By RJT

Roy Prince, the dairy farmer, hunting, racing and shooting man, and cricketer died unexpectedly on 23 September, aged 85.

Roy was born into a farming family who were not particularly interested in horses or hunting but hounds were always welcome on the farm.

Ponies were provided for Roy and his sister Connie. Roy attended the Meynell branch of the Pony Club and camp at Hoar Cross Hall and Elvaston Castle. Aged nine, he enjoyed his first days hunting, hacking miles to and from the meet of the Meynell hounds.

He started showjumping on his 13.2hh pony. His father became more involved, enjoying Roy’s considerable success riding Skyscraper and Silverwing. Walter Pritchard recognised the young man’s talent and invited him to ride his horses; he competed at many county shows, including White City in 1963.

The Household Cavalry invited some competitors, including Roy, to the Royal Army Reserve Corps Bar, which only closed for 30 minutes a day. Just up Roy’s street.

Having been a successful showjumper, the thrill of riding in point-to-points appealed to him more. He won the Members’ Race in 1964, riding Red Prince, who he had showjumped. He also rode another horse called Mayfly.

In 1965, Roy married Paddy Ings, the daughter of Gwen and Tony, staunch Atherstone hunting and point-to-pointing farmers, farming at Ashurst Farm, in some of the best of the Atherstone country.

In January 1993, Tony died suddenly. He was a very good chairman of the Atherstone Hunt at the time. A meet was due to take place at Ashurst Farm a few days later and the family decided to carry on as Tony would have wished. Shortly after, a lovely fox ran through the farmyard, as if to salute the passing of a great hunting man.

Roy and Paddy set up home in a duchy cottage near Six Lane Ends.

In 1967, Roy’s father retired, enabling the couple to move into Agardsley Farm in the heart of the Meynell country. They brought up three boys: David, Charles and Michael. They also enjoyed hunting and racing together, taking part in all aspects of Meynell hunting life, including organising and catering for numerous social functions. It was at this magical time that the then Prince of Wales hunted with the Meynell.

Tea at Agardsley completed many a good day’s hunting, the Prince mucking in with everyone in the kitchen. Paddy and Roy were lucky enough to be invited to Highgrove and garden parties at Buckingham Palace.

In 1994, The Deer Park was purchased. A new dairy complex was built, followed by a beautiful manor house, which Roy and Paddy moved into. Many friends enjoyed their hospitality, where Roy opened one bottle after another! There were also many meets of the hounds and charity functions.

Roy did the milking twice a day until, aged 83, he decided to retire. After a heavy fall, he had given up hunting aged 80.

Paddy’s father bred two point-to-pointers, Athenmore Lass and Pelican Falls. Riding Pelican Falls, David won the Meynell members’ race 20 years after his father. Trained by Roy, the 15.1hh mare Athenmore Lass came second twice in the Heythrop four-miler. Roy was very much involved in the pointing and racing scene, being invited to become a steward for The Jockey Club, officiating at Uttoxeter and Wolverhampton for some 15 years.

In the early 1970s, Roy was a founder of the Meynell Cricket Club (MCC), serving as chairman for 30 years. He was also chief groundsman. Nearly every summer weekend there was a match, with Paddy and her team providing a splendid cricket tea.

When David, Charles and Michael were old enough, they all played together. What a privilege this was for Roy, even greater when he played with his elder grandsons, William and George. Roy promised his boys £1,000 each if they scored a century. Charles and Michael received theirs; luckily for Roy, David was a bowler.

Roy embraced country life to the full. He enjoyed very many parties and was a generous host, always having that wonderful smile.

His last party, just a few short days before his death, was the MCC lunch. Many guests will remember him wearing his MCC cap, brandy in one hand, cigar in the other. More than 600 people attended his funeral at Hoar Cross church, just a short distance from his farm.

It has been a privilege to tell the life story of Roy Prince, one of very hard work, great sport, and much fun and laughter.

Roy will be much missed by his devoted wife Paddy, his three sons and seven grandchildren.

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A rider inspired to set up a group aimed at improving equestrian access in the southeast said it is a deeply personal mission – and added: “If we don’t do it, who will?”

Gemma Little launched the East Sussex & Kent Equestrian Access Group with Hazel Tonge, Linda Westcombe and Sarah-Jayne Carey in April. The group’s early achievements include acting as a voice for equestrians to Forestry England, installation of mounting blocks and work with local authorities.

Gemma told H&H the idea came after she was invited by another rider to an online meeting about access late last year and thought she had been asked in error.

“Teams meetings are not my bag at all, I had no interest in it whatsoever,” she said.

“Then I thought about it, and actually, I used to be in West Sussex and used to have incredible off-road hacking, straight on to the Downs.

“But ever since I moved here [East Sussex] 20 years ago, I have moaned constantly about the lack of riding. I thought ‘Actually, no. Come on, Gem, let’s not be lazy, let’s just go into the meeting and see if I can learn something or help a bit or just see what it’s about.’ So I did.

“I went into the meeting and I found it so informative. I realised how many equestrians were like me, and just keep quiet and feel they’ve got no support. Then nothing will be done. I thought ‘Now’s the time I can actually do something’.”

Gemma posted on social media and got in contact with Hazel, who lost her horse Prima in a road accident. The pair and Hazel’s friends Linda and Sarah-Jayne teamed up.

“We decided ‘Do you know what? We’re going to start an access group, affiliate with the [British Horse Society] BHS and try to make a difference. And we did.”

East Sussex & Kent Equestrian Access Group: from strength to strength

The group officially started in April and has “gone from strength to strength”. One major effort has been working with Forestry England; H&H reported that the body announced that riders would have free access to its woodlands, then introduced parking charges.

“We’ve got a really good relationship with Forestry England,” Gemma said, adding that the parking permits cover all Forestry England sites and funds upkeep of the parking areas.

“We are kind of the voice between equestrians and them so any problems; and they will be revising the permits in April and my contact has asked us to get feedback. They are trying to work with us to try to find the perfect partnership.”

Gemma said the work has been very intense and time-consuming, including meetings with stakeholders such as highways authorities.

“I’ve got a 13-year-old daughter, and we live in a village that has no off-road riding,” she said. “We ride on the roads very early on a Sunday morning, if at all. I’d just like to maintain, and keep or try to improve off-road riding and links – where we are, we’ve got bridleways that lead on to main roads and just stop.

“What’s the point of that? We need some way of linking bridleways together without roads in between. We’ve got campaigns; ‘Behind the hedge’, where we’re asking farmers to keep a strip of land just inside the hedge for riders, and better signage on roads and education for drivers, for people who can’t avoid roads.

“Somebody’s got to do it, especially with all the building work going on, and if we don’t do it, who will?”

Mounting blocks

Gemma said the biggest wins include the work with Forestry England on parking, and installing mounting blocks in woodlands. Other work includes looking at footpaths that could be reclassified as bridleways, although this is a longer-term project, and working with police on close pass operations.

Independent vet RW Equine, which covers East Sussex and Kent, has come on board as the group’s main sponsor.

“Obviously the affiliation takes money, we’ve got a bank account, which costs money, a website that costs money, so to have their sponsorship means we can go on for another 12 months,” Gemma said. “I’ve funded everything so far myself, and donated it. But I can’t afford to keep it on so to have sponsorship is vital. We’re absolutely chuffed to bits with RW Equine and so grateful.”

More information, on getting involved or supporting the group, is available on its website and Facebook group.

Reuben and Sarah Whittaker, the husband and wife who run RW Equine, said: “As a proudly independent, local equine veterinary practice, RW Equine Vet is delighted to support the East Sussex & Kent Equestrian Access Group in its mission to protect and improve safe off-road riding routes.

“We understand just how important safe, accessible hacking is to horse owners, and we're pleased to support a group working to safeguard these opportunities for future generations.”

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As the price of top-level competition horses remains high – what are the pros and cons of leasing?

In a follow-up to the four-part series investigating the UK horse sales market, H&H has explored leasing and loaning.

Loaning a horse has long been an alternative to buying but in the competition sector there is a growing demand for leases. A rider pays the owner an annual fee – usually a percentage of the horse’s value – and a contract is in place.

Leasing can be a way for riders to access more experienced horses or ponies without the outright purchase price. These arrangements are particularly prominent in pony showjumping, where the price for top-track ponies can range from £100,000 to £500,000.

Alison Irvine leased the elite 128cm gelding Bunbury Conquest (Questy) for her daughter Emily, then bought him. When Emily outgrew Questie, Alison leased him to the Widdowson family, in 2021.

“Leasing allowed me to get my foot on the ladder and get a pony that would only have been a dream,” Alison told H&H, adding that leasing can provide the opportunity to compete top-level ponies, without the six-figure price tag.

By leasing Questy out, Alison was able to fund Emily’s next pony, 148cm mare Runard Lass. When she was outgrown, she was leased and the funds were used towards a horse.

“We get an income towards the next one, but also it allows us to keep them and have that contact. Why sell them and not know where they are? They mean so much, they’re like family,” said Alison.

International grand prix rider Anna Ross told H&H that leasing can be an option for owners if a horse has a flaw or may not pass a five-stage vetting.

“I lease out a mare who has one eye, which obviously limits her commercial value as a sales horse. She wouldn’t pass a vetting, but manages very well and is very happy in her work,” said Anna, adding that in most cases she asks for a deposit and an annual fee of 10-20% of the horse’s value.

“Leases are definitely growing in popularity, and working out pretty well. There’s a great deal of benefit to both parties, as long as the contract is clear. There needs to be a good understanding between the owner and the leaser about how the horse will be cared for and managed.”

Connie Villani, who is involved in sourcing event ponies, told H&H a growing number of people are asking for leases, especially in high value ponies, but that it remains “relatively uncommon” in the UK compared to Europe.

“In Europe ponies are typically kept in a professional set-up and remain in the same environment but go from one rider to the next, which mitigates some of the risks involved with a new partnership forming. I think in the UK, where people tend to keep their horses at home, owners are a little more reluctant,” she said, adding that typically event leases operate at a fee of a third of the horse’s value.

“From an eventing point of view, the risk factor for owners is huge, especially with the cross-country aspect.”

Eventer and agent Fred Scala agrees that eventing carries heightened risks.

“Would I lease a horse in its prime? Probably not. You might not get back the same horse – or they can get injured,” he said.

“But equally, the horse might go well and improve. It’s a different ball game if a nation is leasing a horse to get to an Olympics, in which case if the horse goes well, it is a big opportunity for them and can add value.”

Fred has leased out a number of horses, including his former top ride Everon Vivendi, now 17.

“He’s just gone out to a teenager; it’s great because he’s going to make someone very happy doing a couple of BE100s,” said Fred.

“Ultimately I’d never sell him because I owe him my whole career – but it’s a nice way of him still getting out and about.”

Although leasing might be an appealing option for those not in the position to buy, people need to consider that they might be spending a significant sum, to give the horse back.

“That’s the other side of it, it’s dead money,” said Connie. “You need to hand it back at the end, or if something happens to the horse during the lease. It’s complicated. There’s no right or wrong answer, but leasing is definitely becoming popular because of the economy and the market being a bit slower.”

Agria Grace Law CIC partner Hannah Bradley told H&H the firm has seen an increasing number of clients entering lease agreements.

“Although they do not carry the same risks as ownership of a high-value horse, there are very real risks for both sides, which need to be given careful consideration. Horses are obviously not the same as a car, and there are inherently more risks with illness, injury and the general longevity of a competition horse,” she said, adding that any disputes commonly arise over non-payment, horse management and lease termination.

“It can be difficult to resolve a disagreement. Disputes can arise in the middle of a competition schedule and emotions are often running high. If there are no clear written terms, it can be especially complex.”

Ms Bradley said things to consider and agree in writing depend on the circumstances of both parties and the horse’s characteristics and value.

“Owners should consider the risk that a party leasing a horse may not have the same concern for the horse’s health, maintenance or even welfare as they do,” she said.

“The owner of an older horse or one with historical issues may wish to impose restrictions on the competition level, the number of competitions, whether the horse can be travelled internationally, for example.”

Leasing exists in showing but Glebedale Stud, run by Jill Williams and daughter Kitty Bodily, opts to loan its young Welsh mares instead.

“We find them a good home, where there’s usually more than one child so they can go from one to the next, to do first riddens and lead rein. When they’re about eight or nine they come back to us for breeding,” Jill told H&H.

“We could lease them and it would be nice to have a bit of money, but the home is more important so we normally don’t charge anything.”

A unique loan opportunity exists in eventing, charity Project Pony, which gives talented young riders who might not have the financial backing the ride on proven competition ponies with a view of progressing the next generation.

“Every agreement we have is slightly different, and there are are expectations because there’s a much bigger picture than just loaning a pony,” said Connie Villani, who helps run Project Pony.

“It’s very special to be a part of because we have some very exciting up-and-coming riders, and we’re playing a small part at the start of their careers.”

Loaning remains a common option in the leisure horse market. The British Horse Society (BHS) provides a free template loan agreement, which is downloaded on average 570 times a month.

“For owners who may be currently struggling with time or finances, a helpful option may be to consider working livery with a BHS approved riding school, with some offering long term loan arrangements,” said Gemma Stanford, BHS director of horse care and welfare.

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A buzz has been building around Charlotte Dujardin and Secret Agent for a while now.

The seven-year-old stallion – known at home, fittingly, as James – first turned heads when Charlotte rode him as a four-year-old at the British Dressage National Convention. The following year he scored a massive 97.2% in a national five-year-old class.

Sightings in the competition ring have been few and far between since, but the talk in the meantime has only helped his legend grow.

Now, after finishing second in the seven-year-old final at the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Verden this summer, the secret is well and truly out.

Judge Richard Baldwin compares the excitement around him to the stir caused by Woodlander Farouche, Michael Eilberg’s record-breaking, two-time young horse world champion and one of the great “what ifs” of British dressage.

Charlotte, meanwhile, already has her sights set on the biggest stage of all.

So how did he catch Charlotte’s eye, and what makes him a future team star?

“I knew I had to try to buy him”

“I discovered James when he was just two years old,” Charlotte says. “I was sent a video of him on the lunge, and instantly, I knew he was a horse for me. He had so much presence, elasticity and a natural ability to move through his body. I remember getting real butterflies. I knew I had to try to buy him.

“I first sat on him when he was three and the moment my bum hit the saddle, I knew he was something special. He had so much natural ability, but just as importantly, he had a lovely character.”

That character has made him a joy in the arena at home.

“He’s a wonderful horse to train. He’s incredibly clever; you can teach him something one day and he’ll understand it by the next.

“He has an incredible work ethic, loves his job and really enjoys working with me as his rider. He is a horse who wants to learn and that makes training him such a pleasure.”

Secret Agent at Verden

For all her championship medals, Charlotte had never ridden at the World Breeding Championships before this summer.

“It was one of the best experiences of my career,” she says. “It was a real privilege to ride such a special horse in such an incredible atmosphere. He won the first round and went on to become reserve champion on the second day.

“He’s my horse for the future and my dream for him is the LA 2028 Olympics. I genuinely believe he has the ability to go all the way and compete for a medal. He is an incredibly special horse and I feel very lucky to be on this journey with him.”

Secret Agent behind the scenes

Groom Phoenix Lewis sees a different side of James every day.

