Foal found dying on road side crowned champion at Equifest *VIDEO*
A foal found dying on the side of the road has been crowned the RSPCA’s rescue horse of the year.
Piebald colt Gizmo was abandoned in Halstead, Essex, earlier this year (17 February), unable to stand with no mother in sight.
But against all the odds, the pony made a winning debut in the show ring at Equifest this weekend (15 August).
Gizmo was found aged just four months old, riddled with lice, hypothermic, dehydrated and suffering from pneumonia.
He was taken into the care of Catley Cross Veterinary Clinic and has since gone from strength to strength.
Earlier this month (4 August) he was permanently adopted by the Halstead veterinary clinic.
Gizmo won both his youngstock RSPCA class and the championship on Saturday (15 August) at Equifest.
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“We still can’t quite b
elieve it’s happened. He was so good,” Carolyn Wyse, veterinary surgeon at Catley Cross Veterinary Clinic told H&H.
“We didn’t even think he would win his class, let alone win the championship — all the horses were so beautiful.
“It was so emotional — we’re all on a high.”
Gizmo had a huge fan base at the show and enjoyed lots of fuss from his supporters.
“The moment he got there he was loving it,” said Carolyn.
“We thought that it was probably just our little bubble, but when we walked him out on the first morning there were so many people coming over to see him.”
Carolyn said that the judges were touched by Gizmo’s story.
“It was really funny — they didn’t spend any time on him in the first class, but they were taking to Louise Miller [who was handling him] in the evening and the judge explained she was so emotional she was afraid she would cry if she spoke about Gizmo,” she added.
“I thought one judge was laughing in the championship but he was sobbing. They all came up and said congratulations.”
Gizmo returned safely back to Catley Cross yesterday (Sunday 16 August).
“He slept all the way home and is having a very well deserved morning in the field,” added Carolyn.
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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.