Foxhunter

Foxhunter (1940–1959) was a champion show jumping horse ridden by Harry Llewellyn, best known for their part in securing Great Britain's only gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics (in the Team Jumping equestrian event).[1]

This article is about the show jumping horse. For a person who hunts foxes, see Fox hunting. For the airborne radar, see AI.24 Foxhunter.
Foxhunter
SireErehwemos (Thoroughbred)
GrandsireBethlehem (Thoroughbred)
DamCatcall
Maternal grandsireStep Forward (Thoroughbred)
SexGelding
Foaled1940
CountryGreat Britain
ColourBay

They also were part of the British Show Jumping Team at the 1948 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal, and at many other international events.[1]

Foxhunter and Llewellyn are the only horse and rider to win the King George V Gold Cup three times (in 1948, 1950, and 1953), and won 78 international competitions during their joint career.[1]

Llewellyn bought Foxhunter, a golden-bay gelding, in 1947 following a search that began by studying the records of every registered showjumper on file with the British Show Jumping Association.[2] The horse, who stood 16.3 hands (67 inches, 170 cm) high, was sired by the Thoroughbred stallion Erehwemos out of the half-bred mare Catcall.[3]

Death and legacy
Plaque marking the grave of Foxhunter

Foxhunter died in 1959. His skeleton was preserved and donated to the Royal Veterinary College, where it was put on permanent display in the college's Anatomy Museum.[4][5]

Foxhunter's hide was buried on the Blorenge mountain, between Abergavenny and Blaenavon.[4] A memorial plaque listing Foxhunter's achievements marks the Blorenge site and a car park is situated nearby. When Sir Harry died in 1999 his ashes were scattered around the horse's memorial.[6]

The Foxhunter Championship for novice horses at the annual Horse of the Year Show was named after Foxhunter,[1] and was first held in 1954.[7]

References
  1. Murphy, Genevieve (1999-11-17). "Sir Harry Llewellyn Bt" (obituary). The Independent. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  2. "Sir Harry Llewellyn CBE (1910-1999)". The Oundle Society web site. 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  3. Hugh McMahon. "Foxhunter pedigree". Sporthorse-data.com. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
  4. Tony Andrews. "Solving a mystery straight from the horse's mouth" (PDF). Vet Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. "Norman Holmes Obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  6. Eddie Butler (May 25, 2012). "Olympic torch route, day 7: Abergavenny's hero, a horse called Foxhunter". The Guardian.
  7. "Young Gun Dan Jumping for Joy". Evening Gazette. Archived from the original on 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-05-02.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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