Horse of the Year Show Magazine – 4th-9th Oct 2011

Susan George’s tribute to Simon MacCorkindale

Personally 2011 has been unequivocally, the saddest one of my life, as last October, my beloved husband, Simon MacCorkindale, lost his five-year battle with cancer. Many of you will remember him for his remarkable portrayal of Surgeon Harry Harper, in the long-running series, Casualty, but alongside his acting career, he shared my passion and worked tirelessly and tenaciously to build and promote our Arabian Stud farm and we never once stopped believing.

My wish for the future is to realise the dreams and plans that we had made together and to make him proud The horses are the ones, who have still brought a smile in a year of unspeakable sadness and I know that each and every one of you will understand just what that means.

Simon would only want me to carry on waving the feel good flag and to be here with you all, throughout this week of competition. Encouraging your efforts as always, relishing in the success of riders, performers and entertainers and, of course, the show. Every Sunday, at the Gala Night finale, Simon’s words were the last to be heard when he recited the piece that over the years became his own, the Ode to the Horse. With his velvet voice and unforgettable style, he reminded us all just why we were here, .so ft will remain, Simon’s Ode and unforgettable.

The Ode to the Horse this year will be a recording of Simon to commemorate what a special and unique contribution he made to the show

Thanks to Ms George and co for a copy of this article