Eyespye III traces his roots

Buckinghamshire-based New Zealander Pat Thorne was delighted to learn that she is the breeder of Mark Todd’s Sydney bronze medal-winning event horse, Eyespy III.

Pat, formerly Pat Pharazyn, used to bring over and show jump New Zealand-bred horses in this country and still has Thoroughbred breeding interests in New Zealand.

She had lost track of Eyespy due to a name change, but can confirm that he is by Straight Strike out of Black Emerald. As a foal, he was looked after by equine artist Jane Langdale and her husband Phil, brother of Heythrop master Oliver Langdale.

“He was such a friendly foal. He would always prefer a cuddle from a human instead of playing with the other foals,” said Jane.

Eyespy was sold as a yearling at the Magic Million sales and named Poidevin. His racing career brought two second places and he was then sold to be trained as a show jumper by Joanne Bridgeman.

Joanne recognised his eventing talent, contacted Mark Todd, and the rest, as they say, is history!