A Suffolk foal born on the evening of Prince Philip’s funeral has been named in his honour.
George Paul’s 11-year-old mare Samford Tourmaline, “Tilly”, gave birth to a colt at the Suffolk Punch Trust, where she had gone for foaling, at 9pm on 17 April. The foal is by the trust’s stallion Stockton Boxer.
Mr Paul told H&H the foal’s name, Samford Prince Philip, was a “mark of esteem” to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9 April.
“It seems to have gone down very with people,” he said. “The mare and foal are still at the trust at the moment, it reopens this weekend and there has been so much publicity about him that I thought I would leave them there until after the weekend.”
Mr Paul started breeding Suffolks in 1967, with foundation mare Colony Russet bought from a Suffolk stud, owned by the prison service, which later became the Suffolk Punch Trust.
“I have continued breeding in a small way ever since,” he said. “I just have the one mare at the moment. I’ve had a direct female line since 1967 and she’s a continuation of that line.
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“She’s a very good mother and has a wonderful temperament. A two-year-old child could lead her. She’s for ever doing school visits and that sort of thing, she’s a lovely kind mare.”
Mr Paul said Tilly has so far produced three colts and a filly.
“I sold the filly to a man who is establishing a stud in Devon, so I desperately wanted a filly this time, but that’s what I got. He’s a very nice little colt,” he said. “I often keep my foals through the winter and sell them in spring when they’re yearlings so I will find a buyer for him in due course.”
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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.
