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Harry Meade and his wife Rosie are celebrating the birth of their second child — who arrived so quickly, he had to be delivered by his dad.
Charlie was born yesterday morning (22 January) weighing 8lb 6oz at the Meades’ house in West Littleton, Wilts.
Harry tweeted: “Called 999 this AM, the words ‘you’re going to have to deliver the baby yourself’ wasn’t [the] expected response!
“Delighted mum and babe are fine.”
Rosie and Charlie made a brief visit to hospital for a check-up and are now back home again.
Fellow event riders were quick to offer their congratulations.
“Well done daddy!” tweeted Gemma Tattersall, while Sam Griffiths asked “What can’t you do?!”
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Francis Whittington said: “Top man… congratulations to you both.
“Thank God your elbows were working,” he added — a reference to the terrible injuries Harry suffered in a rotational fall last summer.
Harry broke and dislocated both elbows falling in an advanced section at Wellington Horse Trials on 26 August.
He underwent extensive reconstructive surgery and for a time was considering having his shattered right elbow replaced with a prosthetic joint.
But following consultations with surgeons in London, Harry decided that the operation should be a “last resort” — and he would investigate other options.
He joked at the time: “Not surprisingly, Rosie is relieved that she won’t have to drive herself to hospital!”
Doctors gave him the all-clear to start riding again earlier this month and he reported that “the arms were feeling really good”.
The Meades, who married in October 2010 also have a two-year-old daughter, Lily.
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Flora Watkins spent several years working for BBC News before moving into print, first as a staffer at Horse & Hound, before going freelance.