‘Miracle’ five-star horse who ‘never gave up’ retires from competition aged 18
A “miracle” five-star event horse who excelled across country has bowed out from the sport aged 18.
The Onslow family’s Diamond Sundance (Sunny) has retired to their home in the Scottish borders following a successful career spanning 14 seasons.
“He would have gone round big internationals for another five years if we let him,” his owner Cindy Onslow told H&H.
“His brain and his heart are so in eventing, he truly adores the cross-country. You could just tell he was a five-star horse, he just wanted to please and he was so talented with it.”
Sunny started his eventing career as a five-year-old with Nini French, and Cindy bought him after trying him at Piggy March’s yard. Cindy competed him up to CIC* (now two-star) level, then Emily Parker took the reins in 2013 and competed him up to CCI3* (now four-star).
Alex Hua Tian had Sunny in 2016 as his reserve horse for the Rio Olympics, then Rosa Onslow (Cindy’s daughter) took over in 2017. They represented Britain at the young rider Europeans in 2019 at Maarsbergen, the Netherlands, where they were 12th individually, and they finished the season as runners-up in the Blair Castle CCI4*-L. In 2020 they made their five-star debut together in at Pau, France, where they jumped clear across country.
“The plan had originally been that he would just be a horse for me, but he clearly looked much more talented than I was. With every rider, he gave his all. Everyone has loved him,” said Cindy, who would keep Sunny fit every winter by hacking him in the Scottish hills.
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“He has always been very, very cheeky. Whenever he touches grass he explodes with excitement, he just cannot control it. Every winter he’d be as bad as the year before. He’s well known on the circuit for his broncing, Alex used to describe him as the Duracell bunny on ecstasy. But once he was out of the start box he was like a lamb. He was incredibly gentle and so nice to ride, when you let him do his job.”
Cindy described Sunny as “a miracle horse” as he survived a serious road traffic collision when the lorry he was travelling in was hit by another vehicle on the M4 in late 2020.
“He fell out of the lorry, and the vet said it was a miracle he was alive. He got up, headed up the fast lane and a lorry driver caught him. He walked straight on to the recovery vehicle as if to say ‘Where should we go eventing next?,” said Cindy.
Sunny sustained a broken jaw in the accident, and spent 10 days in vet hospital, followed by 10 weeks at a rehab yard. When he returned to competition, with Lissa Green in April, he jumped round clear across country at the Kelsall Hill CCI3*-S.
Sunny spent his final three seasons with India Wishart, and until Badminton this year, they had jumped clear at all their 15 cross-country starts, including Millstreet and Blenheim CCI4*-Ls and Pau CCI5* in 2023. It had been decided that Badminton would be Sunny’s final event, although the pair retired during the cross-country phase following a “miscommunication”.
“We went to Pau last year thinking that would be his last event, but he did so well and came out of it like he hadn’t done an event, and the vet said he was as fit as a fiddle. It was gutting that Badminton didn’t work; he wanted to go round that course with India and he looked incredible, so it was gutting for India not to get that experience of a nice clear there,” said Cindy.
Of Sunny’s 43 international cross-country starts he produced 40 jumping clears.
“He owes us nothing. He has looked after every rider all through his life. He just bounced back, bounced back, and never gave up. He had this staying power, combined with his heart and his brain, and not going clear didn’t come into his vocabulary,” said Cindy.
“He’s a born and bred competition horse and he’s a lovely ride when he is doing four and five-star, but he’s a pain in the back for a gentle hack because he’s too excited about life, so he will have a full retirement. He’s just been an amazing horse, he’s a freak of nature, one in a million, and he’s such a fighting spirit.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.