Downlands Cancara (1 May 1975 – June 2006) was an English graded

Trakehner Trakehner () is a light warmblood breed of horse, originally developed at the East Prussian state stud farm in the town of Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name. The was established in 1731 and operated until 1944, when the figh ...

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

famous for representing

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

as the Black Horse in a long-running series of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

adverts.

Television work

Downlands Cancara was selected to become the horse used in the bank's TV adverts in 1988 and filming for the first took place in 1989. It was shot on the sands of Pentewan Bay in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and showed a black horse galloping through the surf along the wide deserted

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

. The adverts featured

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielb ...

and

Jan Francis Janet Stephanie Francis (born 5 August 1947) is an English actress. She appeared as Penny Warrender in the 1980s romantic comedy '' Just Good Friends''. Early life Francis was born at the former Charing Cross Hospital London. She is the eld ...

. Cancara then went on to star in the Bank's "Legendary Service" campaign where he was seen rearing on top of a waterfall in a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

land of princesses, giants and goblins. In fact he was filmed, rearing, at his home near

Petersfield, Hampshire Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth ...

, then superimposed onto a model of a sugar waterfall created and shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, just for the commercials.

Personal appearances

Cancara also represented

, and subsequently

Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Established in Birmingham in 1765, Lloyds Bank e ...

, with numerous personal appearances. These included opening the

Great Yorkshire Show The Great Yorkshire Show (GYS) is an agricultural show which takes place on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in the North of England annually from the second Tuesday of July until the following Friday. It is organise ...

The Northern Echo - Show pageant will look at century of farming
/ref> and at the

Royal Welsh Show The Royal Welsh Show () is an agricultural show, organised by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society (originally, the Welsh National Agricultural Society, formed 26 February 1904 by influential landowners, at Committee Room 12 at the House of Co ...

and the

New Forest Show The New Forest and Hampshire County Show, more commonly known as the New Forest Show, is an annual agricultural show event held for three days at the end of July in New Park, near Brockenhurst in Hampshire, southern England, UK. It was first hel ...

. Some of the other highlights of Cancara's career included press calls for the Annual Fashion Awards where he was regularly surrounded by

supermodels A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothing ...

, launching Lloyds Bank's sponsorship of the

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

with

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

and

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (; born 25 February 1941), is a British-Irish film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include '' Chariots of Fire' ...

, becoming

Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...

’s centenary limited issue figurine and thereafter having one presented to

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

and "Mulder and Scully" at the BAFTA Awards as well as being present at the announcement concerning the merger of Lloyds and TSB Banks. He also had an official fan club in Horse and Pony Magazine.

Charity work

Downlands Cancara assisted in raising many hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity, supporting such organisations as The Macmillan Nurse Appeal, Riding for the Disabled, his local Rowan's Hospice, The International League for the Protection of Horses, (now

World Horse Welfare World Horse Welfare is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that was previously named the International League for the Protection of Horses. Anne, Princess Royal is its patron. History International League for the Protection of Horses w ...

) Special Wishes for terminally ill young people and

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

, where he walked from Lloyds Bank in Cosham to Lloyds Bank Head Offices in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, visiting Lloyds branches along the way.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.trakehnerbreeders.com * http://www.trakehner-verband.de/ Individual Trakehners 1975 animal births 2006 animal deaths