A European-renowned show jumping horse who escaped a stud farm was saved from drowning after it got stuck in a river.

Crown's Ace of Pearl, a £60,000 stallion, jumped over a fence before falling 6ft into the River Lugg in Herefordshire.

The rare cremello stallion, a breed of horse which has two copies of the 'crème' gene, was rescued by firefighters yesterday morning.

After swimming upstream, Ace became stuck in the river bed mud when trying to get out the river.

The £60,000 stallion escaped from the stud farm and after ended up stuck in the River Lugg in Herefordshire Passers-by attempted to help the stranded animal before the emergency services arrived

A £60,000 show jumping horse was saved from drowning in the River Lugg in Herefordshire following a freak accident which saw the animal escape from a stud farm

The horse, named Crown's Ace of Pearl, was in the river for 90 minutes before being rescued

The horse, named Crown's Ace of Pearl, was in the river for 90 minutes before being rescued

Passers-by helped to keep his head above water while waiting for officers from Hereford and Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service to arrive.

Ace was stuck in the water for 90 minutes in total and owner Ben Thomas-Cook was worried the horse would suffer hypothermia.

Show jumper Mr Thomas-Cook said: 'Times are different as we all know right now but what happened with Ace is every horse owner's nightmare.

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'Ace is not only our special stallion but he is part of our family and he means the world to all of us at the stud. He really is our number one boy.

'Everyone including passers-by all worked together to do their bit in a bid to try and get him out alive.

'They were fantastic and we cannot thank them enough for their quick thinking in what was an extremely difficult situation to get him out of.'

The rare cremello stallion, a breed of horse which has two copies of the 'crème' gene, is considered to be one of the best show jumping horses across Europe

The rare cremello stallion, a breed of horse which has two copies of the 'crème' gene, is considered to be one of the best show jumping horses across Europe

Firefighters dragged Ace to safety with pure manpower as they were unable to use machinery because of the position he was in.

Vets gave him a brief examination and he is expected to make a full recovery despite suffering minor cuts and bruises.

Ace has jumped and won international classes in Ireland and UK. As a four-year-old he was the dressage champion in Ireland in 2010.

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