“James is such a pleasure to work with. He always tries his best and has the sweetest, cheekiest personality. He loves attention and affection – and we always make sure he gets plenty!

“He’s definitely matured over the past year. The more he’s been out competing and seeing the world, the more he’s developed and grown in confidence.”

Like Charlotte, Phoenix was struck by him from the start.

“I remember the first time I saw him; he was cantering around the outdoor arena and I was mesmerised. He still has that effect on me now.

“The winter championships are my favourite memory together so far. Spending the whole weekend with him and seeing him win there was so special.

“I get really nervous watching him compete! Knowing how hard he and Charlotte both work behind the scenes makes me want everything to go well and I am always so proud of them both.”

The judge’s view

Judge Richard Baldwin has had James in front of him since the horse’s early competition days. He says the horse’s ability goes deeper than flashy paces.

“I first judged Secret Agent when he was about five, and the thing that sets him apart is his athleticism. He’s so gymnastic – his whole body moves and works. Everything is loose and supple – every joint, every muscle. He’s like a bouncy rubber ball and because of that he looks like he finds everything easy.

“His canter stood out to me straight away, although his other two gaits are super as well. Even then, you could see from the natural way he uses his hindleg that the adjustability would come as he got older.

“Normally, horses with big, impressive gaits struggle with adjustability, because they just get bigger and bigger. He finds it easy to collect for a pirouette and then do a big extended canter. That’s what impressed me when I judged him at the selection trial before the World Championships.

“The other lovely thing is that he doesn’t get tense or upset. He can be really athletic and expressive, but he stays relaxed and listening to the aids. In young horse classes you often see big movers and think, ‘I don’t know whether I’d want to ride that.’ He looks a pleasure to ride and he has the athleticism too.

“He certainly has the mental and physical ability to go all the way.”

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The rider of a dressage horse who was supposed to retire after a successful career but has overcome a broken bone to be a double national champion aged 20 said it is a privilege to have him in her life.

Sondra Rutter first rode Sirocco (Sushi) as a youngster, years ago, and got on with him so well that when it was clear he was not enjoying his retirement, owner Helen Illes remembered the bond and offered Sondra the ride.

Just this year, they were placed in both advanced medium classes at the Hickstead Masters, won the prix st georges (PSG) bronze freestyle at the summer Area Festival, came fourth at that level at the Area Festival Championships – and won the gold and overall advanced medium in the veteran horse 20+ category at the British Dressage Associated Championships (28 October-2 November).

“Everything is about him,” Sondra told H&H. “As long as he wants to keep doing it, we will.”

Sondra met Sushi when he was three and she went with Helen to Germany to collect him. She had him for a few months, then he went off to Amy Woodhead, at Carl Hester’s yard. He later went to Kate Cowell. He competed successfully up to international intermediate I level, until 2020, when he retired aged 14.

“They were working him towards grand prix and it was just a step too far for him,” Sondra said. “So they retired him and he was out of work for about two years. But both the vet and the physio said ‘This horse needs to work’.

“He was unhappy, he was struggling with his body, he was stiff, he was tight, he wasn’t happy in life. He was on a beautiful yard where they took fantastic care of him but it just wasn’t something he was enjoying; he loved getting out to compete.

“So the owner called me, because she remembered I rode him when he was a baby and we got on very well, and asked if I’d be interested in riding him again.”

Sondra most definitely was. They started competing together in 2023, winning repeatedly that year and the following two.

“It was very nice to be partnered with him all those years later,” she said.

“I think we got on straight away. He definitely chooses his people; he did have another rider try him in between and it didn’t work out for whatever reason but the two of us just cracked on and got on with it again. It’s been lovely for me to have a horse who I don’t have the pressure of producing him or of results. It’s just lovely to be able to ride him and go out to a competition for pure enjoyment.”

Then last July, aged 19, Sushi injured himself in the field and was found to have a broken pedal bone.

“He went out sound and came in hopping lame,” Sondra said. “He had to do three months of box rest but I really didn’t think he was going to come back from it.

“The vets felt he had a good chance of recovery but whether it was going to be up to competing and doing what he was before, it was kind of wait and see. I felt it would be more the rest of him; being on box rest and not being able to move and keep his body going. Certainly at that age, that’s when you know arthritis is starting to be a bit more prevalent and they stiffen up and lose condition so quickly.”

Sondra was given exercises from her physio to do in the stable and she hand-walked Sushi once he was allowed – “It was like trying to hand-walk a crocodile on speed!” she said – then brought him slowly back into work.

“He’s come back amazingly,” she said. “The hand-walking had been far more exciting than was strictly necessary and then if you tried to trot him up, he trotted out like a grand prix horse so it was a case of get on and pray. I did the five minutes’ hand walking then got on him for two minutes, just really building it up so slowly.”

But Sushi was back in work at the start of this year, competing again in March and at Hickstead in May.

“He was so happy,” Sondra said. “He loved Hickstead, he was so happy to be there. I spent the first two days having to be led back and forth to the arena because he was so excited; it was like riding a fire-breathing dragon! He was so happy to be out and it was just incredible; it was one of those competitions that just went so well, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

A summer of success came to a close with the brace of wins at the associated championships.

“It was lovely to have done a test I was proud of,” Sondra said. “The last two freestyles we did, I had to freestyle it a bit in the test and rearrange a few bits. I’d got stuck in one of my canter pirouettes, so I had to get out of that one, do the next one then try to find a line where I could repeat the first one! But this was just a test where nothing went wrong, no errors, it was lovely.

“One of the judges commented how wonderful it was to see a horse his age with that much elasticity, and it was just one of those days, everything worked. It was sunny, it was just beautiful. My friend Liz Bourne was there grooming for me, and she’s groomed for pretty much all of his competitions, so it just felt incredible.”

Sondra said she feels Sushi’s story shows that some horses are not ready to retire; even if they are not at the level or achieving the results they once were, they still enjoy it and the rider can too.

“It’s a privilege to be partnering him again,” she said.

“His owner’s so excited for him, and for me it’s so nice to have a horse and the owner is willing to say ‘He may not be at the top of his game any more but he has another chapter in his life that he could do’. I think so many people are afraid to let their top horses who have been performing at the top, maybe not be at the top but still be going out and doing something the horse genuinely loves.”

Sondra described Sushi as cheeky, “a “real sweetheart” who can be rather “explosive” out hacking owing to his excitement rather than any malice, and a horse who loves his job.

“The bigger the competition, the better it is for him,” she said. “He loves a championship, the feeling of it, the more you ask of him, the more he likes it. With basic work he gets quite bored but as soon as you pick him up and say ‘We’re going to start half passes, or do a line of four-time changes’, he’s ‘Woo-hoo’, and he just lights up.”

Sondra added that the plan for the winter is hacking and some light schooling, then she will look at Sushi’s competition options for next year.

“What this year has been about is actually saying ‘Keep going because there are good times ahead’,” she said. “Sometimes it does work out. And to finish the season on a competition where everything went well, and we came back with two sashes – it was just a fabulous day.

“Nothing about that horse is like a 20-year-old; he’s like Peter Pan; the horse who just never grew up.”

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Hopes are high that the costs, delays and red tape involved in transporting horses between the UK and EU could soon be slashed.

When Britain left the EU, travelling horses overseas came with a whole new raft of extra paperwork and expense. A new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, which concerns movements of food and animals, is set to be formally signed at a summit on 20 November.

It is hoped that this will make it easier to travel horses between the UK and EU, which includes Ireland.

A statement from the office of Nina Carberry, the former jockey who is now a member of the European Parliament (MEP), said the agreement “is expected to remove existing export health certificates, costing up to £200 per consignment and reduce checks at designated border control posts”.

Export health certificates have to be signed by a vet before each journey, which is costly and time-consuming. H&H has also covered numerous stories of hold-ups at border control posts since Brexit.

Ms Carberry, the European Parliament’s lead MEP on EU-UK relations, stressed that the deal must come into force as soon as possible.

“This is very welcome news for the equine industry. For trainers, breeders and sales companies moving back and forth between Ireland and the UK, these additional costs and delays have been a real frustration since Brexit,” she said.

“Since 2019, thoroughbred movements between the EU and UK have fallen by around 25%. Hopefully, this deal will see those numbers boosted again by removing unnecessary barriers to trade.”

She added that the next step is to finalise the agreement and said she will be “pushing that this deal is fast-tracked through Parliament”.

“We now need to turn this progress into real improvements on the ground for the people who breed, train, transport and compete with our horses,” she said.

“In the longer term, we also need to focus on simplifying customs arrangements and improving digital identification systems to reduce costs, cut duplication and make it easier to move horses between Ireland and Britain.”

Jan Rogers of the British Horse Council told H&H the deal “will hopefully eliminate the need for export health certificates to and from the EU for equidae as well as border checks”.

“This will mean huge savings for competitors and breeders in racing and sport,” she said.

“The detail will emerge following the summit, and it will mean some changes within the UK domestically as the agreement (subject to confirmation) will mean that some of our processes will have to change in order to dynamically align back with EU animal health law.”

A Government spokesperson told H&H: “We are building an ambitious, close relationship with the EU that will strengthen our economy, protect British industry, and create more opportunities for young people across the UK.

“A food and drink deal could deliver up to £5.1 billion a year for the UK economy, slashing the costly red tape that only helps drive up supermarket prices and stifle trade.”

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By Marilyn Sweet

Alec Knott, the breeder and former president of the Arab Horse Society (AHS) died on 11 August, aged 83.

Alec was born and brought up in Mow Cop, Cheshire, and lived all his life in the Staffordshire area. He and his wife Lynn, who passed away in 2005, had a lifelong passion for Arab horses, initially owning and showing them. Lynn had ridden since childhood and always wanted an Arab, then got her wish when the mare Nabila was acquired from her breeder Lady Bamford.

After successfully handling Arabs in the show ring for various owners, Alec turned to stewarding. He toured the country helping at AHS-affiliated shows, joined by Lynn who was also a steward. He was part of the organising committee for the North Staffordshire AHS show, which grew to a two-day show with international judges and he was very proud to be elected president of AHS in 2019.

He was the quintessential steward, always immaculate, knowledgeable, polite and friendly, chatting readily to everyone and giving any nervous novices confidence. His ring would always run like clockwork.

The word “retirement” was not in Alec’s vocabulary but as he went into his 80s he started to take things a little more easily. His last appointment was at his favourite county show, Royal Cheshire, in the Arab ring. Sadly he was taken ill that day much to the dismay of his many friends inside and outside the ring and he passed away at home a few weeks later.

Alec and Lynn are survived by their daughter Jayne. The Arabian ridden classes will always echo with Alec’s “trot on please!” and he will be much missed.

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“We call that redemption,” said Bubby Upton after finishing runner-up at Pau five-star with Its Cooley Time (Finn).

Redemption may seem a strange word for the brilliant grey who has won two Bramhams in the past 18 months, and his 27-year-old rider whose career path already looks set for stardom. But their Bramham double sandwiched three consecutive falls including at Pau a year ago, when coasting three fences from home.

“Last year I fully let him down and in my eyes prevented him winning his first five-star on his debut,” Bubby says. “It took a long time to swallow and get over that, but this year we’ve come back with a vengeance. This result is only scratching the surface of what we can do.”

Bubby is already a veteran of 16 five-star starts, but this is her best result so far – and sealed over one of the toughest Pau tracks, with only a 37% cross-country clear rate.

“He’s the most talented horse I’ve ever had, he’s a freak of nature,” says Bubby of the Quality Time TN gelding, who is owned by Susan de Zuleta, Jane Dear, Susie Holland-Bosworth, the Duchess of Norfolk, Hilary Russell and herself.

“He’s an incredible dressage horse – beautiful on the flat. He then goes cross-country as low and economical as you like, and then comes out and showjumps like a proper jumper. He’s the absolute dream for a rider.”

But for all that Bubby has always been sure of Finn’s talent, the falls buffeted her confidence that she could bring out the best in him.

“It was hard at times, falling at the Europeans, then Pau, then Kronenberg, bang bang bang,” she says. “But the team behind me have never lost faith.”

Cue a phone call to cross-country maestros Andrew Nicholson and Chris Bartle.

“They have been instrumental, and really rallied round me in terms of analysing my rounds,” she says.

“They picked me up and held me together when I felt a bit lost in my way with Finn. Although he’s class through and through, his unusually high head carriage makes things quite difficult at times and he’s hyper sensitive.

“We stripped everything right back at the beginning of the season and now I feel I’ve got him nailed to a T. They’ve just taught me a different way with him and given me all the belief that I should have in him.”

Bubby explains that she’s grown up riding a different type of horse – winning multiple youth medals – and has had to tailor her approach.

“I have to ride him completely differently to all my other horses,” she says. “I’m quite a positive, attacking rider and because he’s as brave as a lion – nothing fazes him – that doesn’t really work with him. I have to be very precise at every single fence in terms of how I set him up and not take any fence for granted.

“You can’t just shake, rattle and roll like I can on Cola – he’s like a rocket ship or a Ferrari.”

Bubby’s always been one for the minutiae, so it’s not just her riding style she’s tweaked for Finn.

“We've also changed his boots, his cross-country bit, little things like that, and it all just seems hopefully to have been the magic touch,” she says.

Finn now wears open-fronted tendon boots across country.

“You see him showjump and he’s so careful, but cross-country he’s so intelligent and knows exactly how low he can go, so this is just to help him respect the fences,” Bubby says.

“In the cross-country warm-up he’s mellow and goes quite high, but I can’t move him on because he’ll go out the start box like a rocket, so I just have to trust him.

“He’s the quickest animal on his feet, and he’s always like, ‘let me go! I know what I’m doing!’. But the feistier he is the better he is. I remember William Fox-Pitt saying that about Chilli Morning and Finn is the same: he’s a fighter.

“He just knows what’s going on. He knows the order of events and what’s coming next and it’s like he pumps himself up, just like I do. On cross-country morning he shakes!”

Bubby pays huge tribute to her family and home team – including the horses – for their part in her success. Finn’s occasional blips pale into comparison with Bubby’s own resurgence since breaking her back in 2023.

“My family means everything, not just this season but my whole life,” she says. “I keep myself to myself and have my small close-knit team around me and they mean the world to me.

“It’s a savage sport at times, I’ve been through the wringer of it and they’ve been by my side all the time. The Pau result was for all of them, helping me never to lose faith.”

There was just one nervy moment at Pau, when Bubby was pitched out of the saddle on landing over a triple brush into the water. Finn locked on to the next skinny and the pair galloped on as if nothing had happened – which Bubby puts down to a partnership forged when the horse was just five years old.

“That just shows the love and time we put into him, that he repays us in situations like that,” she says, stressing the importance of her connection with all horses.

“There was a moment in time when this was not possible for me anymore, and these horses are what got me back walking and riding again,” she says. “So that's probably why it’s quite evident how much I adore them. Because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Runner-up at five-star may be the crowning result of the pair’s career so far, but they are absolutely not stopping here.

“I know Finn inside out now, and the second half of this season has been such confirmation that everything we are doing is spot-on,” she says. “I just can’t wait to see now what the next couple of years hold.”

