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Fairwell to Yeti
The Home of Rest for Horses in Buckinghamshire recently had to say farewell to Yeti, one of its most famous residents,
who died at the grand old age of 36 on May 19th. Yeti was the last of the three horses who survived the Hyde Park bomb
blast who were taken to The Home to retire.
Having recovered from the traumatic events of that day in 1982, Yeti was put back into service with the Household Cavalry
for a further 4 years, but in 1986 he took up residence at The Home to spend his retirement in peace and comfort with his
fellow survivors, Sefton and Echo - both of whom have since died.
Born in 1968, the black gelding stood a handsome 16 hands. During the 18 years that he spent at The Home, he enjoyed very
good health and no doubt owed the achievement of such a remarkable age partly to the loving care bestowed on him at The Home
and also to the company of his wonderful equine friends. He was a great favourite with visitors - somewhat shy and a bit timid
- but a generous, brave and very forgiving horse.
The grand old soldier died peacefully in his favourite field, on a beautiful, sunny day. Everybody loved him and although he'll
be greatly missed, he’ll be remembered with great fondness and gratitude for the pleasure he gave to all who knew him.
"We don't have favourites," said Brigadier Paul Jepson, Chief Executive of The Home. "They're all special in their different ways,
but Yeti captured everybody's heart. He was the epitome of a grand old gentleman; increasingly frail but never losing his zest
for life and never, ever forgetting his manners."
Yeti's name will, however, live on. According to tradition, the Household Cavalry tends to reuse horses’ names and a younger
Yeti is already making his mark on the equine world. According to Riding Master, Captain Dick Waygood, he’s a very good parade horse
and is skilled at tent-pegging and Sword, Lance and Revolver. He's an impressive eventer, having reached Intermediate level and jumped
a height of 5'6". "Yeti’s quite a character," says Captain Waygood. "His favourite trick is to buck when jumping - over he goes, and then he bucks!"
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