A Grand Nationwide famous person, and two unhappy farewells – what the horse world is speaking about

1. I Am Maximus’s Grand Nationwide victory

I Am Maximus put in a formidable efficiency to win the 2024 Randox Grand Nationwide, giving jockey Paul Townend his first win within the race he described because the one “each younger boy with a pony needs to win”. The horse, skilled by Willie Mullins, began as 7/1 joint-favourite, and gained by 7 ½ lengths. Corach Rambler, winner of final 12 months’s version, unseated jockey Derek Fox on the first fence. In all 32 horses began, with 21 ending – of the remainder, 4 jockeys had been unseated and 7 horses pulled up.

Learn extra from Paul and Willie

2. Farewell to ‘an amazingly knowledgable horseman’

John Parker, whose son Fred described as having “devoted his life to the horse business from the arrival of his first pony in 1960”, died on the 4 March aged 77. What grew to become John Parker Worldwide, a enterprise that now transports extra the 5,000 horses every year, began “by chance” after the sale of a lorry to Malta in 1977, which needed to be delivered with horses on board. John was additionally a passionate showjumper who produced and offered horses, and was described as an “amazingly educated horseman”.

Obituary: John Parker

John Parker was a passionate showjumper

3. Former eventer and main course-designer passes away

Ronald Alexander, a celebrated worldwide course-designer and former occasion rider and hunt grasp, has died aged 81. Ronald took up using aged 16, on the suggestion of his father, a physician, who thought he ought to get some recent air. He grew to become grasp of the Eglinton in 1969 the place he remained for about 25 years. His eventing profession included contesting Burghley twice. A profession in course-design started after his cousin Margaret Quarm began a horse trials at her residence, Annick Lodge, and requested him to make use of his information of architectural design to design just a few fences.

Obituary: Ronald Alexander

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H&H editor-in-chief

Sarah has greater than 20 years expertise as an equestrian journalist and editor. She has reported from main championships together with the Europeans and the World Equestrian Video games. She has co-written books on equestrianism together with The Full Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. Sarah has ridden since childhood, owned horses and ponies for over 25 years, and labored for and skilled with Olympic gold medallist occasion rider Leslie Regulation previous to going to school.