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Our horses creep into old age with varying levels of health. But at what point do we need to become extra vigilant for conditions in our veterans we never had to consider in their early years?

“On paper, 15 is considered geriatric and some horses at 15 do have a lot of problems,” says Nicky Housby-Skeggs, veterinary director at The Horse Trust. “But a lot of horses are still in their prime.”

Equine vet and dental specialist Dr Chris Pearce says: “Horses can be very active in later age, but we need to be careful to look out for certain problems. Things to look out for are gradual changes, not necessarily the ones that are dramatic.”

1. Arthritis

Arthritis is a commonly cited reason in retirement decisions, but early signs of the disease can be subtle.

“Behaviour changes in older horses are often a sign of pain,” says Nicky. “It presents as not being happy to do things they always used to be comfortable doing – for example, being grumpy with the farrier because they don’t want their legs lifted is a common one.”

When signs are spotted, simple changes in management can help make the horse more comfortable.

“For example, if you know they’re a bit arthritic, you maybe take them for a walk to loosen them off before the farrier comes,” she says.

Despite the high prevalence, arthritis doesn’t have to mean the end of a horse’s ridden career, and Chris advises owners to talk to their vet about a suitable pain relief plan.

“One of the best things for keeping horses healthy and fit is to keep them doing some work. And if that means providing them with some kind of support for arthritis, then that is a really beneficial thing.”

2. Dental issues

As a horse ages, its teeth change in several ways, including losing some of the enamel.

“The grinding surface changes, and they lose wear-resistant enamel from the surfaces, especially on the upper teeth,” says Chris. “The amount can vary between horses, but as a general rule, we see this pattern of enamel loss occurring with age. The surface becomes very smooth and it reduces their ability to masticate.”

Older horses’ teeth are also likely to be smaller, they develop more gaps and may lose teeth entirely, all of which can also reduce their ability to grind.

“Also more prevalent in teenage horses onwards is a very progressive, painful, autoimmune disease called equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis [EOTRH],” says Chris. “It mostly affects the incisors and requires X-rays or radiographs to get a diagnosis. Sometimes it’s appropriate to have extractions but following this, horses are usually dramatically improved and can have a much better quality of life.”

Horses are very good at hiding dental pain, but Chris says there are signs an owner can look for.

“Any change of their normal habits relating to eating and mastication – taking too long to eat, weight loss, halitosis, dropping food that’s partially chewed [quidding]. But there are also other behaviours that have been proven to be linked to dental pain in certain situations. These can include playing with water in the water bucket, soaking the hay, dropping the hay in the water bucket, ridden problems, headshaking and so on.”

Regular dentistry by a suitable professional will pick up any issues and can be preventative too.

“If a horse has had good routine dental care, then they generally have less in the way of some of the age-related changes that we would see in horses that have not had good routine dental care.

“Good dentistry throughout the life can definitely reduce many problems, and some horses can retain excellent teeth well into their late 20s.”

3. Weight loss

Dental issues, and specifically losing the ability to grind, are a common cause of weight loss.

“Horses are designed to eat long fibre. That chewing action maintains healthy dentition and produces saliva that helps protect the stomach against acid, and allows the large and small intestine to absorb nutrients properly,” Nicky explains.

For horses with poor dentition, soaked fibre pellets or mashes can be the only way to ensure the necessary intake of fibre and calories.

However, Nicky also points out it’s important not to confuse weight loss with muscle loss in the older horse, saying: “One of the difficult things with older horses is they start to lose muscle mass, especially on their topline.”

She advises turnout and keeping the horse as active as possible.

“It’s healthy for them to maintain as much muscle as possible and I often talk to people about trying to do some low-level exercise – such as long walks, for example.”

4. Cushing’s

Another possible cause of weight loss in older horses is pars pituitary intermedia dysfunction (PPID), also known as Cushing’s, a disease affecting the horse’s hormones, which is linked with laminitis as well as lowered immunity.

One of its telltale signs is a thick, curly winter coat that they’re slow to shed in spring, but there are other things an owner can look out for during the winter months.

“Because Cushing’s suppresses their immunity, during the winter, mud fever can take a long time to heal,” Nicky explains. Dental problems such as diastema (gaps) and painful periodontal disease can be worse in this group too.

“Cushing’s is probably the single most important thing to look out for in this senior age group,” says Chris. “Getting treatment can be a dramatic turnaround in their health.”

5. Eyesight

A horse’s eyesight will decline with age and, while they are not as dependent on their sight as we are, deterioration can still impact their quality of life and increase the risk of injury.

“A lot of older horses have cataracts,” says Nicky. “Obviously you can’t give a horse an eye test, but it must disrupt their vision, as something is physically stopping the light going in.”

Signs that a horse may be struggling with their eyesight include not wanting to load, for example.

“Or they might start wanting to be led from one side, become more spooky or struggle to find their feed bucket as accurately,” Nicky adds.

She advises keeping surroundings as familiar as possible and giving the horse enough time, especially if moving from light to dark or vice versa.

End-of-life care

Ultimately, a horse’s declining health may mean they need to be euthanised, but deciding when isn’t always straightforward.

“Something you commonly hear is, ‘I won’t put them through another winter,’” says Nicky. “I disagree with that to some extent because some horses struggle on hard ground in summer, and that’s the time of year they find hardest. Consider the environment and conditions that your horse finds difficult.”

She also recommends keeping evidence of the horse’s condition and quality of life. “Changes are often so gradual, so having objective measurements – for example, their weight is useful.”

The horse’s vet can also help with an objective assessment: “Vets are very experienced in assessing the welfare of individual horses,” says Chris. “The challenge is always finding the right balance, not recommending euthanasia too soon, but also not waiting until a horse is suffering or has collapsed.”

“The other thing I would say about end-of-life decisions is that it’s really important for horse owners to discuss their wishes and understand the practical arrangements with their vet well before a crisis develops or occurs,” he continues. “That gives owners time to understand the options and the process, which can make a distressing day a little easier to manage.”

Meet the experts

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If you've been showing in the past few years, chances are, you've come across Sarah Chapman. Sarah is a regular on the showing circuit, as both a judge – particularly for the ride aspect – and as a competitor.

As many of us gear ourselves and our steeds up to compete at the 2026 London International Horse Show (LIHS), Sarah is looking forward to judging the Rising Star hack/riding horse and the open style and performance finals alongside Mr Gregory Goss.

Who is Sarah Chapman?

By trade, Llanidloes-based Sarah is a small business administrator, a transport manager, and a show administrator. So even if you don’t think that you have come across Sarah as a judge or competitor, you have probably encountered her through her involvement with many of our leading fixtures, including Royal Three Counties show.

She is no doubt busy, and jokes that if she wasn’t involved in horses, she would be enjoying “having more time for a rest”.

Nevertheless, she has found time to develop a new skillset and has started driving her partner’s old classic car in navigational rallies!

Sarah’s background in horses

Sarah was a horsey child, and when asked which horse she wishes she could have ridden, she says: “As a child I always wanted to ride Champion The Wonder Horse and imagined galloping Black Beauty through the fields”.

She started showing as a child.

“Showing is in the blood,” she says. “My grandfather showed pigs and moved into ponies when my mother started to ride. My grandmother helped to set up the British Show Pony Society Area 15. I started showing at the age of three in lead-rein classes.”

The pony that had the greatest impact on her equestrian pursuits?

“Chirk Sunblest was a talented cheeky pony that taught me a huge amount about how to ride to a fence,” she says. “If you weren’t on ‘your A game’ you’d end up in the bottom of it! We won many classes together over Davina Whiteman's infamous courses.”

It’s no wonder then, that she considers horses “a great leveller”!

“Horses teach you patience, resilience and perseverance,” she says.

Since then, Sarah has remained heavily involved in showing, with highlights including winning at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), the Royal International (RIHS) and many county shows.

“Morse recently, a wonderful day with Ferdy, my two-year-old thoroughbred,” provided a standout day, “when he exceeded all expectations”. The pair were reserve supreme in-hand at the 2026 Sport Horse Breeding GB hunter championships, signalling a bright future for Ferdy.

Training is something Sarah is passionate about.

“I have been trained by such greats as Stella Harries, Davina Whiteman and Robert Oliver.”

She has dedicated many hours to the training of showing competitors over the years, in particular, giving invaluable support to new and grassroots members of the showing community who are eager to learn and understand the industry. In part, this led her to founding The Showing Register (TSR), which flourished under Sarah’s guidance until folded into Grandstand Media’s repertoire a few years ago.

“Founding and running The Showing Register for 14 years was a fantastic experience,” she says.

Sarah’s judging experiences

As well as remaining on the TSR panel, Sarah sits on the British Show Horse Association (BSHA), Sport Horse Breeding (SHB) GB, Coloured Horse and Pony Society (CHAPS), British Show Pony Society (BSPS), and Arab Horse Society panels.

On judging, Sarah says: “I love judging at county shows; these have included Great Yorkshire, Royal Highland, New Forest and the Royal Welsh. I have judged in Australia and at Dublin Horse Show, as well as the Royal International and HOYS on more than one occasion.”

What is Sarah looking for in the ring?

“A horse with a relaxed rhythm and cadence always catches my eye,” she says. “Rhythm and balance are important and a well constructed show that suits the horse's way of going.

“I do not like to see riders trot their horses too fast out of their rhythm.”

To really impress Sarah, though, you will need to display “good sportsmanship, and a cheerful and positive attitude no matter what the outcome.”

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A woman who failed to seek vet treatment for a thoroughbred with a necrotic leg wound has been banned from keeping horses.

Red, a chestnut gelding, had to be put down as a result of the injury, which his owner had covered in nappies, and which made him “permanently lame”.

Kirsty Oliver, of Harlech Close in Eston, Middlesbrough, was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 22 October, having pleaded guilty to one animal welfare offence.

An RSPCA spokesperson said the vet who examined the horse said the leg injury had been left untreated for “multiple” weeks.

“The court was told an RSPCA animal rescue officer had attended the yard in Saltburn on 6 September 2025 after the charity had received reports that a horse with a badly injured leg was being stabled there,” the spokesperson said. “There was no one present and the officer was so concerned about the horse’s welfare that he called a vet out.

“The court was told a makeshift dressing had been applied over Red’s wound, which was so tight it had restricted normal blood flow, causing secondary swelling above and below the area. The wound was not completely covered and flies were present at the top.

“The wound was very sore, hot to touch and oozing blood, with evidence of infection and generalised swelling from the horse’s hock down to the hoof. Baby nappies had been placed underneath the dressing to cover the wound.”

In a written statement, the RSPCA officer told the court the horse was in a stable on his own, and that he could see the wound exposed at the top of the bandaging.

“Upon examining the horse and removing the dressing, I could see baby nappies had been used to cover the wound. It smelt awful and showed signs of infection.”

The vet who attended confirmed the horse was suffering and he was taken into police possession and removed from the scene.

The RSPCA found that Oliver, 38, was Red’s owner and an inspector for the charity visited her at home.

“Oliver confirmed to the officer she owned and was responsible for Red and agreed to transfer ownership of him to the RSPCA,” the spokesperson said. “It was explained to her that she would need to be interviewed to establish the facts surrounding what had happened to Red.”

The spokesperson said the vet found Red’s needs had not been met, adding: “She said the evidence of necrotic flesh on the wound, and the foul smell, indicated it had not occurred recently and was likely to be ‘at least multiple weeks old’.”

In her statement to the court, the vet said the materials covering the wound when she arrived were an inappropriate way to manage it.

Kirsty Oliver: “failed to engage”

“They had been applied incorrectly causing further swelling and ultimately preventing healing,” she said.

“Had intervention not occurred it is likely that infection would have progressed and the horse would continue to suffer. A responsible owner should have sought veterinary assistance for this wound as it required antibiotics, analgesia and appropriate wound management and care.”

Another witness confirmed she had seen the wound on Red’s leg and “had been monitoring it as it got worse”.

Oliver, who “failed to engage with the RSPCA despite repeated attempts to interview her over six weeks”, was banned from keeping equids for three years and ordered to pay costs of £500 and a £114 victim surcharge.

“Red was left permanently lame as a result of the injury,” the spokesperson said. “Despite many weeks of ongoing care his pain could not be effectively managed and a vet made the decision to put him to sleep to prevent further suffering.”

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Eventing legend Ian Stark said his faith in the human race has been restored, by the actions of those who came to his aid after he came off his bike.

The five-time Olympic eventer turned course-designer said he was uninjured in the accident on Tuesday (3 November), when he was on his way to climb the Eildon Hills near Melrose in the Scottish borders, and ready for his next challenge.

“I was out on my road bike, cycling to Melrose to climb the Eildons when I had a stupid crash on the A7,” he said.

“Totally my own doing but smashed my knee on the asphalt and it took me a minute or two to be able to get back on my feet!”

Ian said he wanted to thank the “endless” number of drivers who stopped to help and support him.

“As well as the paramedics who were driving past in an ambulance, turned round with blue lights flashing and offered to take me to hospital!” he said

“You have all completely restored my faith in the human race.”

Ian Stark’s stellar career

Ian, who is now 72, is a lifelong hero of eventing. He represented Britain at five Olympics between 1984 and 2000, winning team silver three times and individual silver once, with Sir Wattie in 1988.

He was on the team that won world gold in 1986, and he and Murphy Himself won team and individual world silver four years later. He represented Britain at six European Championships, winning team gold each time, and individual gold in 1991 with Glenburnie, not to mention individual silver in 1987 with Sir Wattie and bronze in 1985 with Oxford Blue. He also won Badminton three times and is the only rider to have finished first and second in the same year, when he won in 1988 with Sir Wattie and came second with Glenburnie.

He became a top course-designer, at venues including Bramham, Blair Castle and the Maryland 5 Star, and was still competing at national level this season, aged 72.

“I’m absolutely ok today ready for the next venture but a huge grateful thank you to all who went out of their way to help an old man!” he said.

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Thinking of making a DIY horsey Advent calendar this year but not sure where to start? I’ve put together a shopping list to help you out.

Of course, not everyone wants the same gifts and that’s the beauty of making your own. I’ve started with a standard list of 24 gifts, but also pulled together some budget swaps to bring the cost down, plus swaps you can make for children. Everything is available via Amazon, which means free delivery and easy logistics as you’ll be able to choose a single delivery day.

The Advent calendar gift options are all inspired by our guides to gifts for horse lovers and horse-themed gifts for children. If you decide the DIY route isn’t for you, I’ve also rounded up ready-made Advent calendars for horses and found the best luxury equestrian Advent calendars.

Read on to get started.

How to build your Advent calendar

1. Decide whether you’re doing a ‘12 days of Christmas’ Advent calendar or the traditional 24.
2. Select from the products below. There are 24 options in the main selection, but you can choose your 12 favourites or substitute items from the ‘Kids Swaps’ or ‘Budget Swaps’ lists below.
3. All the items are available on Amazon, so just follow the links and add them to your basket. Alternatively, you can view the full list directly on Amazon.
4. Wrap your gifts and place them in a hamper or Christmas box (like this one). Use stickers (these gold stickers are numbered 1-24) to label them in order of opening.

Main selection of Advent gifts

Scroll through and add items to your basket individually or view the full list at once on Amazon.

