Epic horse photobomb wins £2000 competition, sparks controversy
LONDON — Who would've thought that a simple horse photobomb could have led to so much controversy?
See also: 17 best photobombs of 2015
31-year-old David Bellis recently won a Thomson Holidays competition for a selfie he took with his three-year-old son and a camera-friendly horse they passed while walking in North Wales.
Image: Facebook David Bellis/Thomson Holidays
Bellis entered the photo in Thomson's #MadeMeSmile social media competition, which ran on "Blue Monday" — Jan. 18, thought to be the most depressing day of the year — and invited people to share amusing selfies with the chance of winning a prize.
And sure enough, the horse photobomb triumphed.
Image: Thomson Holiday
Not long after, though, word of the selfie got back to the owners of the photogenic horse. And that's when the controversy started.
"I didn't give him permission to use our horse in a competition," owner Nicola Mitchell was quoted as saying in the Metro. "I will be phoning Thomson Holidays to tell them what has gone on but I don't know what they will do."
Mitchell argued that their family should receive something from either Thomson Holidays or Bellis as it was their horse that won him the competition.
"I didn't even know that this competition was on," she continued. "If I had known about it, we would have entered it ourselves and could have won, as Betty is always sticking out her tongue."
Following Mitchell's complaint, many people have been posting on Thomson Holidays' Facebook page to defend Bellis.
Image: Facebook Thomson Holidays
Image: Facebook Thomson Holidays
On Monday, Mitchell's daughter took to Facebook to defend her family's argument.
Image: Facebook Katelyne Mitchell
Meanwhile, Thomson Holidays sent a statement to the Metro on Monday saying they'll look into the matter when they receive a complaint.
"Our Blue Monday competition was meant to make people smile on what's been deemed the most depressing day of the year and we're sorry to hear if it's caused any upset with the horse's reported owners," the statement read. "We are yet to receive a formal complaint, but we'll be sure to look in to it as and when we do."