MAJOR Christopher Hanbury died unexpectedly on May 10th. He was a well-known and respected figure in the worlds of racing and polo.

Born in Co Mayo in 1944, he was involved in equestrian sports from a young age, hunting with the Meath and Ballymacad Foxhounds until he moved to England at the age of 18. The following year at Cirencester he began to play polo, taking it up seriously when commissioned into the Irish Hussars.

In 1974, Major Hanbury was sent as Equerry to the Sultan of Brunei, who he encouraged to take up polo along with his brothers, Prince Jefri and Prince Mohamed.

Chairman of Cirencester Park Polo Club for five years (1995-1999), Major Hanbury served with the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) for 17 years (1995-2012), including as chairman from 2005 until 2008. His contribution to polo was recognised with the HPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Major Hanbury built Longdole Polo Club in Gloucestershire and El Remanso in Argentina, the latter with its world-class embryo breeding centre.

A fine player whose wins included the Gerald Balding Cup, the Dorchester and Humphrey Butler Trophy, his Lovelocks team won the Gold Cup for the British Open in 2018, with his son Charlie part of the winning line-up. His passion for polo is instilled in his family, with his children and grandchildren representing the family at up to high-goal level.

Together with his wife Bridget, aunt to Lord Derby and Peter Stanley, Major Hanbury has owned and operated Triermore Stud in Ireland, and the farm enjoyed many notable successes as breeders, most recently with the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Line Of Duty (Galileo).

The couple have also been longstanding friends and owners with Nicky Henderson, racing many top-class horses including Captain Conan and O O Seven.

Major Christopher Hanbury is survived by his wife, Bridget, his children, Zahra, Emma, Arabella, Jessica, Charlie and George, his sons- and daughters-in-law Will, Scott, Hugo, Nick, Yoanna and Tori, and his 21 grandchildren.

His funeral is strictly private and a memorial service will be announced later. Donations can be made by searching for ‘Christopher Hanbury’ at justgiving.com.