Bionic horse is olympic hopeful

The Myerscough College equine scholars reckon they have found an Olympic Gold Medal contender after making a surprise discovery.

Polo Flair, a 10-year-old mare given to the college by an anonymous donor last year, is emerging as a serious contender for honours in Rio, despite undergoing major surgery to have

a bionic leg fitted following a serious accident.

Staff knew the horse had a show jumping pedigree and had done some competing in the past but were unaware of her full history.

Polo underwent a pioneering leg operation following a fall, where her upper foreleg bone was replaced with a metal pole, using a technique similar to human hip replacement surgery.

Her bionic qualities were spotted soon after she was put through her paces in the exercise arena.

Student, Flora Pisol said: “It quickly became clear that she was very talented over a fence so we took her around our International Equine Arena course, where she jumped maximum height and didn’t touch a pole.

It looks like his new bionic leg has given her that extra spring in her step required to compete with the best in the world.’’

After the horse showed no ill-effects from her exploits, college staff contacted Olympic officials, who have confirmed that following qualification, Polo Flair could be eligible to compete in the Rio games in 2016, with some experts already hailing her as an early favourite for gold.