‘Her legacy will stay on in her horses’: farewell to passionate breeder

Penny Podmore, the proprietor of Brownscombe Stud in Devon, has died aged 75.

Penny was born in London however introduced up on Dartmoor the place her father had a farm. She returned briefly to London to work, earlier than coaching on the Fairfield Stud in Sussex. Having accomplished her coaching she purchased some fillies and an Anglo Arab colt. Renting a yard in Goudhurst, Kent, began her lifelong love of breeding horses.

In 1979 she married Jim and a yard was constructed close to their house which enabled the stud to develop. She might typically be seen at the moment driving Jim’s Porsche with haynets hanging out of the home windows! The stud quickly outgrew its premises in Kent and so they moved to Brownscombe Farm.

She was enthusiastic about creating her data of breeding and labored intently with record one and FEI dressage decide Barry Marshall, attending main competitions. After Jim’s early loss of life, Penny continued to remain on the forefront of all of the altering strategies throughout the business and was concerned within the early phases of utilizing AI in horse breeding. She was thrilled to face Fontainebleau at stud; he triggered fairly a stir when he arrived. One in every of her proudest moments got here when one in every of his foals gained the highest rating on the Futurity evaluations. Penny went on to face the grand prix stallion Royal Rubin at stud, he had competed internationally previous to his arrival together with at Aachen in 2009. His progeny communicate for themselves.

Penny was a form and beneficiant particular person, completely skilled and devoted to her horses and breeding. Her assist to these folks fortunate sufficient to personal one in every of her horses was unwavering, she would journey miles to observe them compete. Her legacy will stay on via the horses she bred.

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Since becoming a member of H&H in 2018, Becky has coated a broad vary of equestrian information together with welfare issues, veterinary research, FEI Tribunal hearings and highway security campaigns. She has additionally interviewed prime riders together with Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to call only a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, in addition to the Royal Highland and Blair Citadel Worldwide Horse Trials nearer to house. She was additionally a key a part of the distant reporting group for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.