The thieves took everything. Photo via Jamesadamsequestrian.co.uk.
The Grinch is on the loose in Darlington, England — that’s the only possible explanation for the outrageous thievery at eventer James Adams’ yard. The perpetrators not only stole $40,000 in tack and equipment Saturday night, only leaving the trash can behind in his tack room, but even pulled the blankets off his horses on a cold night, the Northern Echo reports.
“My tack room was literally stripped bare — all that was left was the bin,” James told the paper. “But taking the rugs off the horses’ backs is just the lowest of the low. This is November when the horses have been clipped — they would have been freezing.”
The heartless thieves took the saddle he rode in at Burghley Horse Trials — “a career highlight,” he said — his custom sky blue and black cross country vest and even ripped the TV out of his lorry. “I am heartbroken. I have worked with horses all my life but now there is literally nothing left,” he said. Poor guy.
Thankfully, the local horse community has banded around James to help him stock his tack room once again, donating blankets for the horses in addition to saddles, bridles and boots. While he won’t be able to replace the sentimental items — like the competition rugs he won at various events — the generosity of others has allowed him to cobble together enough equipment to keep his business going.
The Darlington police are investigating the theft and have warned people to be on the lookout for expensive tack available for rock-bottom prices, as that indicates a high probability that the tack was stolen. We wish James all the best as he looks to get back on his feet after the theft and sincerely hope that whoever did this is caught. We’re looking at you, Grinch.
If you’d like to donate items to help James, he can be reached at [email protected]. His full contact information and location of his yard are available on his website.
[Thieves strip top North-East eventer’s tack room bare – and even take the rugs off his horses’ backs]
H/T to EN reader Christina Tabacco-Weber for tipping us off on this story
