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The celebrated worldwide course-designer and former occasion rider and hunt grasp Ronald Alexander has died on the age of 81.
Ronald lived in Ayrshire all his life, close to Kilmarnock for the final 51 years together with his spouse Lorna, whom he married in 1972, having met her when she was driving at a Pony Membership rally.
He began driving on the age of 16, when his father, a physician, thought he ought to get some contemporary air. Little did his father know the place this could lead him; he was the grasp of the Eglinton Hunt from 1969 for about 25 years, and competed in eventing together with coming third at Tidworth with Spring Legend in 1972 and twice contesting Burghley.
His cousin, Margaret Quarm, needed to begin a horse trial at her residence, Annick Lodge, and requested Ronald, together with his architectural design data, if he would thoughts designing just a few fences – that’s the place his profession as a course-designer started.
He organised the occasion and designed the course and he or she was the occasion secretary. From then on, there was barely an occasion in Scotland he was not concerned with indirectly, specifically Thirlestane Citadel Horse Trials, and in addition a number of south of the border.
His most prestigious was designing at Blair Citadel Worldwide Horse Trials from 1989 to 2013. He went on to design cross-country programs and officiate internationally in eventing the world over, from japanese Europe to Russia, Argentina and several other international locations in between.
Ronald was an completed architect and cherished gardening; these expertise and his course-designing had widespread parts as he preferred fences to suit into the encompassing panorama, and he was a perfectionist who was at all times searching for methods to enhance his tracks. He was one of many only a few, probably solely, course-designers who drew to-scale designs of his fences.
As he had competed to a excessive degree, he noticed programs from a competitor’s perspective and at all times included daring fences that may scare a rider – however by no means a horse. He was the primary to color code cross-country jumps and will likely be remembered for the various methods he contributed to eventing in Britain.
“We’ve had so many letters of condolence saying what a gentleman he was, and what a cheeky grin he had,” Lorna stated. “He was great, by no means cross; a stunning and really particular man who was very happy with his kids.”
Ronald is survived by Lorna, their kids Peter, Charlie and Fiona, and three grandchildren.
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