£5,000 reward offered after saddles stolen
A £5,000 reward is being offered by a stud that had four saddles stolen at Hickstead.
The jumping saddles — three Butets and a Prestige — were taken from two of the Oakingham Stud team’s locked tack lockers at the stables of the All England Showground in Sussex overnight from 5-6 September.
One of their horses in a neigbouring stable also escaped that night.
Jack Stirling, who is based at the stud, said they are now offering £5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and the recovery of the saddles.
The team from the stud, which is near Newbury in Berkshire, had 28 horses jumping at the All England Jumping Championships, which ran from 3-6 September.
“The lockers were all locked up with chains and padlocks,” Jack told H&H.
He added that it looks as though the thieves had picked the lock on one of the lockers and had broken open the other.
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“I was not happy to say the least,” he said.
“We had had a great show at Hickstead. It is a showground we have not been to in a long time.”
“The Hickstead staff were as helpful as they could be.”
The theft has been reported to the police.
“It is very disappointing,” Jack added.
A spokeswoman for Sussex Police told H&H that they had received a report that four saddles, including a Prestige saddle worth £2,500, had been stolen between midnight on Saturday (5 September) and 7am on Sunday (6 September).
She added that anyone who has any information or saw the saddles being taken should contact them on 101 or 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.