“The atmosphere was amazing and quite electric."

World Horse Welfare hunter Islay proves himself in international competition

A horse that was re-homed by international charity World Horse Welfare has finished in 11th place in the World Equestrian Games vaulting competition.

Islay, also known as Ali by his re-homer, was taken on by the charity as a rehabilitation horse in 2002 and grooms spent a significant period with the 17.3hh hunter working on his fitness. After discussions with an interested and experienced re-homer it was thought that Islay had the potential to become a vaulting horse and he was taken on by Liz Mackay.

Liz says; "I have been vaulting for 21 years and when I heard about Islay I thought he’d make the perfect horse for me to train with. He was very difficult in the beginning as he could not stand still or go slowly. I was lucky with this horse as I quickly found out a lot about his background, one of the benefits of getting a horse from World Horse Welfare.

"Initially he had several issues coping with stress and change. The biggest challenge most recently was when he injured himself playing with another horse in the field. It was a long road to recovery which involved extensive box rest, an operation, considerable veterinary attention and rehab over a two year period. I really thought I would never get him back to full soundness and fitness. However, miracles do happen, and I have my groom to thank for her determination and total dedication to his rehab when I was in total despair.

“Islay bounced back once again though and has been to several championships as part of team GBR since 2006. Then he got to the World Equestrian Games (WEG). I responded to a request for horse power from Canadian vaulters who had qualified but could not bring their own horse. They came to train on him for ten days in June prior to competing in the CHIO, an international horse show in Aachen, Germany, and decided that he was the horse they wanted to take to WEG. They returned three weeks before WEG to stay with me and train on Islay.”

Speaking about the Games Liz said; “The atmosphere was amazing and quite electric. It was a big stage and Islay and I had to work on trust and past experience of knowing each other – a partnership built up over the 12 years he has been with me. At 19 he has a steady head and I know when he feels panicky or is about to throw in the towel and I can reassure him and work through it. His Canadian vaulters had also built up a special relationship of trust with him and he had confidence in his whole team.”

Islay finished 11th out of 28 in the Pas-de-deux section. 

Image credit: Arjen van der Spek