Former Colchester racehorse named champion at national event

A FORMER racehorse from Colchester has been named double champion at a national dressage competition.

Intellogent, now known as Prince Ted, was crowned the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Dressage League Novice Five Champion and RoR Dressage Horse Novice Restricted Champion at the Jockey Club RoR National Championships at Aintree International Equestrian Centre.

The 10-year-old, who was trained by Jayne Chappel-Hyam, raced 34 times and earned more than £550,000 in prize winnings before retiring in August 2023.

Lisa Clarke-Spence and Intellogent (Image: RoR) He has now begun a second career in dressage, under the care of rider and owner Lisa Clarke-Spence.

Lisa said: “We had an absolute blast, the RoR National Championships must go to the top of my list of favourite events.”

“I smiled the whole way through, and I am pretty sure he was smiling too.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine he would be double novice champion.

“We call him Prince Ted at home, and he really feels like royalty now.”

The Jockey Club RoR National Championships, held from August 19 to 24 at Aintree International Equestrian Centre, is the UK’s largest event exclusively for former racehorses.

The six-day event featured classes in showing, dressage, arena eventing, and showjumping, with a record-breaking 341 former racehorses taking part.

David Catlow, managing director of RoR, said: “This year’s championships were truly special, with an incredible atmosphere throughout.

“To see so many former racehorses together – from those who were superstars on the track to those who only ever made it as far as training – all looking so well and thriving across such a wide variety of disciplines, perfectly demonstrates both the versatility of these horses and the dedication of their owners.”

Retraining of Racehorses (RoR), British racing’s official aftercare charity, is dedicated to ensuring the welfare of racehorses when they retire from racing.

Intellogent’s story is just one example of the variety of second careers former racehorses enjoy.

Each year, more than 2,000 racehorses leave the sport, and like people changing jobs, these horses learn new skills and adapt to new environments.

Not all second careers involve competition; others provide therapy or are equally happy leisure riding or hacking.

This year, the same weekend also marked the start of National Racehorse Week, an annual nationwide celebration of racehorses.

The 2025 edition includes more than 90 events taking place across the country, with 12,000 free places available for people to experience the life of a racehorse at training yards and retraining centres.

Former Colchester racehorse named champion at national event

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