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| David Broome on Mister Softee at the 1968 Mexico Olympics |
Ice Cream and Horses
How many of us I wonder, ran from our houses yelling "Can I have one Mum?" whenever we heard the distinctive chimes of the Mister Softee ice cream van. With its blue and white livery, the van was always a welcome sight on a hot day.
What might not be so well remembered is the link the Massarella family had with international show jumping. Their aptly named horse, Mister Softee brought the family as much success as the ice cream did. Here is a brief look at their equestrian story.
A Horse Named Mister Softee
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| David Broome on Mister Softee |
In the 1960's John Massarella bought a young horse at the Dublin Horse Show. Named after their ice cream franchise, Mister Softee had a glittering career in the world of championship show-jumping.
He won a Gold at the European Championships in 1962 with David Barker, but it was his partnership with David Broome that amassed the most successes. Winning the King George V Gold Cup and the British Jumping Derby in 1966, they also won consecutive Dublin Grand Prix titles in 1967 and 1968. They also won Individual Gold at the 1967 and 1969 European Championships.
Undoubtedly their greatest moment came when they won Olympic Bronze in Mexico in 1968, just two fences short of Gold.
Mister Softee was stabled at John Massarellas' farm in Almholme where he shared a paddock with his best friend, a donkey, who accompanied Mister Softee whenever he travelled.
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| David Broome on Mister Softee |
For the story of the Massarella catering business go to The Godfathers of Ice Cream on sister site Bentley Village, A History.
Alison Vainlo 2012
I remember Mr Softee (the Horse!) from my childhood. My Grandma lived on the static caravan site in Arksey and we used to walk all over the place on the days I stayed there. One of our favourite walks was down to to the farm where Mr Softee lived in a corner field. He would stick his head over the fence for me to stroke his nose! ......this would be 1970 or so.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve lived at that house for about 11 year now x
DeleteI remember him in that field and the donkey was named Jenny we named our dog after it !!
ReplyDeleteMister Softee - one of my all-time favourite show jumpers. He had not as much scope has some, but he always gave 100%. I was privileged to have been in the audience for his 1962 and 69 European Championship wins. The final day of the latter was one of the greatest performances I ever saw. He was also a very affectionate horse, so fondly remembered.
ReplyDeleteI can remember as a child going to Adwick Park Gala and Mr Softee & David Broome came to give us a display. It was Awesome having such a famous horse appearing at a mining village gala. Sadly these galas are not the same today, the sense of community isn't as strong, but I have many happy memories!
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