From eventing to lead rein to national championships: farewell to horse who ‘gave rider her life back’

The owner and rider of a horse who went from eventing success to veteran dressage – and who “gave me my life back” after serious injury – have paid tribute to him after his death aged 26.

Salvation, owned and bred by Tina Ure, evented to intermediate level with riders including Owen Moore and Sarah Gairdner until an injury ended his first career. But he came out of retirement four years ago to be the partner of coach Alison Kenward, who was unsure whether she would be able to ride again after an accident.

The pair went from lead-rein rides to the British Dressage veteran championships; Alison told H&H he “absolutely changed my life”.

“He was kind, generous – and cheeky! – and genuine,” Alison said. “People often say that about horses but if I had to have one word, that would be it. He was open in his spirit, his nature; he could tell you he was terrified of something but he always had protective instincts towards other horses and his rider.

“If he stumbled, for example, he would do anything but hurt his rider. It was so special to have that relationship where you’ve got a horse who believes in you and cares for you. And it goes both ways, doesn’t it?”

Alison explained that she was injured in a fall in 2018; she had “never seen anything like the bruising”, but then almost a year later, she woke up and was unable to walk. Her disc was pressing on a nerve and although that issue resolved, her brain had learned that “the nerve wasn’t ok”.

She had to have months of physio to relearn to walk, then moved her previous horse to livery at Sarah’s but then lost him.

“She knew how sad I was and said ‘I’ve got a horse you should try’,” Alison said. “I was still recovering and riding was what I desperately wanted but I wasn’t sure I could cope.

“I had mobility and neurological problems and can’t feel my left leg so I was worried I wouldn’t be able to dismount. I started on the lead rein and we trained him, that first day with a packet of Polos, to stand at the mounting block – which he thought was awesome.”

Sarah had two sessions on the lead rein, then built back up.

“We spent three months walking on the school, then I said ‘Can we hack?’ so I was taken on my first hack, which was quite nerve-racking, but absolutely joyous,” she said.

“And once I got trotting, then I wanted to canter; you know what it’s like, especially when you’ve missed it for so long, and he was such a gentleman. I remember thinking ‘I’m going to refresh the trot, make this trot bigger’. Then I thought ‘How do I ask him to canter? Oh, we’re cantering!’ That sums him up. He just read my mind.”

Alison then tried a dressage test; she was unsure whether she could ride a whole test but entered an online competition – and won. Over the next months, they won classes, leagues and championships online, then progressed from intro to prelim, still scoring highly.

“So I thought, ‘I want to see if we can get to the British Dressage veteran championships’,” she said. “He went to Onley and pulled out a 67% and got the first qualifying score, and I thought, ‘Oh my God’. Then he got his three scores, we went to the championships, and he came 10th.”

Salvation in truth

Alison decided not to travel “Humpty” after this as it tired him, but they carried on competing in and winning online dressage until a final test last year.

“We did it in November, and he absolutely gave me every amazing feeling in that test,” she said “I thought ‘If I never do another test with him again, this is one to hold on to. I don’t think we can do better’. So I thought we’d go hacking – and in the school when it was raining – and until the Thursday before we lost him, we were hacking in the sunshine. We’d go 100 meters or so and I’d stop and let him eat some spring grass.

“I’d asked the vet and she’d said ‘You’re both happy, enjoy it, just take that time together’. So that was more both of us saying goodbye to each other.”

Alison said that without Humpty, she would have her memories of competing, but he gave her that experience back, and much more.

“Without him, I still might be thinking I needed to be on the lead rein,” she said. “He gave me my life back, and he was called Salvation, can you believe it?

“I probably wouldn’t have the confidence to be coaching without him, even; when you get to the point where you’re not sure you can ride half a circle, but there’s always a way back, when you have the right support and the right horse.”

Tina told H&H Humpty was the right horse for Alison at the right time, and “she looked after him beautifully in his old age”.

“I’d sum him up as being the kindest horse you would wish to meet,” she said. “He did everything with his heart on his sleeve. He wasn’t the most talented horse in the world but he was just unbelievably kind and he always tried. He was a charming horse. He’s been part of my life for a long time and it’s really strange without him.”

Tina also paid tribute to Sarah, with whom Humpty lived for the last 15 years of his life. After the injury ended his eventing career, he spent time on loan with friends for hacking or dressage, or to boost confidence.

“He touched lots of lives,” she said. “He had a very generous heart, and he just inspired people to trust him. There was nothing nasty about him; you pointed him at an intermediate cross-country fence and he’d jump it with his ears pricked, and in later life, he did walk-trot tests with Alison. She won more rosettes on him in the last three years than he did in his whole competition career and that’s been lovely to see.

“When she first started riding him, we had to lead her around the indoor school, then suddenly I’m getting videos of her cantering down the gallops with a camera in one hand and reins in the other. What he gave to her in his later years, you can’t replace, and it was lovely to see their partnership blossom and the fact he made her very happy.

“He was a kind and generous horse, and he was always with people who cared for him, and I think for 26 years, you can’t ask more than that. It was a life very well lived, lots of people have happy memories of their time with him and he really was the horse of a lifetime for Alison. What he did for her in the last three years of his life – and what she did for him – was amazing.”

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