THE world-renowned show jumping stallion Je T’aime Flamenco passed away last week at the age of 24 after a short illness. The multiple five-star winner and Irish Nations Cup horse was ridden throughout his career by Corkman Billy Twomey.

Announcing his death, Stallion AI Services, where he stood since 2006, said he was “one of the most influential and desirable jumping stallions that has stood in the UK over recent years”. A son of Flamenco De Semilly and bred in Belgium by Michel Spaas, he was imported to the UK by Penny Cornish as a five-year-old.

He was then purchased for Billy Twomey by the late Eddie and Sue Davies. Described by Twomey as a “clear round machine”, he won his first Grand Prix at HOYS aged eight and went on to win seven international Grand Prix classes, three of them at five-star level. They were the CSIO5* Grand Prix at St Gallen in 2009, CSIO5* at Barcelona in 2010 and the five-star in Valencia in 2011. He was retired in 2013.

“Stallions come and go, but there is no doubt about it, Je T’aime Flamenco is a name that is here to stay, and it’s been an honour to have him with us and be part of his journey,” Tullis Matson of Stallion AI Services said.