Warwickshire farmer Ken Hutsby, a stalwart of hunting and point-to-pointing in the South Midlands, died on Christmas Eve at the age of 78.
Hutsby (pictured above right with Stratford racecourse announcer Colin Brown), whose death resulted from complications following a worsening heart condition, was a successful amateur rider who became a familiar figure in the sport of Jump racing at the turn of the millennium through his ownership of top-class hurdler Mighty Moss. Ridden by Hutsby’s amateur son Fred, Mighty Moss finished a close second to the great Istabraq in Cheltenham’s Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle in 1997, and a year later took fourth place in the Stayers’ Hurdle behind Princeful.
Initially trained by David Nicholson, Mighty Moss was under the care of Alan King when in 2000 he won three hunters’ chases and carried Fred into fifth spot in Cavalero’s Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase. The horse was retired in 2003 following a final run in a point-to-point at Ashorne, home of the Warwickshire Hunt meeting, where Hutsby was clerk of the course for many years. He continued in that role when the fixture was moved to Mollington.
Ken Hutsby (right) joins son Fred (left) after Penmore Mill's victory in the 2016 AGA Final (David Simpson)
Ilona Barnett, a neighbour of Hutsby’s and a former secretary of the Warwickshire meeting, described him as: “A proper Warwickshire farmer who loved hunting, shooting and racing,” while former Jump jockey Charlie Poste said: “Ken was a great guy, old-fashioned, but always to be respected and he loved horses.”
Poste and his wife Fran Nimmo have rented their Station Yard stables from Hutsby and his brother Richard for more than five years. Poste added: “He loved coming to the yard and looking over the horses, and he liked telling stories of when he was riding – it always seemed to involve a 40-runner novices’ chase.
“He was fabulous to us and supported us in what we were trying to do. We came here with eight to ten horses and he recognised that we wanted to build the business up. He made a big effort to improve the facilities and erect more stables for us. To us it feels like a tragedy that he’s gone just as we were building up momentum.”
Hutsby and his estranged wife Gill were parents to three children – Ryan who predeceased his father, Fred and Nicola. He also leaves behind four grandchildren, Henry and Billy, Jack and Tom.