Farewell to ‘ordinary horse with the biggest heart’ who took his rider up to five-star
The much-loved gelding enjoyed a happy retirement after stepping down in 2014.
Tributes have been paid to Action Packed, the “ordinary little horse with the biggest heart” who took his rider from juniors to five-star.
The Dumas family’s much-loved gelding, known as Ryan, was put down at home aged 26, owing to age-related health problems.
Millie started riding Ryan when she was 14, and she produced him all the way up the ranks. They contested two junior championships in 2009 and 2010, and enjoyed four-star completions at events including Bramham, Barbury Castle, Gatcombe Park and Boekelo.
“He was the one that started my career,” Millie told H&H.
“When I was 14 I was obviously very inexperienced, and he was a horse that we never really expected much of. He was ordinary really, so it was quite amazing that he kept on going all the way up the grades.”
Millie and Ryan made their five-star debut together at Luhmühlen in 2014, finishing 31st.
“Luhmühlen wasn’t perfect, but the experience he gave me around it was amazing and it really did set me up at that level,” she said.
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“When you produce a horse from a young age you form that amazing partnership with them, and the number one thing with him was he had the most amazing temperament. He was one of those horses that could do no wrong. He wasn’t the most talented, but he had the biggest heart and always tried his best.”
Luhmühlen was Ryan’s last event. He retired sound and happy and enjoyed a second career as a nanny horse at home.
“As he got a little bit older, we wanted to prioritise retiring a horse that was sound and happy,” said Millie.
“He became my Mum’s hacking partner, who would supervise me out hacking the young horses or help them get confidence over a ditch or going into water. He was such a good influence on the young horses and they learned so much from him.”
Ryan spent his latter years retired with Millie’s other former five-star horse Artistiek.
“They spent the last five years living together in the field. He will be very missed by all of us,” said Millie.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.