Andrea Morris has paid tribute to her much-loved, quirky, gifted superior occasion horse Mud In The Wind, who has died aged 31.
Andrea advised H&H she needed to let “Murphy” go, on the identical day as his finest buddy, fixed companion Cool Waters Blue, a 26-year-old former two-star eventer owned by Lorraine Elliott.
“He’s been a superb lad for me,” Andrea stated. “I by no means knew if he’d retire as he was so switched on however together with his buddy Blue, he had a dream retirement. They had been like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and we all the time thought that we’d need to allow them to go collectively.”
Andrea purchased Murphy as a four-year-old, from an advert within the Farmers’ Guardian, as he was native and she or he had had one other horse by his sire, Euphemism.
“That pricked my ears up, and as quickly as I noticed him, I stated to my mum ‘I hope this horse jumps as a result of I actually like him’,” she stated. “He had that presence; I type of knew, right away. I’d by no means taken cash for a deposit once I went to see a horse however for some purpose that day, I had money, so I left a deposit there after which.”
Murphy got here with a repute for being sharp, Andrea stated; she needed to “construct the bridle on his head”, and couldn’t contact his ears.
“The evening earlier than he went, it was odd; I used to be giving him a superb groom and he let me brush his forelock, which he’d by no means let me do his complete life,” she stated. “He was quirky, all proper, however from once I noticed him leaping down a grid as a four-year-old, I knew he’d make the highest stage.”
Andrea and Murphy certified for the Burghley younger occasion horse remaining in his four-year-old yr, and so they went to the eventing younger horse World Championships in Le Lion three years later. They’d good outcomes at Blenheim, Boekelo and Bramham three-star (now four-star), and Andrea stated her spotlight was successful the eight-year-old problem at Wilmslow in 2001.
“That win at Wilmslow was a bit particular,” she stated. “I’d had that seven- and eight-year-old problem in thoughts from the beginning however the yr earlier than, he went lame on the day with pus within the foot. He was completely raring to go the following yr however the whole lot was cancelled due to foot and mouth illness.
“Wilmslow ought to have run within the April however that they had it in the summertime so I took him to Longleat for a run earlier than and he was so opinionated, so match, and with all the ocean lions barking, his dressage was terrible. He had three showjumps down so I withdrew, went to Wilmslow, and though he was wild at first on the cross-country, he acquired his repair and was simply mega.”
Andrea stated her one remorse was that Murphy by no means acquired to do Badminton or Burghley; he certified aged 9 however she thought it will be too quickly, then she had a nasty damage when a horse got here down on her on the highway and needed to have a yr off. Though, she added, Murphy was answerable for Andrea’s comeback, with a top-10 end at Bramham, every time he was being aimed for a four-star (now five-star) occasion, he was dominated out within the run-up owing to lameness points.
“I’m gutted he by no means acquired to do a five-star as he was so gifted,” Andrea stated. “Each time I went overseas, somebody needed to purchase him. He was all the time on monitor, good on the strains, so courageous and with a beautiful method. I all the time knew I might belief him.
“He was a prima donna! However with a number of character. He didn’t like a fuss however he was essentially the most beneficiant horse, who all the time needed to attempt.
“It was an enormous loss, with Blue too; they’d given us a couple of scares however they had been powerful – I don’t suppose they construct horses like that any extra – and every single day was particular.”
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