Never Give Up! You may just get your big break.

Woman sues friends after fall from horse

A woman left paraplegic after being thrown by her friends' horse launched a High Court damages claim against them yesterday.

Dawn Rebecca Rhodes, 33, and David Mark Land, of Oakenshaw Lane, Walton, Wakefield, Yorks, bought Balloo, a seven-year-old gelding, in 2003 and stabled the horse on a farm in the nearby village of Crofton. Balloo was a broken horse, but still "green". Click here to read the full story

Badminton hoping to play it safe

The director of the Badminton Horse Trials says this year's event will have more safety precautions than ever.

The state of the ground caused concerns at last year's event, and a horse died in a freak accident when he ran into a flag pole and was speared.
Click here to read the full story

Six horses dumped in two months

The bodies of six dead horses have been found dumped next to country lanes in a Kent village over a two-month period.

Residents who discovered the animal carcases in Shoreham, near Sevenoaks, believe they may have been mistreated and want it stopped. Click here for the full story

Museum acquires 1934 Melbourne Cup

In 1934 a horse called Peter Pan stopped the nation when he defied the odds and won his second Melbourne Cup.

The story behind the chestnut horse, one of only five to win two Melbourne Cups, will be showcased at the National Museum of Australia that on Thursday acquired the 1934 cup.
The Australian thoroughbred won his first Melbourne Cup as a three-year-old colt in 1932 but was deemed unfit to contest the race in 1933 after suffering a near fatal viral disease that swept Sydney's racing stables.
In 1934 Peter Pan became a household name when at odds of 14/1 he took out the Melbourne Cup by four lengths - this time as a five-year-old horse ridden by Darby Munro.
The grandson of Peter Pan's owner Rodney Dangar on Thursday parted with the cup which had been locked in a family bank vault for the past 30 years.
Tim Ritchie, 55, said the only time the cup had seen the light of day during that time was at the 2004 Melbourne Cup.
"The story of Peter Pan was family folklore but the cup itself was never around the family home," Mr Ritchie said.
"The cup has been kept in a bank vault for the last 30 years.
"I think it's time that the cup sees the light of day."
Museum curator Laina Hall said Peter Pan's cup represents a very special period of racing in Australia.
"He was up there with Phar Lap, in the 1930s he was a household name so it fits really neatly into that 1930s fascination with racing," she said.
She said a Melbourne Cup is a very unique acquisition.
"Melbourne Cups don't come up for offer very often, it's such an honour to have won one that people tend to hold onto them."
The 1934 cup closely reflects the current design - a three-handled gold cup - that is worth $80,000 at 2007 prices.
Manager of collections at the museum Mathew Trinca said you cannot place a dollar value on a cup that has so much history behind it.
"The cup has great intrinsic value because of the amount of gold that is used in the construction but it also has a value that far exceeds that," he said.
The cup will be showcased along side Phar Lap's heart - the most frequented object at the museum.

Olympic eventing trials back on track

Australia's quest to regain Olympic eventing gold finally gets back on track on Friday at the first major Beijing Games selection event since horse flu devastated the sport.

The Australians won their last team eventing gold at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre in 2000, and riders this weekend will no doubt be hoping some of that magic will rub off as they vie for selection for the Olympic event being staged in Hong Kong.
Five places are up for grabs in the eventing team, which clinched gold in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney, but missed out in Athens.
Four locally-based equestrians will be out to impress selectors at the Bates Sydney International Three-Day Event on Friday and 11 Australian riders based in Europe will be assessed at the Badminton Horse Trials in the UK between May 1-4.
Shane Rose, who is based in NSW, is confident he and his star horse All Luck will put in a strong performance across the three disciplines that make up eventing - show-jumping, cross country and dressage.
All Luck, as well as Rose's other horse Ladybrook Remington, were struck down with horse flu last year.
They were stranded at Warwick, south-west of Brisbane, for around two months but were given the all clear in October.
"It (horse flu) has been majorly disruptive for many people but we're pretty resilient people in Australia, and we'll find a way to come out of it hopefully the best we can," Rose told AAP.
"I think we will have one of our strongest teams at these Games that we've had for many, many years."
Rose is yet to qualify for the Olympic Games and hopes to do that this weekend.
"All Luck is confident in all three phases, which is fortunate. He is going very well and I'm hopeful that if I do a good job then we'll be very competitive over the weekend," he said.
Wendy Schaeffer, who was part of Australia's gold medal-winning eventing team in Atlanta, was fortunate her three eventing horses - Koyuna Sun Magic, Koyuna Sun Dancer and Koyuna Sunshine - escaped equine influenza.
The South Australian-based rider said the outbreak had dramatically affected the sport and made her realise not to take anything for granted.
"It will be make us (Australia's equestrians) stronger and more hungry for success at the Olympics," she said.
Koyuna Sun Magic has had success at an elite level in Australia and the United States, while Koyuna Sun Dancer and Koyuna Sunshine are less experienced horses.
Megan Jones (SA) and Sonja Johnson (WA) are also in contention.
The dressage portion of the eventing discipline will be held Friday, with cross country Saturday and show jumping Sunday.
The Australian Olympic equestrian team will be revealed on July 4.
It is the first time Australia has qualified a team in all three Olympic events - eventing, show jumping and dressage.
Australia's main competition in Hong Kong is likely to come from Britain, Germany, the United States and New Zealand.