A horse owner has been reunited with the trusty steed she loaned out in 2010, only for it to be sold on to a riding centre in Perthshire, 400 miles from home.
Teresa Newcombe-Baker, 37, of Northants, handed over her cob gelding, known as Quincy, after suffering a shoulder injury.
It was offloaded three weeks later and had several owners before Crieff Hydro’s riding centre shelled out thousands of pounds for Quincy, unaware that Ms Newcombe-Baker was searching for the horse.
Cambridgeshire Police investigated the case but it was dropped because there was no loan agreement.
But Ms Newcombe-Baker refused to give up her search and Quincy was traced to Crieff Hydro’s riding centre through an online horse forum.
Managing director John Jennett said he was “shocked” to discover the horse, which was renamed Rosco, was legally owned by someone else.
He said: “We sought advice and were informed that technically, we could argue that he was ours. However, after digging deeper into this incredibly sad and unfortunate story, we realised that Teresa’s claim was genuine and we had no hesitation in writing off the money we had invested in buying him, looking after him and replacing him with the our newest addition to the riding centre and of course returning him to his rightful owner.”
Ms Newcombe-Baker said: “This is the best ending I could have hoped for. It’s been magical. I feel like me again.
“I am so grateful to Crieff Hydro for making it possible for me to take Quincy back home it really has changed my life and I can’t thank them enough.”
Liz Simpson, head of the riding centre at Crieff Hydro, said: “Seeing the bond that exists between Teresa and Quincy, even after three years apart, confirmed to us that giving the horse back to the owner was undoubtedly the right thing to do.”