Ros Canter retires five-star horse Zenshera

Ros Canter Zenshera — Ros and Zenshera at Pau Horse Trials in 2019

(Image credit: Libby Law)

World champion Ros Canter has announced her five-star ride and “Pau specialist” Zenshera will retire from eventing.

The 17-year-old gelding started his British Eventing career with Ros in 2010. The pair were part of the Nations Cup team at Boekelo in 2013, and went on to make five more Nations Cup team appearances.

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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.

‘The horse who made me believe that I could’: World Champion retires five-star partner

“With Pau about to start, I thought it would be the right time to say that Zenshera (Alfie) is retiring from eventing. Most of you know that Alfie means the world to me and was a bit of a Pau specialist,” Ros said.

Ros said Alfie’s showjumping was “always the weak link” and he was not the fastest, but that he had given her the cross-country rounds of her life “so many times” and always “twinkled his toes” in the dressage.

“He was the horse that made me believe that I could,” said Ros.

The pair completed the CCI4*-S at Aston Le Walls International in May this year, picking up four faults in the showjumping to finish in 34.5 and 26th place.

“At 17 he just started to feel his age this summer, and so after some time chilling in the field, he is back in work and gearing up for a PSG and will start his next career of nannying the babies,” said Ros.

“He is such a pet at home that I hope in a few years Ziggy will get the pleasure of having a few rides. My boy Alfie has done every event with a huge smile on his face. He continues to be a ray of sunshine at Hallington and I’m just so happy that his story isn’t over yet.”

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