A horse who suffered multiple fractures in a fall will be competing at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) just over 18 months later.
Daniel May and Houdini shared the win in the British Horse Feeds Speedi-Beet HOYS Grade C Qualifier at the Vale of Glamorgan Show on 7 August with Sian Edwards and Magnum Force. They were the only two combinations to jump clear in the first round, which secured their tickets to HOYS, and elected to share the win rather than jump off.
Daniel told H&H that the Quainton Colt Forty Five gelding, who was then seven, fell at Arena UK in March 2023, but walked out of the ring and did not seem too badly hurt. It was only after they got him home they realised there was an issue, and vets found multiple fractures in the stifle, as well as soft-tissue damage.
“Even if we could only have got him field sound, we’d have kept him for ever,” Daniel said. “I wasn’t worried if I couldn’t jump him again as he’d achieved more than we’d ever imagined. The vet said we could give him a year off and see but thought we’d have a better chance with surgery; we just wanted to give him the best chance of being field sound.”
But Houdini did better than that; after the surgery and field rest, he came back sound, and is enjoying his jumping as much as ever.
“He’s just gone from strength to strength,” Daniel said. “It’s amazing really.”
Houdini was bred by Katie Powell, and was sent to Daniel to back. He was sold to a client, who later offered to sell him back for £50. Daniel and Katie paid £50 each, and he is now owned by Mandy May-Martin, Daniel’s mother, and Kim May-Martin, his stepmother.
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“He wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea!” Daniel said. “He’s super brave, and would always rather do something than not. But a lot of people told me to give up on him when he was younger as he really wanted to jump, and you had very little control. But Julian Mincher helped me a lot, getting him more rideable. We persevered and it’s paying off.”
Houdini now lives out all year and hacks out five days a week.
“He likes hacking, that’s all he really does!” said Daniel, who thanked his fiancé Harry Creed, as well as Mandy and Kim, for all their support. “I don’t want to sound soppy but I think he loves me, and I love him.”
Magnum Force, also an eight-year-old, is a home-bred; Sian said she took him to that qualifier as it was local.
“He’s never been to HOYS before, and I’m not great at jumping qualifiers as I do more county shows, so I will have to find a couple of indoors to go to before HOYS,” she said. “But hopefully it will be a really good experience for him.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
