Horse & Hound
Trending: Robert Oliver riding Loughkeen Dancing Lord
TRIBUTES have flooded in for the “ultimate showman” Robert Oliver, who has died at the age of 80.
In his seven-decade career, Robert won and was champion in every category of horse class at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and the Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) numerous times, and his animals have stood supreme multiple times at both shows.
Born in Herefordshire to non-horsey parents, his uncle, farrier William John Watts, encouraged Robert to ride, and he started showing on ponies for the Eckleys at Cusop Stud.
He spent five years as a farm student, going on to work for Ernest Evans, who had showjumpers and pointers, and Derek Crossman, during which time he was in charge of a range of horses from racehorses to hunters. He had a passion for hunting; starting aged eight and hunting with seven different packs. He field-mastered for the South Herefordshire, and the Ledbury for five seasons, after w