Swaps for children

If you’re shopping for a young equestrian, some of these gifts might be more suitable. You can add items to your basket individually or view the full Kids Swaps list on Amazon.

Budget swaps to lower the cost

If you’re looking to spend less, these gifts are cheaper and/or go further than some of the options on the standard list. You can add items to your basket individually or view the full Budget Swaps list on Amazon.

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There are those who like their country house – in this case an equestrian property – to feel like it’s rooted in centuries of tradition, and others who seek out bold, contemporary design. Harford Manor – currently for sale – is demonstrably the latter. It’s a striking and dramatic modern exterior with all the bells and whistles – inside and out – that anyone could want from a family home. You can even arrive by helicopter.

Highlights include a 14m dining hall opening onto a covered colonnade, and both a family kitchen and chef’s kitchen for entertaining large parties. To unwind, there’s a wellness area with pool, sauna and spa, plus a leisure building with gym, jacuzzi and a roof terrace.

There’s space for 10 horses – plus a groom – to live in splendour, too. An indoor school means you can escape the elements, while the property has direct access to the surrounding bridleway network.

Modern engineering is discreetly integrated throughout, including ground source heating and cooling, and whole-house heat recovery (an efficient ventilation system ensuring fresh air).

And if it’s to your taste, you’re in luck – it’s for sale fully furnished.

The property is well set up for horse lovers, with 10 stables, a tack room and an indoor manège – set in 40 acres.

Besides direct access to the local hacking network. Harford Manor is in the heart of Berkshire polo land, with Guards Polo Club and other polo facilities less than 10 miles away.

The groom’s cottage has one bedroom, while there is also self-contained staff accommodation (three bedrooms) within the main house.

A spot of tennis? Play on this immaculate all-weather court, in a secluded position overlooked by the house – plus there’s a small, covered viewing post.

You might want to relax and soothe your aching muscles after making the most of all the outdoor sports facilities at your fingertips. A separate leisure building houses the 12m indoor swimming pool.

The jacuzzi is part of the wellness suite, along with a gym and roof terrace overlooking the gardens and paddocks, so you can watch your horses while enjoying the bubbles. There is also a sauna.

The scale of Harford Manor is impressive. The main house is 1,884sqm, with a total internal area of 2,153sqm including roof terrace, balcony and garaging (for eight cars).

The ground floor is designed to “balance formal entertaining with everyday family life” – with rooms such as a 14m dining hall opening on to a covered colonnade, an orangery and a library and art gallery.

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What joy that Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals season 2 will be back on our screens next week.

Without wanting to lean into the doom and gloom, there’s been a lot of heavy news recently, what with the cost of everything going a bit nuts, the end of British summer time reminding equestrians what it's like to ride in the dark and the fact that certain supermarket fridges can now be hacked (isn’t that last one a plot from Wallace & Gromit…?)

To know a slice of Rutshire escapism will brighten up our Wednesday evenings gives a nice warm glow on the edge of winter. And it’s important, I think, always to keep looking for those cheerful moments and delight in them wherever we see them.

So, to Rivals! What news can we bring you since our last update on the Disney+ series. This launch is the second half of season two and there are six new episodes to come (episodes seven to 12).

The first three will land on Wednesday, 11 November, followed by one a week, on Wednesdays, until 2 December.

The latest trailer was released last month and appears to confirm the death of a major character, which happened off screen in the last episode released in May. For those wanting to avoid spoilers (where have you been!), catch-up pronto before watching the trailer for part two of season two as it’s given away within the first five seconds.

Watch the Rivals season two part two trailer

As far as I can gather, it looks like most of the storylines will pick up where we left them mid-season. Yes, there’s plenty of yearning, but beyond the longing looks and tear-filled eyes, there are some gems we really need to talk about.

Firstly, the horses – I counted around a dozen in total. The grey, who I think must be Rocky, cantering towards Penscombe, a handful of polo scenes somewhere warm and sunny, plus a lovely skewbald (accompanied by hounds) being ridden into a hunt ball.

Taggie’s lovely scruffy dog Gertrude is back, there’s a wedding, actual fireworks (alongside the longing kind), one Concorde, plus baby pink Christmas decorations to match the baby pink Range Rover. Sarah Stratton’s perm, too, deserves an honourable mention, and perhaps its own postcode.

In the words of the Disney+ press office: “As the return to the scandal and excess of 1987 edges closer, the residents of Rutshire reunite for more revelry, rivalry and romance, but as the stakes ramp up they must face tragedy, heartbreak, backstabbing, and betrayal head on.”

A sneak peek at the first episode of the second half of season two (episode seven) also landed on social media last night. Have a look at the video below, but be warned it does contain a spoiler...

In a Radio Times interview in May, lead writer and executive producer of the TV series Dominic Treadwell-Collins said that producers Happy Prince TV has rights to the entire Rutshire Chronicles series. We already knew that season three is confirmed, with 12 episodes on the cards, so it looks like there is plenty more Rutshire drama to brighten our evenings still to come…

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I have been supporting Egypt Equine Aid for the past 18 months, since the late Wendy McComb got in touch with me to discuss the plight and tragic lives of horses there, particularly around Cairo. Central to its work is a free veterinary clinic offering life-saving treatment to working horses and donkeys.

The Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) holding a round in Cairo raised many eyebrows in the equine world. How could there be such luxury and wealth on one side and such desperate poverty and dying animals on the other?

It was good to see riders and connections at the LGCT visiting the centre and posting on social media. For riders to use their platforms to highlight the situation is welcome.

It’s a huge boost to see the payback from LGCT – a new five-year initiative, announced with the Egyptian Equestrian Federation and partners, to improve the welfare of working horses and other animals in the Pyramids area and wider Giza region.

This initiative has the power and capacity to change not only the lives of working horses but the deep-rooted attitudes that have led to tragic outcomes. Jenny Ellis – former groom to John Whitaker, Geoff Billington and Richard Davison – was out in Egypt recently working on this. Jen, you’re amazing!

If you don’t follow Egypt Equine Aid on social media, I suggest you take a look.

It can be really difficult viewing, with some horrendous sights. But you will also realise these horses, who have suffered so much, are given so much comfort and compassion in turn by their extraordinary vets and care workers. Please, donate if you can.

Stretching in the grand prix

I consider the inclusion of stretching in the new grand prix test to be a positive step. A grand prix horse should be capable of stretching forward and downward while maintaining rhythm, balance and engagement. The horse’s back should remain swinging without reliance on the rider’s hands for support. This exercise, although appearing simple, can reveal problems.

What’s really important is how the judges are going to assess it.

The horse’s ability to stretch its outline without tension is evidence of good riding and training. Judges need to know what to look for and it needs to be transparent to everyone. I hope there won’t be a huge difference between the judges’ marks for the stretch, something I am sure we can agree on.

The small tour tests will also gain a stretch circle in the prix st georges and a give and retake in the inter I, which is a welcome addition. With the grand prix test, the only negative is that it will add to an already long test. Surely, it’s time to take out one of the three extended trots. That’s something that needs to be thought about.

I can remember years ago there were certain trainers and riders who completely frowned on stretching, saying it put horses on the forehand. To a certain extent, of course, particularly with young horses, this is going to happen. My theory, however, is: how can a horse be supple and elastic if not in a constantly changing outline?

A horse should be able to stretch and collect, and seamlessly bend to the left and right without tension. Surely it is logical that by changing flexions you are going to be making your horses more gymnastic.

I asked Peter Storr his view of my thoughts, and the List Four FEI judge and FEI dressage committee member said he wholeheartedly agreed. Whew! Peter pushed for give and retake while everyone else involved seemed focused on a long stretch. Give and retake introduced at medium or advanced medium means riders have to learn, and training becomes innate.

Peter’s great desire and hope, and mine, is to get enough judge training to have everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.

● What do you make of Carl’s suggestion that one of the grand prix’s three extended trots should go? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Rubin Al Asad, the horse who launched Lara Butler’s international dressage career and travelled to the Rio Olympics as Britain’s reserve, has died aged 24.

The Bechtolsheimer family’s Hanoverian gelding, known at home as Rufus, was put down on 8 October at Ursula Bechtolsheimer’s yard, where he had lived since his retirement in 2021.

A mainstay of British dressage in the second half of the 2010s, he was team reserve for three consecutive championships: the 2016 Olympics, the 2017 European Championships and the 2018 World Equestrian Games. In 2018, he won the national title.

“He was definitely what you’d class as your horse of a lifetime,” Lara said. “He kick-started my career, but it’s really hard to put into words how much he means to me... we grew together.”

A sharp horse who needed a quiet seat

Bred in Germany by Hans-Hermann Wiemer, Rubin Al Asad (Rubin Royal x Wanderbursch II) was produced to small tour by Helen Langehanenberg before Wilfried and Ursula Bechtolsheimer bought him for their daughter Laura (now Tomlinson).

He had been cast in his stable as a young horse and suffered a back injury that needed a lengthy rehab. Lara arrived at the yard as an assistant rider during his recovery.

“They weren’t really sure whether he was ever going to cope with it,” she said. “I don’t think anyone thought I was going to get him to grand prix, bless him.

“They told me, ‘You can ride this one, but he’s quite fresh because he’s just coming back from an injury – and don’t ride him in spurs!’ I thought, ‘Oh my God, what is this horse going to be like?’ He was sharp, but in a very kind way.

“When Laura sat on him, his legs flew everywhere because she has a hot seat, whereas I’ve got a much calmer seat. I just clicked with him straight away, and I think they could see that.”

Their first test together, a prix st georges at Addington, remains a running joke.

“He buried his head so low I couldn’t see it any more! But the engine was still going,” said Lara. “It felt like we were going to go over our heads at any moment. We always laugh about how far we actually came.”

Rio, a national title and Olympia

Lara had learnt the grand prix movements on schoolmaster Andretti H – who died in March 2025 at 30 alongside fieldmate Mistral Højris – but Rufus was the first horse she trained to the level herself.

They made their international grand prix debut in Wellington, Florida, in February 2015, and won the grand prix special there two weeks later. Nations Cup appearances followed in Hagen, Rotterdam, Aachen, Geesteren, Hickstead and Compiègne.

Selection as travelling reserve for Rio was one of the highlights of Lara’s career.

“Equestrian is quite often away from the Olympic village, but that year we stayed in the village, so it was amazing to be part of it all,” she said. “I have Rufus to thank for that, because he really took me there.”

After twice finishing as reserve champions – in 2013 and 2017 – the pair’s persistence paid off in 2018, when they were crowned national champions.

But Lara’s favourite moment with Rufus came a year later at Olympia, where they scored a personal best of 81.45% in the World Cup freestyle.

“It’s an iconic venue – no one will ever beat it,” she said. “On my last centre line, I remember beaming from ear to ear. He really lifted himself and took me up that final centre line”.

“It was never a no”

Rufus mellowed with age, but he never quite became an easy ride for anyone else. When other riders sat on him, Lara recalled, they wondered how she managed him at all.

“He was quite a nervous horse and took a lot of comfort in his people,” she said. “I remember at Rotterdam, when it was stormy, we had to go and sit with him in his stable, and then he was fine. But at the bigger venues he was almost better, because he had to focus on me.

“He was a trier. He might not always have got it right, but he was always trying for you. It was never a no, and that’s quite special in a horse, especially at the top level.”

Lara believes the time they took over his early training is the reason he had such a long career.

“He taught me a lot of patience. You have to listen to your horse and wait for them to tell you when they’re ready, rather than rushing and pushing them through,” she said. “We were later to grand prix than some, but he did five years at the top, and I was able to retire him at 19.”

Rubin Al Asad’s life in retirement

In retirement, Rufus was the undisputed boss of a small herd of fellow retirees and youngsters. When he retired, Lara had promised his beloved daily banana would keep coming.

“He was literally king of the field,” said Lara. “When it was time for him to go, it was definitely his time, and he showed us that he was done.”

Lara is convinced he would still hold his own today.

“There aren’t many horses you can look back on and say their way of going would still stand up now,” she said. “I genuinely think he would still have stood up against all the horses now.

“I’m very grateful to the Bechtolsheimers for giving me the opportunity to have the ride on him, and for the trust in that partnership. He was my horse of a lifetime.”

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Inappropriate use of AI in the horse world could have legal implications, equestrians are warned, and a negative effect on businesses.

Photographer Penny Fillingham, who specialises in rural life, field sports and portraits, spoke up after she noticed AI-related issues. It came as photographs that appear to have been at least enhanced with AI have been used in sales ads for horses.

Ms Fillingham is concerned about business; she had not thought AI would affect her as it “could never run miles across fields whatever the weather or stand in the middle of nowhere at a jump” but last year noticed a “huge” drop in sales.

She became concerned people were using AI to remove her watermarks from images.

“I’d noticed a worryingly scary drop in sales,” she told H&H. “At first I thought it must be because everyone’s now wearing GoPros and filming their own stuff – but then I noticed this chap’s photographs that were mine.”

Ms Fillingham said years ago, her photos were often stolen so she now used a big watermark. She believes people realise now that downloading or screen-grabbing pictures without paying is theft, and that sharing watermarked pictures is generally frowned upon.

“But I saw the pictures on Facebook,” she said. “I contacted the chap to say the website wasn’t showing that he’d purchased them, and had he used AI to strip the watermark off, and he said, ‘Yes, I was just trying it out, it’s interesting, isn’t it, how powerful AI is?’”

Ms Fillingham said the man then did pay for some of the stolen pictures, which she said looked very odd owing to the watermark removal, but not all. She warned that if this practice continues, photographers will be forced out of business.

“This is a warning,” she said. “People like me who make a ‘just getting by’ income out of a creative industry will be gone within a few years if you use AI to steal or recreate our work. I will not be there in the rain capturing that once-in-a lifetime hedge hop, standing in a stream as you leap over it. I simply won't be there at all and you’ll have to make do with the unreality of making fictional images that look creepy and crap.

“I know I’d much rather live in a real world where people can keep doing the creative jobs that benefit all of us than in a fantasy land created by a computer.”

Ms Fillingham added that AI images have improved; a year ago, issues such as extra equine legs usually gave them away but many are now better. Some spotted on online ads include horses appearing to jump big fences or move well – but the fence is the wrong way round or, as in the image above, the hooves do not appear to touch the ground.

David Cowan is an assistant professor in law at Maynooth University and associate research fellow in legal studies at the University of London. He told H&H it is often said the law tries to keep up with technology but he does not agree; he believes new tech just brings new ways of committing the same crimes.

“If someone’s trying to sell a horse and has used a photograph that’s misrepresenting it, for instance making it look more capable or healthier than it is, you could potentially make a claim against them if there’s any misrepresentation,” he said.

“So the technology doesn’t really change that. You’ve still got the basic problem that somebody is advertising something and they’re misrepresenting it, all you’ve changed is the means of the misrepresentation and the skill and the dimensions of it.

“The real impact AI has had is to change the dimensions of the problem to be more global and more difficult to track.”

Doing beyond the acceptable

Dr Cowan pointed out that there is a big difference between choosing a photo that shows a horse at its best, well turned out and jumping a big fence well, for example, and using AI to alter pictures.

“The issue people are getting into with AI is that they are altering, making a positive act of doing something beyond what’s acceptable within general marketing terms,” he said.

