83-year-old speech therapist creates herd of ‘Covid horses’ from junk through lockdown
An 83-year-old speech therapist and former eventer and Pony Club member has used lockdown to create a herd of horses from junk.
Renata Whurr had never created anything in three dimensions until last year, although she had always doodled horses’ heads, having spent her youth in the saddle.
She told H&H she was an avid member of the Old Berkley East Pony Club, eventing and taking part in all the usual Pony Club activities with her 15hh Irish vanner mare Sherry.
Sherry, who was kept near Elstree Studios, was used as an equine extra in the 1952 film Ivanhoe, appearing with stars including Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Taylor. She also had an unexpected foal, named Sherry 2, after a three-year-old who was thought to be a gelding was kept in her field.
After Sherry’s death, horses took a back seat in Mrs Whurr’s life, until her “attempts to amuse myself through Covid, by making horses out of bits of cork and bottles”.
Mrs Whurr explained that she had some corks, and googled what she could do with them.
“I found someone showing you how to make objects and animals, so I started by putting corks together,” she said. “My neighbour thought it was rather fun, so she started giving me offcuts and packaging she would have taken to the dump.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“I found if you cut up plastic bottles, you can make a horse’s backside out of the bottom, and head out of the narrow end. In summer, I got ambitious and started using the legs of garden chairs; once you know the anatomy, you can turn anything into a horse.
“They’ve taken over; I gave them names and now I’ve got a herd.”
Mrs Whurr’s niece Andree Cooke has produced a book, The C-19 Horses, featuring pictures of the horses, and covering Mrs Whurr’s early equestrian life.
It includes Corky, made from the wire found on wine bottles, one-eyed Nelson, who started life as a garden table, and Ned and Nedine, the wine-box horses.
“We drink a Sauvignon white called Ned, which comes in black, red and white boxes; they’re a very nice colour, so I turned them into horses and made them a cart,” she said, adding that the legs are made of empty wine bottles and the eyes and nostrils from the caps — and laughing when asked if this could be seen as a good excuse to drink more wine.
“My husband thinks they’re a load of rubbish!” she added.
Continued below…
Creative clipper creates amazing gingerbread horse
The clipper has trimmed her Welsh section D gelding to link with a special event
Feeling creative? ‘Wild’ Lego horse design could be reality
Martin Morin has dreamed up a 75cm model ‘wild horse’ that he has submitted to Lego Ideas
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
Ms Cooke said: “In this time of isolation and solitude, I think the Covid-19 horses brought purpose to my aunt’s life, and a daily conversation and exchange between us.
“They will be a memory of this time and a celebration of how to create meaning and purpose out of what we have at home and the realms of our imagination. I feel very proud of my aunts’ achievements.”
To order a copy of the book, email cookeandree@gmail.com
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
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.