![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-crusaders-horses-in-action-X5BI6YE7DNHGDJ5G3BEVX4OJNY.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Crusaders have confirmed its beloved horses will not be a part of matchday experiences at their new home ground. <\/p>\n
The decision comes ahead of the Christchurch-based team’s move to the One New Zealand Stadium later this month, following what the club says was “extensive planning” to try and retain the long-standing tradition. <\/p>\n
Chief executive Colin Mansbridge said the “incredibly difficult” decision to retire the horses was not taken lightly. <\/p>\n
“This is a decision that really hurts because the horses have been part of who we are from the very beginning, and we know how much they mean to our fans,” he said. <\/p>\n
“That feeling of watching them run out in front of a packed crowd, while Conquest of Paradise plays, is a feeling I will never forget. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried our absolute best to make this work, and we want our Crusaders wh\u0101nau to know we have left no stone unturned.”<\/p>\n
The six Crusaders horses circling around the field have been a part of the club’s pre-match tradition for more than 30 years, dating back to Super Rugby’s inception in 1996. <\/p>\n
The club said the design and limited space at the $672 million multi-use stadium meant the horses could no longer be safely accommodated. <\/p>\n
With less room around the field, the animals would not be able avoid the playing surface, creating risks to themselves and others at the venue. <\/p>\n
Previous venues, including Lancaster Park and Apollo Projects Stadium, allowed more space for the horses to operate safely outside the field of play.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, safety must come first, even when the emotional cost is high,” Mansbridge said. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Crusaders horses in action (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
The Crusaders said significant time and money had been spent exploring options to keep the horses involved, including turf protection measures, changes to tunnel flooring and adjustments to camera positions.<\/p>\n
However, those efforts were not enough to overcome the constraints of the new stadium.<\/p>\n
Mark Donald, a spokesperson for the riding group, said those involved were \u201cdevastated\u201d by the decision.<\/p>\n
“We have been through everything with this team. From the earthquakes, then the mosque attack and Covid. The Crusaders mean everything to us; we aren\u2019t just guys who ride horses around a field, we are an important part of this club, and this is what hurts the most,” Donald said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter three decades, this is not how we hoped things would end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mansbridge said while the decision to retire the horses would “take time to sink in”, a new pre-match ritual would be decided on when the time was right. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud of the traditions that have shaped The Crusaders, and the horses will always be a special part of our story.” <\/p>\n
The horses were originally ridden by knights, but in the wake of the March 15 terrorist attack, riders representing the Crusaders’ six provincial unions rode them. <\/p>\n
The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including why now\u2019s the time to get the flu jab, and what made a controversial influencer storm out of an interview. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Crusaders have confirmed its beloved horses will not be a part of matchday experiences at their new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[158,56380,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-378331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-christchurch-canterbury","tag-crusaders","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}