Blackthorn Cruise owned by event rider Panda Christie and rider is a registered Irish Sport Horse gelding born in 2009. He is by the KWPN show jumper Vancouver out of Ms Cruise by Cruising. Ms Cruise is also the dam of Clonkee Stud’s approved grand prix jumping stallion Numero Cruise. Blackthorn Cruise was acquired by Panda as a five-year-old from Vere Phillips and has been produced by Dan. He had major surgery requiring 18 months off but came back ‘as good as ever’ and contested his first Badminton in 2023 and was part of the travelling reserves for the Paris OG. He is described by Dan as ‘my second horse of a lifetime’.