A LEGENDARY showjumping horse has been reborn thanks to the efforts of a Whitchurch-based animal genetics firm.

Gemini Genetics, based in Prees, is the UK’s first dedicated domestic animal genetic preservation company, and has successfully cloned Arko III, the number one showjumper in Europe in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Arko died last year, having spent nearly 20 years at Gemini Genetics' sister company specialising in artificial insemination Stallion AI.

But he has now been reborn, after being cloned from a small skin sample from the original Arko.

The cloning process sees DNA from the original horse 'cultured' until sufficient genetic material is available for the ‘new horse’.

This genetic material is then transferred to a donor egg cell and the cell is electrically stimulated to create an embryo.

From here, the embryo is transferred to a recipient mare who carries the foal and gives birth in the same way as a normal pregnancy.

This means that although the horse many have small superficial differences, which are created during the gestation period, the new horse will have identical DNA to the donor.

Tullis Matson, who runs both Gemini Genetics and Stallion AI, said he was thrilled with the outcome.

"We're very excited," said Tullis.

"Arko was an amazing horse, who had been coming to us for nearly 20 years. He was the number one showjumper for three years on the trot.

"It's a very exciting time, we also do pet cloning and all this technology is amazing."

Tullis says he is proud that his industry-leading firm has a strong Shropshire connection.

"It's brilliant to see that this horse can be reborn again," he added.

"We saw Arko's head over the stable door since he was six, it was such a sad day when he died.

"It's a way we can bring him back, it's a Shropshire-based owner so it's great to see."

The firm has also recently embarked on a partnership with Chester Zoo, which has seen them preserve the DNA of a number of rare and endangered species.

A ‘living biobank’ for storing live skin and reproductive cells from endangered species has been established via the Nature’s Safe initiative.

Tullis added: "Nature's safe is very exciting, we've helped preserve nearly 90 species so far.

"We had a target to preserve 70 species by the end of the year, which we have already beaten.

"The media attention has been phenomenal too, so it's going very well."

Tullis believes that cloning could become widely accepted in the future, having first been achieved with some scepticism in 1996.

He added: "Dolly the sheep was born in 1996 and that raised a few eyebrows.

"I think we will become a lot more accustomed to this sort of thing in the future."

For more information, visit www.geminigenetics.com