Dr Cowan said some use of AI, such as brightening a background, might be acceptable; using AI to disguise a blemish or increase the size of a jump, for example, is different.

“I suggest that sellers need to think about how they are using AI and being transparent on disclosing its use, as well as keeping audit trails in how they have used AI,” he said. “This would be good for consumer and professional alike, and while there are some developments in producing AI guidelines, it is important that equine bodies create a standardised set of guidelines for AI use specific to the equine world as soon as possible.”

Gavin Hetherington of GH Sport Horses used this AI-enhanced picture of a grey, and others, in sales ads on social media but has since removed them.

“We got too much drama online from using them; we’re not going to use AI any more,” he told H&H. “We were just changing the background; it was photos from a previous customer and the background looked a bit messy, but we didn’t realise it made so many changes.

“It did that itself; changed bits of the bridle and feet, the riders, it didn’t just change the background. It came to light when we posted on Facebook, and we thought ‘We won’t do that again’.”

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One grooming skill that shouldn’t be overlooked is how to hot cloth a horse. It’s a traditional technique that perhaps isn’t commonplace outside of professional yards or clipping season, but it is one that has a whole host of benefits when done correctly.

In fact, it can be done year-round for many horses, and can make the lives of owners easier when done regularly as part of the grooming routine, particularly following exercise. Read on to learn exactly what hot clothing is, how to hot cloth a horse, when to hot cloth, and the benefits of doing so.

What is hot clothing?

Hot clothing is a grooming technique that involves using a cloth dampened with hot water to clean the horse’s coat. It’s more thorough than a groom, as it does a better job of lifting dirt, grease and sweat, but is less intensive than bathing a horse, and as the horse doesn’t get as wet, they don’t require drying afterwards.

How to hot cloth a horse

Jess Errington, head girl for five-star event rider Harry Meade, is a firm believer in regularly hot clothing horses, and has the method down pat.

To hot cloth, you’ll need the following:

• a bucket
• hot water, hot enough that you can comfortably put your hand in
• a clean cloth, such as a small microfibre towel (like this one)
• antiseptic, baby oil or no-wash conditioner

The method:

1. Fill half a bucket with hot water; you should be able to put your hand in, but the trick is that it is hot – not lukewarm.
2. Add in your “treatment” – a splash antiseptic, coat oil or no-wash conditioner.
3. Submerge the cloth in the water, and then wring out.
4. Rub the cloth on the horse’s body in circular motions, making sure you get right to the skin.
5. Regularly dunk the cloth back into the bucket of water, but make sure you wring it out again before going back to rub the horse down.
6. If the water starts to become grimy, freshen up with a new bucket of water.

“I start with boiling hot water and let it cool until I can put my hand in to make sure it’s hot – it sounds silly, but if you use lukewarm water it doesn’t work, says Jess. “I don’t fill the whole bucket, just between a quarter and half. Then I’ll add a quarter or a cap of Dettol antiseptic in, and a splash of baby oil.”

Jess finds the mix of antiseptic and baby oil complimentary, lifting grease easily and leaving a shiny coat behind.

The trick to the technique is making sure the cloth is wrung out before rubbing the horse down, as you don’t want to get them wet – it’s the damp heat that does the work.

“Think of it as rubbing the horse’s skin down rather than wiping their coat. You’re not really washing them off, like a bath, but rubbing their skin, and that technique means they are dry at the end,” explains Jess. “After you’ve finished, you should be able to put your horse’s stable rug back on, rather than a drying rug, as they shouldn’t be wet.”

When to hot cloth

Hot clothing is typically done after clipping a horse to soothe the skin, but Jess uses the technique year-round as part of her grooming routine.

“I’ll hot cloth the horses everyday, unless they need a proper bath. I find it’s really good for their skin and coats, especially after working up a sweat,” she says. “I’m not a huge fan of bathing all the time; I think it strips the oils from the coats. Hot clothing every day keeps the coat in good condition, and it means you don’t have to bath as often. Before a show I often only have to give them a good groom and wash their mane and tail.”

Hot clothing isn’t suitable for unclipped horses, or those with fluffy or dense coats, as the water isn’t able to reach the skin, but it is useful before a repeat of any type of clip to lift dirt and grease.

“I’ll hot cloth until late October when winter coats start coming in; then it’s time to either bath or clip and have the option to keep hot clothing,” says Jess. “I started doing it year-round after working at Tim Stockdale’s yard many years ago. We’d hot cloth the clipped horses all through the winter, and with all the benefits, I thought why not carry on through the year!”

Benefits of hot clothing

Hot clothing has plenty of benefits, and is a great element to add to your grooming routine if it’s not something you regularly do.

1. Soothes the skin

Hot clothing is a great way to soothe irritated skin, particularly after clipping.

2. Removes grease and sweat easily

After riding or exercising, hot clothing is a great option instead of bathing or grooming to remove grease and sweat residue from the girth, saddle and bridle. It’s particularly great in winter if you don’t have access to a hot water tap or one of the best portable hot showers, and would otherwise have to give your horse a cold bath to wash them off.

3. Improves clipping results

Hot clothing before clipping gives you a clean coat, which make clipping easier – you won’t get streaky lines, or dull your blades as quickly.

4. Enhances coat shine

Adding baby oil or a coat-shine product in as you hot cloth will leave your horse sparkling. Be careful when selecting products to choose ‘no-wash’ options that are safe to use without rinsing.

5. Can reduce the need for baths

As Jess has found, regularly hot clothing goes a long way to maintaining a healthy coat and reducing the need for regular baths – something many owners will be thrilled to hear the day before a show. However, they shouldn’t replace baths when one is needed for a dirty or muddy horse.

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British-based New Zealand eventer Hollie Field (née Swain) has announced the retirement of her five-star partner Solo.

The 17.2hh Danish warmblood gelding known as Freddie, who completed Badminton, Burghley and Luhmühlen, has bowed out aged 17.

“For me, Freddie was the one who made my dreams come true, and I can’t thank him, or his owners John and Jan Bodenham, enough for that,” said Hollie.

“Thank you for the trust you put in us and for always supporting us 110%, whatever has happened along the way.”

Solo started his eventing career in 2015 with Emily Taggart, who rode him to third place at the Badminton Grassroots BE90 in 2016. Emily produced him to novice level, then Hollie took over the reins in July 2017.

Hollie and Solo stepped up to three-star at Barbury in 2019, where they jumped clear across country. The following year they completed their first CCI4*-S at Burgham International.

In 2022 Hollie and Solo made their five-star debut at Luhmühlen, where they finished 18th. That autumn they were 28th at Burghley and in 2023 they finished 28th at Badminton.

“Our pathway certainly wasn’t linear, but as we know with Freddie, that would just have been far too easy. Looking back, we built an incredible partnership over 10 seasons together, and what a journey it has been – maybe with a little rollercoaster feeling at times,” said Hollie.

“Freddie has taught me more than I could ever have imagined, and we’ve experienced every emotion along the way. But the biggest thing he gave me was always belief.

“I don’t think I’ll ever experience scope quite like Fred’s, which allowed me to turn our dreams of competing at five-star into reality, jumping around Badminton, Burghley and Luhmühlen. For that, I will be forever grateful. Dreams and memories made for a lifetime.”

Solo’s last international event was the Strzegom CCI4*-S in late April where they withdrew following the cross-country.

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A Household Cavalry horse who won hearts by making his feelings entirely clear to any tourist foolish enough to get too close to him on duty has bowed out after 13 years of service.

Ormonde, a black Irish Sport Horse who has won thousands of fans across the world as the regiments “most mischievous celebrity”, has retired aged 18 to spend the rest of his days at The Horse Trust.

“He’s opinionated, independent, a little mischievous and, if you’ve ever followed the King’s Life Guard on social media, probably rather familiar,” a Horse Trust spokesperson said.

“Meet Ormonde!”

Ormonde, a 17hh gelding, joined the Household Cavalry in 2013 and soon became a familiar equine face.

“For more than a decade, Ormonde took part in the parades, ceremonies and duties of the Household Cavalry,” the spokesperson said. “He was involved in some of the nation’s most significant royal occasions, including the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the state opening of parliament, Trooping the Colour and the coronation of King Charles III. He was also part of the generation of horses to serve during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including the period surrounding her funeral in 2022.”

Many London tourists will also be familiar with Ormonde, whose reactions to tourists who stood too close became famous. Videos of his moments on YouTube have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

“His unmistakable personality soon made him a legend in his own right; his videos attracting enormous audiences and giving him a following that stretches far beyond the streets of London,” the spokesperson said.

“For his many admirers, spotting him in a video was always something to look forward to.

“Now, after more than a decade of service, his working days are behind him. No more ceremonial duties, no more standing to attention and no more busy days in the capital.

“Instead, Ormonde has a new role: professional retiree. And we think he might be rather good at it.”

Ormonde arrived at the Horse Trust in September, at the same time as some of his equine colleagues who had also retired. The spokesperson said he has settled in well, “forming a particularly close friendship with fellow retiree Quarterdeck, a former equine colleague from his working days”.

Lotte, a training groom at the charity, said he loves neck scratches and is always the first to approach the team.

Horse Trust CEO Jeanette Allen said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have the legendary Ormonde retire to us! Famed for nibbling tourists who got a bit too close to him at Horse Guards, we are very happy to report that he has behaved beautifully since his arrival here!"

The Horse Trust has set up a mailing list for fans who want to keep up with Ormonde in his new life.

“If you’ve followed his adventures at King’s Life Guard, cheered him on from afar or simply fallen for his unmistakable character, we'd love you to be part of his next chapter,” the spokesperson said.

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Equestrians who might have thought they were on to a winner as their lorry tax would only cost £1 for a year have been alerted to the fact this may not apply to them.

The Government announced in June that as a temporary measure vehicle tax for “most” HGVs would only be £1 for a year. Since then, many equestrians’ renewal reminder letters have stated that their vehicles would qualify – but this is not the case.

Sarah-Jane Cox highlighted the issue after her renewal notice for her 7.5T horsebox stated the £1 would apply but on investigation, she found this was not the case.

“I’d seen things on the forums but hadn’t really twigged till I got mine and it was £1 – or 55p for six months!” she told H&H.

“I saw lots of other people had had them and some said they’d rung the DVLA and told it was ok, allegedly, and others had rung and been told it wasn’t but weren’t specific about why, and some were saying ‘I’m paying my pound and I’m just going to ignore it’.

“I was almost tempted but then thought ‘If it’s wrong’, because I’m terribly law-abiding and it was a bit weird so I rang the DVLA and they were incredibly helpful but it doesn’t apply and I’m not alone.”

The DVLA confirmed to H&H that the £1 tax rate applies between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, but only for vehicles in tax classes 1, 2, 16, 23 and 57 – this information is in the log book – used for business or commercial purposes.

“If a vehicle previously used for commercial purposes is now used solely for private use it’s the vehicle keeper’s responsibility to have the vehicle reclassified,” a DVLA spokesperson said.

“Providing a vehicle remains appropriately taxed, it can continue to be driven while an application to change its tax class is being processed.”

£1 horsebox tax: commercial vehicles

Ms Cox explained that her horsebox, in common with many on the road, was once a commercial vehicle that was converted. When this happened, it was not reclassified with the DVLA, which is why she was sent the incorrect renewal reminder.

“So I have to send in the V5 document to reclassify the lorry,” she said. “Then you have to send in a cheque or postal order for the £177 for the tax; they won’t accept anything else.

“So it’s costing me the same as it was but I had to send the V5, the cheque for £177, a declaration to say I am who I am and I’m not using it for commercial use, and another form I had to download and print off.”

Ms Cox said she was told the reclassification process takes four weeks, during which time she cannot use it. The DVLA spokesperson said that “providing a vehicle remains appropriately taxed, it can continue to be driven while an application to change its tax class is being processed”. But Ms Cox was told that during this period, if a vehicle is incorrectly taxed, this risks a £1,000 fine

“Changing a vehicle’s tax class currently needs to be done by post, with payment made by cheque or postal order,” the spokesperson added.

Ms Cox said she hopes raising awareness will help as people may be risking a fine.

“Some people’s attitude was ‘I’ve paid my pound, it’s their mistake’ but it’s not, it’s ours as we should have reclassified our vehicles,” she said. “I hope this might help people as I couldn’t find anything about it and I know it’s nice to think it only costs £1 but I thought I probably ought to check this out.”

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This week’s edition of Horse & Hound, in shops from Thursday 5 November, we focus on veterans. We dedicate the Vet Clinic to golden oldies, where we discuss five subtle signs of aging, plus we examine how best to transition an older horse into part or full retirement.

In the news pages, we look at how AI could impact the horse world, the new commission to review eventing safety and more. We put Charlotte Dujardin’s 2028 Olympic prospect Secret Agent in the spotlight, and find out about the work of Goffs bloodstock auctioneer, Andrew Nolan.

This week’s opinion column comes from Carl Hester. Our interviewee this week Ellie Callwood, runner-up in the ladies’ point-to-point championship last season. Enjoy a glimpse at some beautiful equestrian homes on the market right now, and we delve into the Pakistani hunting scene.

As ever, enjoy in-depth reports from the latest fixtures, including Bicton, Addington, Wetherby and more. There are many other articles for equestrians to enjoy inside – see a more detailed breakdown below.

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What’s in Horse & Hound magazine: on sale 5 November 2026

News

• How AI could impact the horse world
• £1 for your horsebox tax? It may not apply
• Positive dope test a reminder of contamination risks
• New commission to review eventing safety

Opinion

• Letters of the week
• Dressage Carl Hester

People and horses

• H&H interview Ellie Callwood, runner-up in the ladies’ point-to-point championship last season
• All in a day’s work The bloodstock auctioneer
• In the spotlight Charlotte Dujardin’s 2028 Olympic prospect Secret Agent
• Goodnight Tessa Waugh’s hunting diary

Veteran special

• Vet clinic: five older issues Subtle changes owners of veterans should look out for this winter
• A grand old time How to transition an older horse into part or full retirement

Hunting

• Day of the jackal Hunting in Pakistan
• Team chasing Kimblewick
• Hunter of a lifetime Master’s horse Ryan

Property and kit

• Property in focus A nine-bedroom manor
• Pick your own Horsey properties which also have their own orchards
• New in the ring Breggings, a portable warm water shower and more

Reports

• Eventing Bicton and Tetworth
• Dressage Burrows Court Farm and more
• Showjumping Addington EC and more
• Showing Glamorgan 
• Racing Wetherby

Classified Ads

• Horses for sale, horseboxes, vehicles, stabling, jobs, insurance and more

Get your magazine

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• Order a single issue for delivery
• Subscribe to the paper magazine
• Download FREE digital magazine

In 2021, the great Weihegold OLD enjoyed the final win of her dazzling career in the World Cup leg at Lyon with her long-term partner Isabell Werth. Five years – and one day – from that moment, her grandson Viva Gold OLD stepped into the same arena with the same rider to win his World Cup debut (30 October).

The 10-year-old, who is in his first year at international grand prix, headed the freestyle with a huge new personal best of 87.89% – more than two percent ahead of nearest rivals, European champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus (85.81%).

“Viva Gold was fantastic, I’m so proud of him,” said Isabell. “He has grown and developed enormously over the past months and weeks. He can really become an absolute top horse.”

