HOLLY SMITH
SOMETIMES A SPLIT-SECOND decision can alter the course of a life. In Holly Smith’s case, a choice made in a moment transformed not one, but two, if not three or more lives, for, like throwing a proverbial pebble into still waters, the ripples multiply and spread, and the consequences play out long after the day in question is over. That momentous decision in the Leicestershire-based showjumper’s case wasn’t so much hers as her husband, Graham’s.
In Ireland in 2009, on a horse shopping trip, the couple placed the winning bid of €5,800 on an Irish Sport Horse gelding being ridden in the ring at Goresbridge’s September sale. The 16.3hh liver chestnut, whose uniform rich hue was broken only by a white star and short stripe on his face, was a youthful equine vision — agile, eager, energetic, eye candy. Other potential buyers evidently thought the same, but, fortunately for Holly, only after the hammer had fallen.
“For some reason, not a lot of people saw him come into the ring, and afterwards a number of
