From his stables in Seaborough in Dorset Richard Barber saddled well over 1,000 Point to Point winners. He saddled his first winner, Gerry Doyle, at Nedge point to point in 1986, and his final one, Whataknight, at Bratton Down in 2014.

It is no exaggeration to say that during his time Richard Barber raised the bar and transformed the sport of point to pointing in the West Country.

He trained four winners of the Cheltenham Festival's Foxhunter Chase (a joint-record) namely Rushing Wild (1992), Fantus ('95 & '97) and Earthmover ('98), and he saddled Trust Fund to win the Aintree equivalent in 2009.

He was also involved with such famous names as Cheltenham Gold Cup winner See More Business, who he bought unbroken and trained to win two point-to-points before the horse moved to Paul Nicholls. He was responsible for the early development of Gold Cup runner-up Rushing Wild, who he won a Foxhunter Chase with before the horse moved to Martin Pipe's yard. Another shrewd purchase was Rock on Ruby who went on to win the Champion Hurdle in 2012. There are not many people who can claim to have bought both a Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle winner.

Richard Barber’s support, counsel and advice over the years has been responsible for developing many of the leading figures in racing today in the South West of England and further afield. The hundreds of young people who worked closely with him and his wife Viv at Seaborough during the Point to Point days will remember the days with great joy and affection. He had a real connection with young people and was always proud of the success of others who he had helped in racing.

Richard was a true country gentleman, a wise man, a caring man who regularly stood up for the underdog, a man who had time for everyone and a man who had few words but those that he imparted were well worth listening to. He made an indelible contribution to the sport of horse racing.