Ken Browne
Ken died at the age of 72, having finally succumbed to a crash from a horse one morning at his property in Cambridge.
Ken had been riding competitively over hurdle and steeplechase races for over fifty years.
He is single-handedly responsible for jumps racing still continuing in the upper north island - on many occasions, half a field would be carrying the brown colours of the Browne team.
Not only that - Ken usually reserved the hardest rides for himself. If a horse was likely to cause trouble, Kenny would rather ride it himself than give it to another rider.
The greatest display of his legendary toughness was at age almost 60, when he won one of the world's toughest races - the 4-mile Great Northern Steeplechase.
I was privileged to be standing in the birdcage as the spent horses and jockeys returned to the winner's stall. The race was one of the slowest in history and the exhaustion of all parties was evident, but one lean figure stood tall - the already grandfather figure of Mr. F K S Browne, yet again showing young men a third of his age what a champion is made of.
As long as men and women ride horses, the name of Ken Browne will not be forgotten.
Chris McQuaid's outstanding obituary is here
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