On Friday last week she said “thanks but no thanks” but yesterday [Monday] Katie McVean announced she had sold her horse, Dunstan Delphi, for an undisclosed multi-million-dollar deal to Saudi Arabians.

Katie McVean had previously turned down an offer for a reputed $10million. The sale makes Delphi the most expensive horse ever sold out of New Zealand.

Katie and Delphi placed sixth in the recent FEI World Cup Final at Leipzsig in Germany, ranking Mcvean 101 in the world order.

The sale means Katie may have to give up on her dream of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics and begin all over again.

But she said she has eight babies, half siblings of Delphi, back home in the Waikato and she is looking forward to returning to New Zealand to start over.