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Abandoned horse to compete at Great Yorkshire Show

Simon ThakeYorkshire
BBC A brown horse pokes it's head out of the stable and appears to be smiling. The horse BBC
Hadee will be shown at the Great Yorkshire Show on Friday

A horse that was abandoned on an industrial estate seven months ago has been nursed back to health and is now competing at a prestigious agricultural show.

The three-year-old Dartmoor pony was discovered roaming free in the car park by staff at Hadee Engineering in Sheffield in December.

When nobody came to reclaim the stallion, he was taken in by Thornberry Animal Sanctuary, whose staff named him Hadee and entered him into the Great Yorkshire Show's rescue category.

Alison Bailey from the sanctuary said Hadee had a "cracking little temperament" and she would be "really proud" to see him "strut his stuff" at the show.

Katie White A dark horse slick from rain eating grass at the side of the roadKatie White
Hadee was found roaming free on the Holbrook Industrial Estate in December

Katie White, accounts administrator at Hadee Engineering, recalled the moment she first saw the horse.

"I came into work and as I drove in there was a horse sort of just munching the grass and then over the next few days it would be fast asleep here."

White, who had looked after horses herself for 25 years, noticed a "deep cut" on his nose from the head collar and was "worried" about his safety.

Horses from a nearby traveller site had wandered onto the premises in the past before being reclaimed, but South Yorkshire Police were unable to identify the pony's owner and passed his care to Thornberry in North Anston.

Sheffield pony's remarkable rescue recovery

Hadee had a matted coat and had to spend a month in quarantine, and was castrated before being allowed around other horses at the rescue.

He is now 13 hands (132cm) in height and has been "slowly prepared" for a new life.

Simon Thake A blonde woman wearing a white striped shirt stands on a grass bank in the sunshine. She's carrying a battered horse collar.Simon Thake
Katie White with the head collar that Hadee was wearing

Hadee's progress over the last six months has been so dramatic that the team at Thornberry decided he was ready for a wider audience.

The Great Yorkshire Show, now in its 167th year takes place on the 14 – 17 July is a celebration of British farming and the countryside at the Showground in Harrogate.

His entry into the rescue competition class is a chance to educate showgoers about his story, added Bailey, as well has how far Hadee has come since his mysterious appearance in Sheffield.

Simon Thake A woman washes a brown horse using a yellow hose on a livery yardSimon Thake
Alison Bailey and her team at Thornberry Animal Sanctuary have been caring for Hadee and preparing him for the Great Yorkshire Show

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