July 8, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
More Sad News
There has been a lot of media coverage in recent weeks covering the sad news of the deaths of celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Billy Mays, so you may have missed the sad news from the equestrian world of the deaths of Vincent O’Brien and Douglas Bunn during June. Both were very important figures in horse racing and showjumping respectively and were household names when I was growing up.
Vincent O’Brien was an Irish racehorse trainer whose career spanned 50 years and was voted both the greatest Flat trainer and greatest National Hunt trainer of the last century. He trained some great racehorses including Sir Ivor, Nijinsky and Sadlers Wells.
Douglas Bunn created the showjunping phenomenon of Hickstead in the south of England which opened in 1960. It continued a unique mix of natural and showjunping fences in the main arena and the Hickstead Derby remains one of the top showjumping events of the calendar. The 50th anniversary of the event will be next year.
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