£20,000 worth of tack stolen from Hickstead Derby winner Paul Beecher

Hickstead Derby winner Paul Beecher has had €20,000 worth of tack stolen from his yard.

Paul told H&H he had his tackroom cleared yesterday (Monday 24 September) while he was out in a field filming for a television programme.

The Irish showjumper is based at his family’s Loughnatousa Stud in Co Waterford. He also commutes to England to compete the three horses he rides for Patricia Brown.

“I was out showing the crew the youngsters and came back and my tack was gone.” he told H&H. “I had 14 saddles – including two Prestige and Jaguars – taken, plus all my show bridles.”

The police are currently investigating, but Paul believes the tack is already en-route to England.

But some of it is marked, so he’s urging riders to keep their eyes open.

“They are expensive saddles, some of them like gold dust,” he said. “I think it all will have gone to England to be sold there. Some of them have my name embroidered on them so if people could be aware I might have a chance of getting some of them back.”

Paul said a racing yard around 10 miles away was also broken into.

“Whoever did it must have been watching the yard, as there is always someone around. It wouldn’t have been pot luck that they picked that hour,” he added.

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