For those who believe you need an expensive horse to compete in eventing, meet Donut, the un-raced thoroughbred who was gifted to Evie Llewellyn-Smith for the mighty sum of £1 two years ago, and is now heading to the Voltaire Design Badminton grassroots championships.
After Donut’s owner’s poor health meant he could no longer ride him, equestrian marketeer and amateur event rider Evie was asked if she’d like to have him.
“His owner asked if I would ride Donut, who was then nine, and said I could have him for £1, so I took him on as a project to potentially sell,” said Evie. “He hadn’t been ridden for months and had only hacked and done some clinics before that. He lacked muscle and his foot balance needed attention, but good farriery (he couldn’t keep shoes on for longer than a fortnight), some decent feed and lots of strengthening work really improved how he looked and felt!
“I quickly realised that he was going nowhere after he absolutely pinged a jump on the lunge. Two months later, he won his first ever event.”
Not quite making the mark as a racehorse, Donut was unnamed, so Evie registered him Zero West – Zero for his price.
“His previous owner called him Duncan and we joked that, had he raced, he might have had a funny racing name like Duncan Donut, a play on words for Dunkin’ Donuts,” explained Evie. “The name Donut stuck. It really suits him because he is such a goofy personality and can be clumsy sometimes.”
The pair finished last season with a clear round at novice and are looking forward to the BE100 championships at Badminton in May.
“I am so grateful to be able to own and ride amazing Mr Donut and am beyond excited to take him to Badminton for our first ever go at the Grassroots Championships. He may not be the most expensive, fancy horse out there, but his heart and desire to give everything a try is worth so much more to me, and just proves that a horse doesn’t have to have a massive price tag to do the job well.”
Do you have an interesting story to tell about your Badminton grassroots-bound horse? We’d love to hear from you. Please write to us at marketing@britisheventing.com
To find out more about the Voltaire Design Badminton Grassroots championships, please click here
Image courtesy of Denis King
