A horse and rider will celebrate a special centenary at the Royal Norfolk Show, as the former is 30 and the latter will turn 70 on the day of their class.
Jan Wright and Samurai Warrior, or Sam to his friends, the offspring of a Cleveland Bay stallion and an Arab mare, will be contesting in-hand and ridden Veteran Horse Society qualifiers on 28 June, Jan’s 70th birthday.
Jan and “Sam” have been together for 23 years, during which time Sam has only needed a vet three times.
“He’s the biggest character I’ve ever known,” Jan told H&H. “He’s awesome.”
Jan had Sam on loan at first – and only because his owner “stalked” her.
“I was looking for something about 14.2hh to 15hh, about 10, a been there, done that type,” she said. “I finished up with a seven-year-old, just-backed former vaulting horse who was 16.2hh.
“I was looking for a loan horse as I couldn’t afford to buy; I was 47 and had wanted a horse for 40 years. I said to my husband ‘I’ve got to do it. I know we can’t really afford it but I have to otherwise I’ll be too old. And here I am at 70, still doing it!”
Jan said a fellow member of the British Horse Society Norfolk committee was looking for a home for Sam, but Jan told her he was not her type.
“So she stalked me for six months!” she said. “She kept ringing and sending pictures, and in the end, I said I’d just go to see him and say no. I put his headcollar on and took the rope, he sniffed my hair and chewed my ear and I said ‘Oh, he’s lovely’. Sucker! But it turned out she was right.”
Jan and the “opinionated” Sam had to overcome some challenges, including his preference to school in reverse and hers for forward movement, but they went on to do a bit of everything, including Trec, dressage, jumping and western riding.
“He was a former vaulting horse so when I got him, he could go in circles and that was about it,” Jan said. “We had lessons, and I discovered you can’t push a Cleveland Bay, but if you ask them, they’ll do anything for you. He’s like a big dog now; he follows me around.
“We’ve had a bash at everything, including dressage, but he’s renowned for farting. We’d enter at A, farting loudly at every single step. I remember thinking ‘Pretend it’s not happening, don’t catch the judge’s eye’, but then did and saw she was crying. Then I lost it too and got the giggles. Once, he was in the indoor with a young horse and let rip; the young horse freaked out and shot across the arena.”
Jan will take precautions at the Royal Norfolk; she had a knee replacement 10 months ago so her running is not entirely what it was.
“I’ll have to ask someone to run him round the collecting ring until he farts at least four times, then hopefully he won’t do it in the ring!” she said, adding: “It’ll be our centenary. We’ve done that show a few times and qualified for the national championships. I’m hoping we’ll be able to do that this year as I’m almost of the opinion that next year he’ll go into semi-retirement.”
Jan stopped jumping Sam a couple of years ago owing to his age but she said he still has all his teeth, and looks and feels very well.
“He had a sports massage the other day and the lady said she’s got 10-year-olds with more issues than he has,” she said. “He doesn’t believe he’s 30; he thinks he’s still seven or eight so I have to do the thinking and watch out for him but I realise how lucky I am.”
Jan said when Sam does semi-retire, he can become a “happy hacker, as he’s brilliant at that”.
“He’s the only horse I’ve had and he’ll be the last,” she said. “I think I’ll hang up my boots when I lose him; I wouldn’t get another one as I couldn’t replace him. He’s awesome.
“My family keeps saying ‘Isn’t it time you retired’ but I’m still working as I couldn’t afford to keep a horse on my pension; if I retired, I’d have to put him out to grass and he wouldn’t like that, so I keep working.
“He’s a wonderful horse; we were totally unsuited but we grew together and became good friends.”
You might also be interested in:
The Cleveland Bay: the versatile breed adapting through the ages to the needs of man
‘Let your horse talk to you’: top teamwork gives 28-year-old horse second chance of an active life
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