‘The greatest horse I’ll ever have’: Alice Oppenheimer pays tribute to grand prix horse after fatal accident

Alice Oppenheimer has shared the pain of losing her “incredibly special” home-bred grand prix horse, Headmore Dirubinio.

The 13-year-old Dimaggio x Rubinstein gelding was put down on 27 December after shattering his pastern while loose in the arena at home. He was hugely influential on Alice, who told H&H that “he will for ever be the horse who has most defined the way I ride and train”.

“He was special from the moment I backed him, with this enormous canter – he’d take about four strides to do the long side of the arena,” she said.

“We worried that he would struggle to learn to collect, but he found everything so physically easy. I remember first teaching him changes at rising six, and they felt effortless.

“There was nothing he couldn’t do physically, but he was a shy horse and that’s why he never had a chance to show himself off at his best away from home. He didn’t look nervous – he had a lot of presence – but he wasn’t a natural show-off. That was despite being an amazing looking horse – people would come on to the yard and just stare at him as you would an oil painting.”

Alice and “Robin” competed on the British grand prix circuit throughout 2021, with successes including a third-place finish in the grand prix freestyle at Hartpury CDI. But Alice says that her best memory was their victory at Keysoe Premier League in April 2021.

“It was just so unexpected, not because we doubted his talent, but because it was the first time he had been able to show himself off. There was more to come, too,” said Alice.

Alice Oppenheimer: ‘Headmore Dirubinio was happy that day’

Towards the end of 2021, Robin moved to Emile Faurie’s yard as Alice felt he was too big for her to be able to do him justice as a rider.

“In theory, [Robin and Emile] should have been perfect together, but they just didn’t gel,” said Alice.

Robin returned home to the Oppenheimers’ Headmore Stud in the autumn of 2022, and it was weeks later that tragedy struck.

“I was working with him in the arena at liberty, just building up our relationship again. It had become a normal part of his routine,” said Alice.

“That day, he was so happy and playful, really enjoying working with me. He was just cantering normally when it happened – I’ll never forget the sound. The vets told us that there was nothing we could have done to prevent it, that he likely had an underlying issue in the pastern that we could not have known about.”

Among Alice’s string of exciting upcoming horses is Robin’s full brother Headmore Dionysus (Dillon), who has recently stepped up to top level. She explained that Robin has helped influence the way in which she rides and trains Dillon, and others.

“They say that good horses come and go but great horses define your career and that was Robin. He wasn’t a horse I won loads on, but for my career he is the greatest horse I’ll ever have. He taught me so much about myself, and about working with other horses,” said Alice.

“He was so talented and so sensitive and so nervous of the talent he had. I had to learn to manage him in a way in which he could grow and thrive, and that’s so relevant to the horses we are breeding nowadays, as they get more sensitive and talented. He’s the horse who most defines the way I now ride and train.”

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