The stallion is a son of Exquis Vivaldi, out of Weihegold OLD’s daughter Weihronce. He has never finished outside the top two in international competition, and counts a son out of Laura Tomlinson’s grand prix mare Rose Of Bavaria among his progeny.

Watch Viva Gold’s winning test in the video below

Belgian riders filled the next three spots. Justin, who won Thursday’s grand prix with Zonik Plus, said the 10-year-old was a “little more tense” in the freestyle.

“We had a very good connection [in the grand prix]; today it was more difficult to find that connection. Of course, I am still very happy with second place behind Isabell,” he said.

Larissa Pauluis and Flambeau completed the podium on a score of 80.53%.

“Flambeau is still getting better and better at the age of 16,” said Larissa. “He was not always an easy horse when he was younger but we keep building a better partnership every time. He was completely there for me today.”

The next leg of the dressage World Cup is at Stuttgart on 13-14 November.

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Equine Rescue Services provides horsebox breakdown, rescue and recovery and has a team of 10 incident managers. How we respond to a job depends on a lot of different factors and we look at the whole picture.

In the summer, you get a lot of ponies out with children – it might be one mum with four ponies and four kids, and it’s 9.30pm on a Sunday night. In that kind of situation you think, “It’s a woman on her own, so our priority is resolve the situation and get them safely home as quick as we can.”

If a customer breaks down on an A road, we ask them to call the police (if we call, it doesn’t go through to the correct force), who might close a lane or park the police car behind the horsebox, which provides a reassuring presence until we get there.

Every job is its own challenge. We had a 22-tonne lorry full of polo ponies, it was 11pm on a Sunday and the only lorries we had available were 3.5t, so we had to ferry them in pairs to a local livery yard and stable them until the morning when we had a big lorry available to get them on their way.

Those kinds of jobs are a challenge because you’re working with so many different parties – in that case, four different transporters, plus the police, plus Highways. We wanted to get there at the same time, so that we weren’t putting the ramp up and down on the broken-down lorry, which would have been unsettling for the horses.

If you break down on the motorway, we work with the National Highways. They can see the breakdown on their cameras, and I find that helps reassure people. As soon as it’s time for the actual recovery, they will close the motorway completely while the horses are being unloaded and reloaded.

Without our network of horse transporters, we wouldn’t be able to do our job. We had a call at 4am from a man taking a horse to the airport. He only had an hour and a half to make the flight, so I needed to get horse transport on its way within 15 minutes.

I called all the transporters who were closest to the breakdown and asked them one question – how quickly could they be there. Once I’d called them all, I booked the one that could get there soonest.

Then we were in the hands of the gods, because I didn’t know how quickly Highways could get there to close the motorway. It was a private flight, which they could only hold for 30 minutes. We got that horse there on time.

One of the most rewarding things for me is helping kids who are riding at team events. Once, a family was on their way to the Pony Club mounted games qualifiers, which is really close to my heart as I did mounted games when I was a child. I knew how hard they’d worked to get that far, and we got them there in time and they qualified. They sent me the biggest thank you card, saying “Sandy, you’re a legend!”

No two jobs or days are the same

Every day brings something different. We dealt with a horse that had gone down in the box and was trapped. This involved the need for veterinary assistance, police to close the road, fresh horse transport and the fire brigade in case assistance was needed to release the horses.

The road was closed for 90 minutes as all the emergency services worked together to release the horses and get them transferred to our transporter. We had a very thankful customer and, to everyone’s relief, the horse recovered.

We’re so much busier than when I first started. Last year, we responded to 3,600 incidents and this year, I would estimate that we will be in the region of 3,800. You can imagine how many phone calls we receive.

We have a lot of very famous equestrians on our books. We have many members who are household names, equestrian celebrities and professional riders, but everyone is a VIP in our eyes. We know that everyone’s horse is priceless to them.

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FischerChipmunk FRH, eventing’s reigning world and Olympic champion, has been retired, aged 18.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to retire FischerChipmunk from competition. He is doing really well, and it means a lot to me to see him this fit and healthy,” said rider Michael Jung.

“Individual Olympic gold in Paris, two wins at Kentucky, team gold at the Europeans in Blenheim and, to round it all off, individual gold at the World Championships in Aachen in front of a home crowd – what a journey.

“Of course Chip is staying with me and will enjoy life out in the field even more from now on. I am incredibly grateful for our time together – and it doesn’t end with his retirement from the sport.

“A huge thank you also goes to the fischer group and the DOKR [German Olympic committee for equestrian sport] for giving me the chance to ride this exceptional horse and to achieve all these incredible, unforgettable successes with him!”

A son of Contendro I, Chipmunk started his career in the ownership of Hilmer Meyer-Kulenkampff and ridden by Michael’s compatriot Julia Krajewski, winning Bramham Horse Trials CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) with her in 2018.

The pair led the dressage at the World Championships in Tryon that autumn, but they had a run-out across country.

In February 2019, the horse moved to Michael’s yard, registered into the ownership of the DOKR and Klaus and Sabine Fischer, Hilmer Meyer-Kulenkampff also retaining a share. It was at this point the bay acquired the Fischer prefix.

The pair took individual silver and team gold at their first championship together, the 2019 Europeans at Luhmühlen Horse Trials.

For a while, it looked like Michael and FischerChipmunk FRH would never quite fulfil their potential to win an individual gold – they led the dressage at three championships in a row, but it didn’t quite come together.

At the Tokyo Olympics they broke a frangible pin, at the 2022 World Championships they knocked two showjumps down and at the 2023 Europeans they had an uncharacteristic fall.

But the pair’s moment came at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where they won individual gold. Two years later, Chipmunk finished his career by winning the world title in Aachen, with another individual silver and team gold at the European Championships at Agria Blenheim Horse Trials sandwiched between his two individual golds.

In all, Chipmunk won two individual golds, two individual silvers, three team golds and two team silvers in his championship career. He proved an incredibly sound and resilient horse, contesting eight consecutive championships between 2018 and 2026.

Arguably, the talented Chipmunk had the best of both worlds with his two riders – Julia’s impeccable skills in producing young horses, followed by Michael’s supreme ability as a top-level competition rider.

Julia generously paid tribute to Michael’s riding of the horse at the World Championships last year: “Chipmunk has always been incredible horse. Michi perfected it – what they pull off under pressure again and again is incredible.

“It’s a credit to Michi’s work that at 18 he’s won two individual gold medals. People mention it [my role in producing him] and I love to see him doing good. A lot of the credit goes to Michi right now.”

Outside championships, Chipmunk won twice at five-star level, at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2022 and 2025.

He won 28 times in total in his international career with Julia and Michael.

Although Michael suggested at the final press conference of the World Championships in August that Chipmunk would be at the European Championships next year, this decision is not a huge surprise given the horse’s age.

H&H reported at the time: “The meeting between London 52, Lordships Graffalo and Michael Jung’s FischerChipmunk FRH, with all three fit and at the peak of their powers, was a once-in-a-generation clash we were lucky to witness…

”Michael and Laura [Collett, rider of London 52] both hinted their 18- and 17-year-old horses will continue to the Europeans in Avenches next year, but being realistic, we may not see these three in one field again; cherish the moment.”

And so it proves, as FischerChipmunk bows out of the sport on a high after his Aachen gold.

As Michael said: “Thank you, Chip.”

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Dan Skelton keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to the secrets of his success: “I had to learn the hard way, so everyone else can learn the hard way and all!” But a sign hanging on his wall offers a clear insight into the mindset of the newly crowned champion trainer. “I don’t want to be beige,” it reads, and that’s certainly not something of which you could accuse this record-breaking, relentlessly ambitious, convention-defying 41-year-old.

Since establishing Lodge Hill 13 years ago, Dan has propelled his team on an upward trajectory, creating a slick, hugely successful racing behemoth.

Even during those tentative early years, the signs were there that a champion trainer elect was operating from this rural corner of Warwickshire as the winners quickly rolled in. But it was only as recently as 2024 that Dan first came within touching distance of the title, only to be steamrolled by Irish maestro Willie Mullins on the final days of the season for two successive years, in one of the most enthralling battles in racing history.

In sport, you have to suffer the lows to appreciate the highs and, setting the bar even higher last season, Dan amassed a record £5,045,615 in prize money during a relentless 12-month campaign and the curtain came down at Sandown in April with the Alcester handler finally crowned champion.

Surrounded by dozens of his close-knit team, family and friends, Dan was handed the silverware by his former boss Paul Nicholls, a moment he describes as hugely emotional.

“It felt like winning the championship took a long time – it didn’t all come to the door,” offers Dan. “But breaking the £5m barrier was probably the most remarkable achievement. Willie put us into a position where we needed to go somewhere that no one had gone before in order to beat him.

“In hindsight, we should have won the championship that first year Willie beat us, but I didn’t see it coming. It was only having four Cheltenham Festival winners that springboarded us in with a chance; if I had my time again, I would have been better organised. The following year, I was as organised as I could be, we got everything right and he still beat us. But both times he had to win the Grand National – the hardest task in the racing calendar – to do it, so that was phenomenal.

“But look, it just shows that nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes you get beat and if you do, you pull your socks up and go again. I’m not afraid of getting beat – sometimes you learn things from it.

“I grew up around this mentality. I worked for Paul for nine-and-a-half years and every year the objective was to be champion trainer. Before that, my father [Nick Skelton] held this one goal above all else, which was to win an individual Olympic gold medal. So I’ve been motivated by those two things to achieve this,” he says.

Never one to dwell, no matter how mighty the accomplishment, Dan began his first season as champion trainer with another clear statement of intent: he’s going bigger and better than ever. While most jump trainers wind down during the off-season, Dan was out of the traps faster than a whippet back in May, enjoying his most successful summer ever. Even before the calendar shifted into top gear this month, Dan had extended a sizeable lead in this year’s title race, with more than 100 winners and £800,000 in the bank.

A second trainers’ championship is high on the agenda but, moving the goalposts slightly, Dan has set a new target for his team: Operation 244.

Twenty-six years ago, revolutionary jump trainer Martin Pipe saddled a record 243 winners in one season, an astonishing achievement that has never been surpassed. Martin was at the top of his game when Dan entered the racing industry and “the thorn in Paul Nicholls’ side” when the two went toe-to-toe during the early days of Dan’s apprenticeship with the now 14-time champion.

“Martin was the last trainer to gain a massive advantage in the sport,” says Dan. “He thought outside the box; he wasn’t afraid to try new things and he revolutionised fitness. Nowadays we’re all dealing with micro-advantages and marginal gains – I don’t think anyone will have another big swipe like he did. But we’ve all been able to see much further by standing on his shoulders and that’s the ultimate compliment. He changed the sport.

“So I’ve always known about the 243-winner record and, after last year, I thought if we could just strengthen our team with a few select purchases, a nice bunch of summer horses could give us a springboard and we could make this happen.”

Underlining the enormity of it, he cautions, “I think it’s the hardest thing we’ve ever set out to do. We need to stay on the trajectory we’re on, maintaining that consistent standard of winners, for the next eight months.

“It doesn’t give me sleepless nights because we are controlling all the controllables and we’re using all the science and everything else we can to keep the horses healthy. I believe we have the best people behind us and the horses to do it. Sometimes things just come a-knocking and there’s nothing we can do about it. But to achieve it would be incredible and it’s something interesting for the sport to follow too.”

The first signs of a seasonal shift are in the air and the yard is in full throttle when we catch up with Dan in late September. The summer horses are enjoying their final runs just as the winter crew are being ramped up ready to be unleashed.

The network of gallops at Lodge Hill has been topped up, the arenas resurfaced and a new cross-country schooling area built for the youngsters to “enjoy something different”.

A powerful team ethos is central to daily life at Lodge Hill and the backbone to Dan’s success on the track. He estimates to have between 85 and 100 people managing the 170 horses in training over the winter months.

Dan may carry the weight of the world on his shoulders at times but “keeping positivity around the place” is top priority.

“Everyone’s pulling their weight and everyone is oriented around success,” he explains. “The ultimate goal is set and I’ve referred to it as our North Star – it keeps us constant.

“I’m indebted to the team, they’re brilliant. Most of them have been with us for a long time. They get it – they’re passionate, winning people. It’s great to harness that.”

Home-grown jockey Tristan Durrell was crowned champion conditional on the same day Dan earned his trainer’s crown and of course Dan’s “phenomenal” brother Harry, who became one of the top 10 winning-most jump jockeys of all time with his 1,590th winner in August, rakes in the vast majority of Dan’s winners, while also becoming more intrinsically involved in the back-room side of things.

With Dan and Harry currently pole position in both their respective championships, might they accomplish a truly historic double this season?

“When it was possible for Harry to be champion jockey in 2021, I took it as seriously as I could and worked tirelessly to make that happen for him, then he made it happen for me,” says Dan.

The same owners who bought into Dan’s quest for the championship last season are now fully behind Operation 244 as well.

“They’re the most important part. Yes, they have their own horses’ best interests at heart, but they absolutely get behind our team ethos and ambition and enjoy that their horses add into this possibility. That’s something I feel most proud of, most humbled even, as that’s something we’ve worked so hard to create – we’re all in this together,” he says.

“I’m fully aware that having 170 horses to run in the winter makes it one of the biggest strings ever in UK National Hunt racing. But I’m also very confident to say it’s well managed, it’s high quality and nothing gets missed. Our results would suggest that, right?

“It can feel busy at times, but it’s manageable. It makes a healthy, competitive atmosphere.”

Stable stars waiting in the wings include The New Lion, Protektorat and Panic Attack, with multi-Grade One-winning Grey Dawning set to make his seasonal reappearance next month. Younger talent is ready to step up, while Dan believes this season’s team of novice chasers are his best yet.

“We feel very lucky to have a team that can stretch across all formats,” he says.

Talk over the summer has centred around the astronomical sums changing hands in the sale ring and Dan has been the beneficiary of some headline-making purchases, including JP McManus’s €500,000 acquisition Walkonseas. Horses like King George runner-up Il Est Francais have changed yards, and high-profile owners including Harry Redknapp are now investing in the new champion.

Dan’s championship breakthrough feels like the start of a new era of supremacy for the Warwickshire yard; it’s possible even that Martin Pipe’s record as 15-time champion could eventually be smashed.

“The championship is a nice constant to aim for, but it definitely doesn’t feel easier even now we’ve achieved it once,” says Dan. “When you’re behind, you can see the finish line and all you have to do is catch the leader. As soon as you start to make the running, you’re the one to be aimed at and people want to work out how to beat you – you don’t know where the finish line is or even what it looks like. So the dynamics have changed but the focus hasn’t.”

The trophy has pride of place in the kitchen at the home he shares with wife Grace and daughter Flo; a pleasing daily reminder of what he’s achieved. Is obsession too strong a word for life in the Skelton household?

“I’ve not been obsessed with being champion trainer, I’m obsessed with being a trainer and all that entails. I just love what I do,” he says.

“We don’t want to amble through life, we have the foot firmly on the gas and we’re trying to make this something special. We want to be as good as we can be, perhaps break some records and make some people happy along the way; then we can feel that it was all worthwhile.”

Horses to watch this season

Dan says: “We’re lucky to have so many nice horses but these two should really step forward over the next two or three years. They’re young but very talented, so we’re doing everything we can to make them the best they can be.

