Feature - ARTICLETessa ClarkeUnsung HeroTessa Clarke was the worthy recipient of the British BreedingUnsung Hero Award, presented at the British BreedingCelebration Ball in November, and then received the StallionAI Meritoire Lifetime Achievement Award at the British horseFoundation Dinner in January.Tessa Clarke started as an eventing student with Lady HughRussell at Wylye and undoubtedly the high standards shelearnt there stayed with her throughout her career.She then joined Jennie Loriston-Clarke as assistant StudManager at Catherston Stud in 1980 and it wasn’t longbefore she and Jennie went to Newmarket to study AI underProfessor Twink Allan at the Equine Fertility Unit, pioneeringits use in sport horse breeding in this country, and a lifelongpassion was born.Catherston Stud soon became one of the first facilities tooffer transported chilled semen with it’s first consignmentgoing to the Isle of Man in an Equitainer. Until themid-eighties, AI for breeding horses was little used in theUK, mainly due to the predominance of the Thoroughbredindustry where artificial breeding methods were forbiddenfor racehorses. This was in contrast with breeders in Europeand the USA where the technique was widely used, especiallyamong Sporthorse breeders.Whilst at the Equine Fertility Unit, Tessa was introduced toMartin Boyle MRCVS, who was particularly interested in theStallion, its semen and how to preserve it for more than 24hours and this sparked an interest and friendship which haslasted ever since.When Catherston moved homes, Tessa decided it was alsotime to move on after 12 years. She completed an MBA inBusiness Management before joining the Holderness-Roddamsat a fledgling West Kington Stud in 1995. Here she was ableto expand on her dream of greater use of frozen semen and,in collaboration with Martin Boyle of Stallion ReproductionServices, West Kington Stud became a DEFRA approved centrefrom which frozen semen could be exported worldwideturning it into the highly respected organisation it is today.She now retires from 25 seasons at West Kington Stud,where she will continue to consult, and where she has beenresponsible for over 1250 Stallion Visits from numerous nativeand foreign breeds, including many Rare Breeds, both big andsmall, and for over 750 foals born.Professor Twink Allen paid tribute to the enormouscontribution to British Breeding Tessa has made.“The retirement of Tessa Clarke is indeed a sad day for Britishsport horse breeding. Her employment for many years asBreeding Manager at Tim and Jane Holderness-Rodham’s WestKington Stud in Gloucestershire has driven that excellent andforward thinking establishment to the fore in British sporthorse breeding. Together with equine veterinary expert,Martin Boyle MRCVS, she has pioneered the collection anddeep freezing of stallion semen from significant numbersof sport horse and other stallions and its widescale andsuccessful use to impregnate mares throughout Britain and inoverseas countries as diverse and widespread as Kenya andNew Zealand. As a highly competent horsewoman who shouldhave been a scientist, she quickly and readily grasped thenecessities of careful and thoughtful collection and handlingof semen from stallions and the need for rigid discipline andattention to detail when freezing and thawing it prior to itsinsemination into oestrous mares. This, in turn, put WestKington Stud well and justifiably into the lead in this fastdeveloping field. Tessa has indeed been a great innovatorand boon to sport horse breeding and she will be very hardto replace. We all wish her long life, good health and muchhappiness in her very well earned retirement”.Tessa’s knowledge and expertise in the breeding world iswidely recognised. She has lectured and spoken at numerousseminars and conferences both here and abroad on the useof AI and frozen semen in breeding horses stressing the highstandards essential to its success.Always keen to help, Tessa is an absolute font of knowledgeand is particularly passionate about our native Rare Breeds.She has never shied away from helping numerous breeders,students and interested parties in their various breedingprojects both here and overseas, eager to pass on her hugeknowledge of all aspects of equine breeding. An expert in herfield, she has helped several people set up studs or projectssuch as, most recently, the Siria Stud in Kenya, and helpedstudents with dissertations or research papers for theirDiplomas or Degrees.We are delighted to hear that Tessa has no intention ofretiring from the breeding scene altogether as she hopes tocontinue her involvement in the industry.68 | BRITISH BREEDER
Cevin ZOutstanding sireof Olympic Eventers& International SJ’sCaliber RoyaleInternational SJ & EventerTop Holsteiner bloodlinesSTALLIONSSTANDING2020WeltonDouble CrackerFamous Welton bloodlinesSire of winners Eventing& ShowingJamhooriTB with excellent temperament,trainability & scopeInternationally renowned centre of excellence,breeding the Best of British sport horses for 25 yearst: 01249 782050 • e: manager@westkingtonstud.co.uk • www.westkingtonstud.co.ukBRITISH BREEDER| 69
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