//
//... even the skies wept.
FI
N
KE
P
H
O
TO
properly. There had to be a
mistake. I’d seen him just
yesterday, winning the last
championship of the day. But
the messages of grief and
sympathy that kept pouring in
by the second left little room
fo r doubt. It was true.
Incomprehensible but true.
As a result, the Arab Horse
Society made the
unprecedented decision to
cancel the third day of the
show. It was impossible to
continue. Virtually everyone
involved in the show had known
Ryan for years, not to mention
that both Ryan and his brother
Rod were scheduled to show in
all the upcoming halter classes.
Impossible in either case. And
no, there was no outcry at the
decision, which in itself tells you
a lot about Ryan and the
esteem in which he was held.
So on what should have been
the busiest day of the show,
exhibitors were quietly loading
up their horses and departing,
while Ryan’s friends and
associates gathered to share
memories and tears, and the sky
above the showground poured
down rain as if sharing in the
grief of the people below.
It wasn’t just the British
Arabian community that grieved
his passing. Ryan was valued as
a trainer, handler, and
consultant across the world,
working closely with stud farms
in the Middle East, especially in
Saudi Arabia. We all remember
him in his iconic white suit,
showing Al Muawd Stud’s
glorious Polish mare Norma to
her numerous victories several
years ago.
He was a horseman from
childhood, born into the industry.
I first met the Jones family back
in the 1980s, when they were
just setting out on their path to
becoming one of the foremost
families of breeders and trainers
in Britain. Ryan and his younger
brother Rod were just small
boys then, but already involved
in handling the horses. I
remember setting up a photo
at the farm in 1991 with four
generations of mares— proud
parents Emrys and Sue Jones
holding the old foundation mare
Berenice and her daughter
Nareena, while 15-year-old
Ryan had Nareena’s daughter
Sharene, and Rod the filly
Syrene. Two families together,
two-legged and four-legged,
not something you see every
day. Over nearly 30 years, I
have seen those two young
boys grow into two of the finest
handlers in the business and
their own children taking their
first steps into the world of
equestrian showing.
And from one day to the next,
one of them is gone.
No wonder even the skies wept.
Rest in peace, Ryan. You may
be gone, but you’ll never
be forgotten.
AHW > 11 < 08.