‘Cherish every moment’: farewell to eventer who ‘brought joy to many people’, aged 15
Dreamaway II, who competed up to four-star with Tom McEwen, went on to event with Joanna Gillingham
The owner of a horse who brought an “enormous amount of joy to many people” has shared his story to thank his owners, give hope to others – and remind us all to cherish every moment.
Barbara and Ken Cooper’s Dreamaway II, who competed successfully up to four-star level with Tom McEwen, including winning the British intermediate championship in 2019 and coming second in the eight- and nine-year-olds’ class at Blenheim a few weeks later, has died aged 15 owing to colic.
The Irish-bred gelding sustained a significant tendon injury in 2021 but came back to eventing two years later with equine vet Joanna Gillingham, who told H&H she will always be grateful he came into her life.
“He was very laid back, a chilled gentleman, and I think deep down he did really care about me,” she said. “At the end, I worked that out. He was quite grumpy, not the cuddly type, but when he was unwell, it was me he wanted to be with. We definitely formed a great partnership, and a true gentleman is exactly what he was.”
Joanna said that when Dreamer first injured his superficial flexor tendon, there was some discussion over whether it might be in his best interests to put him down. But the Coopers wanted to try, and thanks to them, vets and the McEwens, as well as Jess Draper who took him on a year or so later, he came right.
Dreamaway II: his next home
Dreamer came to Joanna through mutual connections.
“I graduated from vet school and wanted to do more eventing, but don’t come from a horsey family,” she said. “The horse I’d had was on loan, he was 18 and would run across country if he fancied it! I had a real aspiration to go novice but wasn’t sure how I would afford a £40,000 horse on my own.
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“It was a pretty fairytale story; I went to try him, sat on him and thought ‘I think I’ll learn loads from this horse’. There were murmurings about someone who wanted him for dressage, and I said ‘I am who I am, I don’t want to pay substantial money as we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. But this is the home I’m going to be, I will love him forever, we’ll help each other, and see what happens’.
“They very kindly came back to me within a few hours and said ‘Let’s meet for lunch next week but you sound perfect, and we’ll just let you crack on’.”
Joanna praised the work Jess had put in; Dreamer was ready to start jumping and they completed some BE100s in 2023. They progressed, coming second in a novice in 2025 and showjumping clear at Osberton CCI2*-S – although the rest of the class was called off owing to torrential rain.
“He did a pretty good dressage and showjumped clear, which was an incredible feeling in that arena,” she said.
“That was gutting but he gave me the feeling. I’d never been to an international; I do everything on my own, so I turned up in the rain on my own, stabled there on my own, had to cycle off site to stay because I don’t have a big lorry.
“But he was a seasoned pro. He just turned up like ‘Yeah, I know what I’m doing’ and was totally chilled the whole time. I’m so grateful I got that experience, and Dreamer gave it to me, which was amazing.”
Joanna was able to have some lessons with Tom, which she said was an “incredible” help with understanding her horse.
“We always laughed as Dreamer was in Dreamerland, which was on another planet!” she said. “You had to be ‘Come on, let’s go’. Early on, we had a fall, and I think till then I’d been a bit star-struck, then I realised we had to be a partnership.
“But his jump was so amazing; you knew you were on something super-classy and clever, And you had to be together; he wasn’t just doing it for you, and that gave you such an accomplishment. I don’t think I understood about horses how much of it is about partnership, until I lost him.”
Joanna said she and Dreamer completed their first event this season, coming 10th in an intermediate, then the next day he colicked. This carried on and Joanna enlisted the help of a specialist but it was thought there were other issues going on, and the call was made in his best interests.
She said she very much wanted to thank the Coopers, who have been great supporters of eventing.
“With Dreamer, for example, they could have really pushed him to be back at the top level with Tom, or sold him to someone random and seen what had happened,” she said “I think it’s really nice they wanted to still follow the sport, but were happy to just do that at whatever level Dreamer wanted to do.
“At Cornbury, we didn’t even go cross-country but they said they’d had the best day. We were a team and it was really fun, and I want to thank them for giving me a chance when I’m not Tom McEwen, I’m a nobody but they were always so supportive, which I’m so grateful for.”
Joanna said another reason for sharing Dreamer’s story is to show that there can be hope after serious injury.
“It’s really hard as an owner, 10 different people can give you 10 opinions but there can be light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “The fact he came back and enjoyed a few more years of the sport is, I think, a really nice story.”
But finally, Joanna said, the story of Dreamaway II reminds us to enjoy of what we have.
“Perhaps most importantly, his story is a reminder to cherish the everyday moments with our horses, because we never know how long we have with them,” she said.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.