The equestrian photographer Kit Houghton has been one of the great constants at MARS Badminton Horse Trials for nearly 50 years, acting as photographic manager, keeper of the Badminton library and responsible for initiating much new technology in the media office.

Now, however, he is hanging up his camera and last night past and present colleagues of the press gathered for a reception in the press office at which he and his wife Kate, always an integral part of the operation, were presented with a garden bench and a magnificent cake in the shape of a Nikon camera, including edible rolls of film.

Hugh Thomas, who took over as Director in 1989, recalls that when the press office was upgraded in the early 1990s, Kit very much drove the process. “When we moved from developing film on site to sending pictures by email and going digital, it was always Kit who led the way in advising us. We always walked the cross-country course together and he would advise on photographic angles and branding.”

Present Director Jane Tuckwell added: “We owe Kit a lot for the way he has managed the photographer cohort with great grace, fairness and good humour, yet also with firmness and insisting on high standards of conduct. Over the years he has produced many artworks, including the photographic wall, and last year he worked very hard, with others, to create the splendid museum to mark 75 years of Badminton. We shall miss him very much.”