TRIBUTES from the equestrian world have been flooding in over the past week following the death of David Somerset, the 11th Duke of Beaufort and the owner of Badminton House.

The 89-year-old died at his home last Wednesday (August 16).

As president of the Badminton Horse Trials, he was a prominent figure in the eventing world and tributes have come as the president of the Badminton Horse Trials, which attract tens of thousands of people to his Gloucestershire Estate every year, has evoked emotional tributes from those who used to work with him and from as far afield as Australia.

“The duke was much more than a generous host to the horse trials,” said Hugh Thomas, director of the three-day event.

“He would welcome riders at their briefing even in his forebear’s time and of course was a successful rider at Badminton himself, coming second on the Countryman III in 1959.”

International event rider Harry Meade, who has completed the course nine times and came third last year, took to Twitter to pay tribute to the figure at Badminton’s helm who he called a wonderful patron of eventing.

The duke continued to involve himself with the Beaufort Hunt despite retiring from their rides following an accident in the 1980s.

The current joint master of the hunt, Captain Ian Farquhar, said: “David Beaufort was one of the most capable and delightful men I have been lucky enough to know.

“He possessed a wonderful eye for quality, whether for art, people, horses, hounds or the aesthetic beauty of the countryside.

“A fine horseman, he became a Master of the Beaufort Hunt in 1974 having hunted regularly since the early 1950s and he continued to do so until the late 1980s, when a fall resulted in a bad back. He subsequently continued to guide the affairs of the Hunt until his death.

“During his tenure as Duke, he orchestrated enormous improvements to the Badminton Estate, for example, renovating houses and cottages, planting thousands of trees and building miles of dry stone walls.

“He was enchanting company with a ready wit and was at ease with farmers as he was with his friends.

“He was a most unassuming man with a light air of authority and was adored by us all.”

The Duke leaves an estimated fortune of £315 million, including the Badminton Estate, to his widow, Miranda, and four children: Harry, Anne, Edward and John.