Daily Mail

Workhorse that thinks it’s a fox hunter

- By Chris Brooke

In days gone by, this magnificen­tly-built stallion would have been steadfastl­y pulling a plough out in the fields.

But the advent of the tractor made the powerful Suffolk Punch breed – perfect for heavy-duty work – surplus to requiremen­ts.

However, one has now found a remarkable new role – after an ambitious equine expert transforme­d a four-legged heavyweigh­t who had never been ridden into a relatively nimble jumper.

The majestic draught horse now jumps fences and rides with hounds in a hunt.

Bruce McKim, who runs the Thorpeley Stud near Market Harborough, Leicesters­hire, bought nine-year-old Craikhow Hall Jensen last year. Until then, he had been used only for breeding, but Mr McKim revealed: ‘It took just three days before we were sitting on and riding him.’

The animal also found jumping a cinch. Mr McKim explained: ‘It was very easy to teach him how to jump. We started off by putting a few poles on the ground, we built up his confidence and away he went. He was very willing to please and happy to do the job.’

The next stage was to get Jensen ‘fit’. Over the next two-and-a-half months he was exercised by the expert team to get ‘the bulk off’.

Then, two weeks ago, the stallion made his debut with the local hunt. He was ‘as good as gold’, said Mr McKim.

Asked about the reaction from fellow horsemen and women when they saw the Suffolk Punch, he said: ‘People were gobsmacked and the social media reaction was huge.

‘I think there was astonishme­nt that you could take a horse like that out and he could be nimble enough to jump. I like to do something different and my aim was to take a rare breed and make it more commercial.

‘ What I am doing with him isn’t what they were designed for, but that job doesn’t exist any more. I’m not looking to change the breed but I think they have to diversify.’

Today there are only about 300 or 400 Suffolks left, making them the most critically endangered British equine species.

But Mr McKim has shown they are not redundant in the era of mechanised farming. Jensen and three other Irish draught stallions are all hunting now. ‘All my boys have to have a life and have to do something,’ insists Mr McKim.

‘They jump, they’re bold and they do what they say on the label because of the life they have.’

‘It was very easy to teach him to jump’

 ??  ?? Horse and hounds: The stallion is now a regular at a local hunt Flying start: Bruce McKim and Suffolk Punch Jensen tackle a jump
Horse and hounds: The stallion is now a regular at a local hunt Flying start: Bruce McKim and Suffolk Punch Jensen tackle a jump

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