Respected English horse touring Middle East (8)
I believe the answer is:
esteemed
'respected' is the definition.
('esteem' can be a synonym of 'respect')
'english horse touring middle east' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'horse' becomes 'steed' (steed is a kind of horse).
'touring' indicates putting letters inside (tour can mean to go around).
'middle east' becomes 'me' (abbreviation for Middle East).
'steed' placed around 'me' is 'steemed'.
'e'+'steemed'='ESTEEMED'
(Other definitions for esteemed that I've seen before include "Respected and valued, like customer" , "Meet seed being thought well of" , "Highly respected like good customer" , "Respected and appreciated like customer" , "Had great respect for" .)