“They don’t have to be at their best this year. Obviously you can ask them questions and ask them for big performances in big races, but it’s all about building, like we did with Grey Dawning, without overdoing things.”

Maestro Conti

4yo chestnut gelding by Prince Gibraltar out of Valdivia (Samum)

Owners: Hales, Speelman, Mason, Hogarth and Ferguson

Breeder: Patrick Joubert

Best results: won Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, Cheltenham, 2026, runner-up Triumph Hurdle, Cheltenham Festival 2026

Mydaddypaddy

5yo bay gelding by Walk In The Park out of Debdebdeb (Teofilo)

Owner/breeder: Dermot Hanafin

Best results: hurdle wins at Huntingdon, Carlisle and Haydock, runner-up Formby Novices’ Hurdle, Aintree 2025, third Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Cheltenham Festival 2026

As the season draws to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on the year.

Showing participation is flourishing. Despite the rising costs of producing horses, entries have been promising. Both the British Show Pony Society and the Coloured Horse and Pony Society had record-high entries at their championship shows, while the British Show Horse Association saw a considerable increase on last season’s entries.

Good show horses are harder to source so I have begun buying and keeping young horses as I find them, mainly from breeders. While showing entries are promising, finding owners to invest for the long term is becoming harder; buying a three-year-old means waiting three years to see their charge on the open circuit.

With this in mind I created a syndicate with 10 owners who have invested in a four-year-old together. Syndication seems to work in racing so hopefully it could be the start of something new and exciting in showing.

The excitement of HOYS

One of the highlights of the calendar is the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). I competed at my first HOYS at Wembley in the 1990s and I still get the same butterflies in my stomach now as I drive into the car park.

As always I felt privileged just to compete at HOYS, but I did leave wondering about the judging process and how judges are selected.

I’ve been on numerous panels for over 20 years. Each one requires a stringent application, assessment and probationary process with regular conferences and email correspondence to keep judges up to date with rules and welfare concerns.

It does make me wonder if the overseas “celebrity” judge selection works at championship shows.

Despite being highly qualified in their own fields, it’s hard for judges to assess animals in a field they have had little experience of. For example, how can an individual assess hunters if they haven’t jumped or ever followed hounds?

Others had not only little judging experience of the type of animal in front of them, but were also unfamiliar with the marking system. So it’s a big risk and a big ask of judges and isn’t a popular choice with a lot of competitors.

We all work hard and spend a lot of time preparing horses for the size, shape and way of riding of the ride judge before handing over the reins to a stranger.

HOYS is the final spectacle of the season and publishing of judges well in advance is crucial to allow owners to make decisions on season planning. This allows professionals and amateurs alike the opportunity to do their homework properly.

Nurturing talent

One of my personal highlights was watching the 128cm showjumping final. The friendship and talent in the collecting ring was unreal. As a former teacher, I understand only too well the importance of safeguarding, but in my opinion, it’s criminal to think British Showjumping is threatening to stop this class in 2029.

Without a spectacle like the HOYS Price Family in-hand supreme – won this year by Seywoods Royal Dancer – some breeders may not wish to continue, says Vicky

Surely we need to provide these young riders with every opportunity to compete on the main stage in their early careers? I’m relieved that as yet, no such plan is in place for young riders in showing and I hope that it won’t ever be considered.

Seeing all of the Price Family supreme in-hand finalists together in the main arena in the evening performance was another wonderful spectacle.

It’s vital we give breeders who enjoy showing, and find this particular final an incentive to keep breeding, a platform such as this to showcase their breeding and their youngstock. Without it, I fear finding youngsters with promise will only become more difficult.

● Why do you think it’s becoming more difficult to source young show horses? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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The case of a curious horse who failed a drug test after his groom shared a drink with him is a reminder to equestrians of contamination risks posed by everyday items.

Gladiador VV, an 11-year-old gelding, tested positive for caffeine, theophylline and paraxanthine at an endurance competition at Punta del Este in Uruguay in November 2025. He was there with the aim of qualifying for the endurance World Championships but was disqualified owing to the failed test. The FEI Tribunal released its decision on the case on 13 October.

All three substances are classed as controlled medications, which means they have a place in veterinary medicine, but may not be in a horse’s system during a competition. Caffeine is a stimulant and theophylline makes breathing easier, and they can be direct metabolites of each other. Paraxanthine is a mental stimulant and can also be a metabolite of caffeine.

The horse’s rider, Sofía Fernández, proposed that accidental contamination by yerba mate – an everyday, natural drink made by brewing dried leaves and stems of a type of holly with hot or cold water – was “the most plausible explanation”.

Ms Fernández said that the substances detected and their metabolic profile were consistent with those found in plants, and pointed to yerba mate which contains caffeine and small amounts of theophylline.

She said yerba mate is a common drink and was regularly consumed by the groom who looked after the horse. She suggested that it was stored and handled near the stabling area so there could have been accidental contamination of feed, water or equipment.

A statement from the groom, who has apologised to the rider, said he would feed the horses in their paddocks at the end of the day and stay until they finished eating. He added that the horse was curious and would approach him while he drank, and lick the yerba mate.

“On some occasions he deliberately put used yerba mate in the horse’s feed trough, as a reward and to occupy the horse after feeding, because the horse appeared to enjoy it,” added the statement.

The groom estimated that he probably gave the horse a handful of yerba mate about seven times in the month leading up to the competition, including twice the week before, as a reward after training.

“The FEI consulted with their FEI’s pharmacokinetic expert, Dr Stuart Paine, and he confirmed that ‘the observed results are plausible from the administration of yerba mate a few days before the sample was taken’,” states the Tribunal report.

The FEI noted that yerba mate is a “recognised cultural practice in Uruguay and an everyday natural drink”, adding that it “carries no labelling warnings that would normally prompt the [person responsible – Ms Fernández] or groom to check for prohibited substances”.

The FEI’s submission continued that the groom’s decision to feed used yerba mate to the horse “was unexpected”, but that he “admitted his error proactively and transparently”.

“He was deeply apologetic, fully cooperative, and unaware of the potential doping consequences,” stated the FEI, adding that “the facts show no intention to enhance performance or to deliberately administer a controlled medication”.

The Tribunal ruled that the rider “bore no significant fault or negligence”. She was suspended for three months, back-dated to July 2026, and fined 3,000CHF (£2,730).

Following the outcome of the tribunal, International Grooms Association executive director Lucy Katan told H&H: “Cases like this remind us that contamination can happen to anyone around a competition horse. A drink left in the wrong place or a supplement with unclear ingredients can put results and reputations at risk.

“Grooms are on the front line of horse care, making practical anti-doping education essential. That’s why the IGA, in partnership with the FEI, developed International Groom Clean (IGC).

“IGC helps equestrians understand the consequences of unwitting mistakes and how to prevent accidental contamination.”

Test your knowledge

NB: This quiz is not intended to be a comprehensive list of feeds that can and can’t be given to horses. For more information on prohibited substances, check out the FEI's Clean Sport hub for horses.

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Olympic team gold medallist and record-breaking eventer Ros Canter has been celebrated alongside other global sporting stars.

The Allbright global 40 Over 40 list, in partnership with cosmetics company UKLASH, celebrates women who have stood out in business, science, technology and AI, culture and arts, social impact and public life and sport in the last 12 months.

In the sports category, Ros is named alongside tennis player Serena Williams, boxer Katie Taylor, power lifter Martine Barons, rugby player Maggie Alphonsi, marathon runner Alice Braham and Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.

Ros and Lordships Graffalo made history in May when they won Badminton Horse Trials for a third time, just over three months after Ros welcomed her second child. In August Ros and Lordships Graffalo led the Brits to team gold at the World Championships in Aachen, where they also won individual silver.

Ros’s Allbright nomination said she had turned her “renowned mental strength” into “one of the sharpest weapons in eventing”.

Ros, who turned 40 in January, said it was “pretty cool” to be named on the list.

A 40 Over 40 spokesperson said Allbright and UKLASH are “incredibly proud to recognise and celebrate” the women featured.

“Each of our five categories is a place where women’s experience is changing what happens next, whether that’s Anita Lim’s research sending cervical screening kits to the homes of millions or Wunmi Mosaku winning a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for Sinners,” said the spokesperson.

“Every woman here made her mark in the past 12 months, but each drew on the years before: the false starts and hard calls, the second chances and lessons she had to learn herself.”

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This useful cavaletti or polework exercise teaches horse and rider to stick to accurate lines and make thoughtful decisions about stride length.

It’s such a simple set-up: just place two cavaletti diagonally to each other, which creates different distances depending on where and how you approach the line.

Aims

• improve rider’s accuracy on a line
• help rider’s judgement on a distance

The setup

You need: two cavaletti or poles

Setup: place two cavaletti approximately 14m apart diagonal to each other. If you imagine a clock face, the hands would be at 10 minutes to two. Set them up so that your horse would fit in three compact strides if taking a straight line from the middle of one cavaletti to the middle of the second (yellow line).

How to ride the exercise

• Establish a bouncy, balanced canter.
• Approach the first cavaletti in the middle on the diagonal, and ride a straight line from the middle of the first to the second cavaletti, also taken on the diagonal (yellow line). You should aim to fit three strides. This is your reference line.
• If the distance is not comfortable, adjust it so that your horse can fit in three regular, compact canter strides.
• Once you’ve nailed the three strides on both reins, try approaching on the side where the cavaletti are closest to each other (pink line). Still ride straight from one cavaletti to the next, focusing on your accuracy as you aim for the side of the fence. You should aim to fit in two balanced strides, without chasing the rhythm.
• The next challenge is to take the outside route (green line), adding a curve to your approach and line through the cavaletti. You should aim for the middle of the poles, but bend round so that you give the horse space to fit in four strides without drifting in or out.
• For the four-stride line, shape the bend early. Do not try to manufacture the extra stride with a sudden turn in between the cavaletti.
• Make sure you do each line on both reins.

The challenge is to canter through all three exercises on the desired stride pattern. This calls for pinpoint accuracy on your line as you aim for specific points on the poles.

Small changes in the entry point will make a difference to your line, so riders need to plan ahead. The approach, with a quality, balanced canter, is fundamental.

Tips

1. Start slowly and level up

Rather than starting with cavaletti, this is still a very useful exercise if you use poles on the ground. To make the exercise more difficult you can build fences and raise them as high as is appropriate for your level.

2. Don’t drift

The diagonal poles can encourage your horse to drift to give himself more room. Look up to the exit of the line, keep your shoulders square and support the horse with both legs.

3. Count your strides

Saying one, two, three out loud, helps riders recognise the rhythm.

4. Mix up the routes

Once you’re confident on each of the lines, mix them up so that you practise adjusting.

Want more ideas? Check out our full daily training inspiration library

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By Sally Hennessy

David Stanley Ringer sadly passed away on 6 October aged 95 after a period in hospital. He will have been known by many H&H readers.

He was the consummate horseman – he trained racehorses from Saffron House in Newmarket for many years and was also known as one of the most respected judges of the 1970s onwards.

David loved judging – especially hunters and cobs – although he was just as happy with a class of ponies or hacks. He was a fine rider and was much in demand over the years at many a county show, Horse of the Year Show and the Royal International.

He was always immaculately turned out and resolutely fair in his decisions. Many will recall him in his red cords and bright sweaters, always dapper. David had a wicked sense of humour and was a great raconteur.

Above all he was a devoted family man who was justly proud of the legacy he started.

Only last week Jack and Henry Callan, sons of David's granddaughter Trisha and her jockey husband Neil, won champion apprentice and amateur respectively. Ironically David missed their amazing achievement by just over a week.

Sincere condolences to David’s wife Paddy, their children Helen and Jack and the extended family.

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A superstar pony who was once found abandoned, castrated and left tied to a tractor to bleed has won his fourth Prince Phillip Cup title at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) – aged 31.

Merlin, a 12.2hh Welsh pony who was rescued as a youngster, became one of the top mounted games ponies in the world, winning nationally and internationally – and making many young riders’ dreams come true.

His most recent HOYS wins were in the Prince Phillip and the Lemieux cups, the two mounted games competitions, with Thea as part of the North Herefordshire team.

“He’s just an absolute legend,” owner Gemma Hopkins told H&H. “He’s phenomenal; I can just sit there looking at him, thinking he’s another type.”

Gemma has owned Merlin for about 18 years, but her family’s first connection with him was far longer ago.

“It was a sad story; he was found tied to the back of a tractor,” she said. “They’d taken his balls off and left him tied to a tractor bleeding. Somebody turned up, he was not halter broken, he was wild. They couldn’t even get him on a lorry, so they walked him home. And later, he fell into the games scene.

“I met him when he was three years old. My husband trains the North Hereford team but back then, he was training the Welsh team. This kid came to me and said, ‘We’ve got this pony. I think he’s going to be really good but he keeps kicking everyone when you try to vault on him’.

“My husband said ‘Let’s have a look at him’, and he came out, double-barrelled the kid, and my husband said ‘I don’t know what to do with that, put him back in the stable’, and off he went.”

But Merlin moved on, had plenty of practice and was soon able to show his prowess on the mounted games circuit.

“He’s the most successful games pony there has ever been,” Gemma said. “He owns more world, European and British titles than any pony there’s ever been; I would lay my life on it that no other pony will ever come close to what he’s won.”

Gemma bought Merlin for her elder son Ben when he was six, by which time Merlin had already won world titles.

“I took Ben and put him into a local riding school – it was probably the best thing I’ve ever done as every week he went to Pony Club, and the riding school, and trotted round at six years old on this powerful little pony; he was a little machine,” she said. “He learnt to ride, and it was really good for him. He spent about 12 months, 18 months off the circuit, then when we felt Ben was ready, he rode him – and Ben went about four or five years unbeaten on him. He won British, European, and World titles on him for years.”

Ben’s younger brother Sam took the ride; he followed in Ben’s footsteps by winning at Royal Windsor for Wales. After Sam had outgrown Merlin, he went to a girl called Jazz, who rode him for England at Royal Windsor – and won.

He won the LeMieux Cup with Jazz last year, then Thea took him over in 2026, “and they’ve won everything”.

“He’s done such an amazing thing for so many kids,” Gemma said. “I’ve never sold him because he did too much for my children, and he’s just an absolute legend. He’s never been easy because he’s got [equine metabolic syndrome] EMS. We’ve got it all under control and have done for years but it’s part and parcel of getting old, isn’t it? He lives with me but I’m more than happy. I don’t ever lease him, don’t take money for him, even for his shoeing, I just want to see him happy doing his job.”

Gemma said that anyone looking at Merlin “wouldn’t put him at a day over 18”.

“He’s got no gray hairs, he’s the supplest pony you’ve ever seen, he pings around the place like nobody’s business,” she said. “We trotted all our ponies up at HOYS with the vet and I promise you, he trotted up the best out of all of them. He’s phenomenal.”

She added that she said at the start of 2026 this would be Merlin’s last competitive season owing to his age but that he is not ready to retire.

“He’s still beating everyone, he’s still making dreams come true,” she said. “He’s done so much for everyone, I’d love to say ‘Now’s your time to retire’ but the only way to control his EMS is through exercise, and he loves his job. When the lorry goes out without him, he gallops about as if to say ‘Why aren’t I on it?’

