MULTIPLE medal-winning event rider Karen Dixon (nee Straker) has recently moved across the Irish Sea from the north of England and is now settling in to her new home outside Killinchy, Co Down where she has already established good connections with the local vet, farrier, etc.

Karen’s husband Andrew, to whom she will be married 25 years next week, is originally from Northern Ireland and always wanted to return to his roots. They have brought three horses with them including the 30-year-old Reformed Character gelding Too Smart on whom Karen won Punchestown in 1994, when he was just eight, before going on to place third in Burghley later that year. The British autumn four-star event was a regular hunting ground for the combination who were fifth there in 1995 and second four years later.