :D
 
I think Harvey Smith started out on a milk-float pony (if I remember his biog right?)

Some Heinz57 horses can be fantastic. It seems that everything today has to be advertised as A x B, but in the past it was only a few horses that were pure-breds or first crosses. I think I'd take a lot of breeding claims with a pinch of salt, myself. Most all-rounders are 'mongrels'.
 
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