Badminton-bound ‘pink’ event horse turns heads in Portugal
A British event horse’s unusual appearance has been attracting attention on the continent.
Leicestershire-based Emma Hyslop painted her four-star horse Waldo III (Wally) pink from mane to tail late last year (20 December) after launching a campaign on social media.
Emma decided to dye Wally pink if she successfully generated 30,000 likes, shares and retweets throughout her social media pages. She hoped the challenge would raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Now.
Wally’s coat has since returned to grey, but his mane and tail have been kept bright pink by Emma.
The pair recently competed at Berroca d’Alva (2-6 March) in Portugal. They were placed 10th in the three-star and are now Badminton-bound — where Wally will continue to sport his pink locks.
“Wally was a dream today around a very testing three-star track,” said Emma. “There was lots of attention for the pink pony.”
The campaign, which began on 19 October, involved Emma’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Hundreds of pounds worth of donations were also given to Breast Cancer Now through Emma’s Just Giving page.
Related articles:
- Badminton-bound event horse given dramatic pink makeover
- British event rider plans to dye Badminton-bound horse pink
Emma organised goodybags as prizes for the support on social media and donations. The winners were chosen at random and each bag was worth over £50.
“We thought the winter months would be a great time to give something back and also have a little fun with our social media pages in the process,” Emma told H&H.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us and helped us in reaching our goal,” said Emma. “We reached our target and more, gaining over 70,000 followers across all our pages.”
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
Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.