“The equestrian community might say ‘What on earth is a 31-year-old doing competing?’ but he’s so athletic, he’s on no supplements, he looks a million dollars and he’s just not ready to retire. I feel if he stopped doing it, the EMS would kick in – and he absolutely loves what he does. He owes me absolutely nothing and he’s my world.”

Gemma said Merlin trains once a week and “drags me around” out hacking, led from the others.

“He’s the fittest pony I’ve got,” she said. “I watched him at HOYS and thought ‘He’s really not ready to hang his boots up; what do I do?’ So I think he has to keep going till he tells me he’s had enough. He was absolutely flying at HOYS, he just loves competing.”

Gemma said Merlin is the beloved yard troublemaker, squeezing under fences, always the one who escapes and would be found in the feed room, but he “gets away with murder”.

“He’s unique,” she said. “I’ve dealt with a lot of kids and ponies and have never met, and don’t think I’ll ever meet, another one like him.

“He’s got such a positive attitude to life; nothing fazes him and he just wants to give his all. He never gives up and has never let me down. Sometimes they need a bit of recognition, don’t they? He’s a legend.”

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Looking back at 2026, I can’t help remembering the fatalities and thinking of the riders’ families.

For a long time, we were lulled into believing a rider could not really get hurt over small fences. But realistically we cannot make horse sports safe. Regardless of frangible fences, helmets or safety jackets, when a 100lb rider is sitting on a 1000lb horse, there is always potential for things to go wrong.

Many accidents happen when riders are hacking, having fun or on a long rein – in fact, often the more danger people sense, the more they concentrate and the safer they become.

On a brighter note, we were privileged to watch Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter reign supreme again at Badminton, only to lose out at the World Championships to Michael Jung and FischerChipmunk FRH. But the Brits regained the world team gold.

Recently, the new format for the Nations Cup played into British hands. Rather than points through the year going towards the final classification, the 10 qualified teams started on a clean slate at the final at Boekelo. The Brits won in a nail-biting duel with Germany, but the real excitement was that the counting scores of Yasmin Ingham, Katie Magee and Gemma Stevens were all on nine- or 10-year-old horses.

Next year the Brits will only contest the eventing Nations Cups at Bramham, Millstreet and Arville; not many want to make the long journey to Strzegom or Montelibretti.

Also on positives, we should have made more of our winning team in the inaugural under-25 World Championships. Let’s hope we can repeat that at Cornbury next year.

Steps for safety

On the domestic front, British Eventing (BE) halted the decline in membership and horse registrations this year, with a slight increase at grassroots level. It’s not surprising that numbers are tough in the current financial climate. BE has been losing members to the unaffiliated market for years and has long tried to “embrace” that group.

GO BE continues to gain popularity and in 2024 Pippa Funnell put together a task force of some of the best brains in the sport to help further. After a painfully long and protracted process, they came up with BE Lite, which enabled non-members and unregistered horses to compete with massively relaxed rules under the BE umbrella, as a stepping stone to full membership. It’s also a way for organisers to increase entries to help viability.

There were two pilots this year and as BE clarifies the advantages this winter, hopefully more organisers will seize the opportunity.

The BE board, with assistance from the BE Support Trust, British Equestrian and the FEI, has set up an independent eventing horse and rider safety commission, under the chairmanship of Dame Caroline Spelman, former Conservative MP and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The commission’s terms of reference are far reaching, but there are good people chairing the stakeholders groups so hopefully there will be constructive recommendations in the report published next summer.

Bids to host World Championships

I was very surprised to hear Agria Blenheim organisers Stable Events plan to put in an “expression of interest” to stage a multi-sport World Championships in the courtyard in front of Blenheim in 2030.

It’s dream worthy, but the cost of bringing in all the temporary structures on a World Heritage site would, I suspect, be prohibitive.

Also, I’m not sure if the three Olympic disciplines will support the idea, especially as Defender Burghley is well advanced with its bid for the eventing championships and is due to resubmit a request for the funding approved by UK Sport when they were runners-up to Aachen this year. The World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida – which has Aachen-scale infrastructure – is also submitting a strong bid.

That said, nobody knows if the FEI will go back to a multi-venue series of World Championships, as per 2022, or whether they will try and stick to the Aachen model, despite the high costs.

● What were your eventing highs and lows of 2026? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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A young woman who suffered with such severe anxiety that she struggled to leave her house has returned to the equine charity that helped her to research how horses can help humans.

Eva Novi, a masters student at the University of Stirling, has been working with the Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s equine assisted services team. Eva and the team used photography to capture how young people feel before, during and after their therapeutic sessions with rescued horses and ponies. Her dissertation on the project received a distinction.

Eva, 35, described walking back through the doors of the charity’s Coombe Park Education and Equestrian Centre in Devon as “coming home”.

“My journey really began here, through the This Girl Can Exercise with Equines programme, funded by Sport England,” said Eva.

“At the time I struggled to find the confidence to leave my house. Coming to Coombe Park near Totnes felt like a huge personal challenge, but once I was here, with the horses and the team, I didn’t look back. That sense of peace and purpose, and the calm acceptance from the horses, showed me that things could be different and that I could be okay.”

After a six-week course, Eva stayed on as a volunteer before joining the staff at the sanctuary’s Honeysuckle rehabilitation yard in Newton Abbot. Her confidence grew during her time with the charity and shaped her decision to move to Scotland to study for a masters in human animal interaction. In every project where she had the choice, she chose to focus on equine-assisted learning.

For her dissertation project at the sanctuary, Eva used photovoice – a research method that helps people express feelings and stories through pictures rather than numbers or questionnaires.

She gave each of the participants, who were aged between seven to 21 years old, a disposable camera. They each took three photos every time they visited: at the start, the middle, and end of a session.

The participants had creative free-rein over what to snap, and noted briefly what they chose to photograph and why. Eva used the photos and notes to explore how emotions shifted over a session and the six-week programme, and how those changes related to time spent with horses and ponies.

“There is a lot of research that looks at heart rates and statistics. That's important, but it can miss the stories behind the numbers. Not everyone finds it easy to put feelings into words,” she said.

“For many people, especially young people, showing you something through a photograph can be more natural than trying to explain it. I want to capture those journeys in a way that feels accessible to them.”

Dawn Neil, the Mare and Foal Sanctuary's head of education and equine-assisted services, said the charity is proud to support Eva's work.

"Eva's journey is a powerful example of what can happen when you give someone time, space and a safe connection with horses,” she said.

“She first came to us struggling with anxiety and found her confidence growing week by week alongside the horses. Now she's back as an academic, helping us learn more about how therapeutic time with our rescued horses and ponies impacts our participants' thoughts and feelings.

"We know that many of our participants respond best to approaches that are creative and reflective rather than purely traditional impact measure surveys.

“Projects like this help us understand those responses in more depth. Our work is all about finding new and more effective ways to connect with people, and the horses and ponies are at the heart of that.

“They play a vital role in unlocking potential, building confidence and offering a different kind of empowerment. Eva is living proof of that.”

Eva is now considering a PhD specialising in equine-assisted learning.

"Every time I come back here, I am reminded of how far I have come and how much further we can go. I have heard young people say that their session at the sanctuary is the best part of their week,” she said.

“I know that feeling. I want more people to have that chance."

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With the new FEI grand prix test and its stretching circle arriving in 2027, Olympic gold medallist Laura Tomlinson has been thinking about how dressage tests are marked.

In her recent H&H column, Laura reflected that scores have become stuck around the average marks, with good tests struggling to break 70%, and called for judges to use the full range – lower scores for real mistakes, but eights and above for brilliance.

On the latest episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, she shares her hopes for the new movement, and reflects on how the balance of marks shapes the horses that rise to the top.

Is piaffe weighted too heavily?

Asked how the current marking affects the way horses are produced, Laura points to piaffe, which counts double in the grand prix.

“Sometimes you watch the scores and think, well, I’m beating this one, beating this one – and then a horse gets eights for its piaffes, is lower than you everywhere else, and it’s above you immediately,” she says. “Your test might have been more accurate or more soft and supple the whole way through, but the horse with a better piaffe is immediately going to beat that.”

She stresses she isn’t calling for the weighting to be scrapped. “I haven’t thought about it hard enough,” she says. “But it’s interesting how those nuances change which horses come to the forefront and what kind of pressure you have to put on them. It becomes a piaffe battle, basically. If you’ve got one that’s just lovely and soft and does a nice piaffe, you’re already on the back foot.”

That, she says, sits awkwardly with the sport’s recent messaging. “The party line for the last couple of years has been that we’re going for softness, suppleness and less tension,” she says.

“Often the top five horses in the world have got it all. But in the next 20, you’ve got horses with different strengths and weaknesses. If we want the priority to be softness, suppleness and harmony, it’s something to think about.”

What should judges look for in the stretch circle?

That balance is set to shift slightly in 2027. The new FEI grand prix test keeps the existing movements largely intact but adds a stretching circle, ridden rising or sitting, near the end. It is also weighted double, which Laura says “is going to mitigate at least one piaffe”.

She is a fan. “I would almost wish it was at the start of the test,” she says. “I think it’s a great way to let the horse relax over the back, feel comfortable again and take the pressure off for a moment.”

She knows what she would reward if she were judging. “A horse that is able to be let go of in the reins, that follows the rider’s hand, so it doesn’t stay curled up or too overbent, but the nose stretches forward and out,” she says.

“It shouldn’t suddenly dive from its nose to the floor – it should still be in self-carriage. The rhythm shouldn’t change, and the hindlegs should still step nicely underneath, rather than getting left behind because the rider isn’t riding into a strong contact.”

How the judges agree to mark it will be crucial. “It’s all very well having a theory on paper as to what equals the perfect stretch on a circle,” she says. “But every horse is going to do it slightly differently.”

What does this mean for young riders?

Laura’s concern about what the marks reward extends to the next generation. “I’ve seen it the last few years at the home internationals with the junior and young riders, and you just think, crikey, what do they have to do?” she says.

“If they’re on a fairly normal horse but riding quite a nice, clean, soft test, that’s not good enough to get over 70%. Not everyone, especially at under-21 level, is going to be on a super-flashy horse. I feel like we should be rewarding other positives, like softness and accuracy.”

She has felt it herself. Laura won an international grand prix special in the Netherlands last year on 69%. “I actually had quite a nice clean test,” she says. “I’m not saying I deserved 75%, but it could easily have been 71 or 72.”

She is also quick to acknowledge that scoring has moved in the other direction in the past. “There was a time when the marks were getting almost a little bit too out of control – the 80s were flying maybe where they shouldn’t have flown,” she says. “I don’t envy the judges’ position. I’d much rather be sitting on my horse, moaning instead!”

To hear more from Laura, including her thoughts on the National Championships’ move to Hartpury and the new British Masters, listen to episode 182 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

● Do you think the new stretch circle will change which horses rise to the top in grand prix dressage? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Tidy Town needed little introduction to the showing world before this season, but now he has truly cemented his place in the history books, netting his fifth Royal International (RIHS) win, and being the first small hunter to land the supreme horse accolade at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in forty years.

The 10-year-old 158cm gelding – known as Guinness at home – is owned by Lorraine Homer, and piloted by her daughter, Alice. He was bred by Michael Byrne in Co Wicklow, and first made his way onto English soil as a foal.

But his trajectory to the very top in showing wasn’t straightforward.

“The day I first saw Guinness, I bought two foals for the Mckay family,” explains Alice’s grandfather, David Tatlow. “One was by Stack of Diamonds, and the other – Guinness – by the British thoroughbred stallion, Superior Premium, out of a Ricardo Z mare. They were two very different sorts of horses. One was tall and backwards – he’s gone on to event successfully now; one was thick-set. I was with Jane Bradbury, who’s a very good judge of a horse in her own right.

“I’m a limb fanatic. If they’ve got good limbs as a foal, they’ve got good limbs to the day they die. Guinness had beautiful limbs. People say, ‘Oh, I can’t judge a foal.’ But you can judge a foal; he’s just a little horse. Guinness was an exceptional little model.”

That said, Guinness remained something of a gamble. For starters, he had been gelded just 48 hours beforehand.

“He was quite swollen and stiff, so we didn’t see much step, but he did have a beautiful walk even though he was so swollen.”

The other snag was that Guinness was small.

“We looked at him and we looked at him. But I kept saying to myself, ‘I wonder whether he’s going to grow?’

“I asked, ‘How big’s the mother?’

“16.2hh, and I knew the sire to be a biggish horse, so we thought, ‘there’s every chance he might grow’. We took the gamble.”

But Guinness didn’t grow. At least, not as much as hoped.

Nevertheless, he stayed at his intended home with the McKie family until Jess McKie broke him in and began his eventing career.

“She did a very good job,” says David, “But she’s tall and he didn’t grow enough for her.”

He returned to the Tatlow/Homer team as a six-year-old to sell on.

“Being based in Northumberland, the McKie’s felt we were better located to sell him – and we found we didn’t really want to sell him on, we wanted to buy him.

“I shouldn’t say this as Alice has produced him to perfection, but I wasn't in love with her wanting to hunt him because I realised his potential as soon as he came back. I said, ‘this is a top small hunter’.

“We’re great friends in the family, but it doesn't stop us disagreeing between ourselves; I was more confident about him being a champion show horse than Alice was at that time.”

Alice agrees, seeing him as a hunting pony when he first returned.

“I hunted him until that Christmas,” says Alice. “I don’t think I took him seriously as a show horse until then, but he got smarter and smarter and I realised I had underestimated him. I haven’t hunted him since, but he was an absolute machine so I can’t wait to again once he’s done showing.”

David was right, and together, Alice and Guinness have formed a formidable partnership.

As well as their five Hickstead titles – three in the small hunter and two in the intermediate hunter ranks plus the bonus overall intermediate sash – Guinness and Alice topped the intermediate hunter type lineup at HOYS, and boast a small hunter win at Windsor.

That same year, the pair were working hunter pony champions at the castle, as Guinness has a third string to his bow: the workers.

“One of the greatest things about Guinness is that you rarely see him without his ears pricked. He really loves his work and approaches it with enthusiasm – even just going for a hack.

“We don’t want to overshow him, but with his versatility – he’s got a real jump in him – and his attitude; he always says, ‘come on, let’s go again’. He’s the dream, he loves his job.”

Earlier this term, Guinness and Alice collected a third working hunter pony supreme title at the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) championships.

“He just absolutely loves those Graham Barclay tracks there,” says Alice.

He also loves a good gallop and Alice argues this is one thing that gives him the edge in the ring.

“Nothing can out-gallop him,” says Alice, whose searing turns up the front of the arena in championships at Hickstead are something to behold. “To ride, he’s got the manners of a hack but the power of a heavyweight hunter. I think it’s what’s made him excel at different venues.

“He can go to a smaller indoor arena like at Addington or into the arena at HOYS and have the adjustability of a hack. But then he can also go into a big grass ring like at Hickstead and open out and gallop.”

Still, performance only counts for half in showing.

“His conformation is another reason he’s excelled year after year,” according to Alice. “He has very correct limbs. He has just the right amount of limb and just the right amount of substance. Fundamentally, he is hard to fault. Yes, he gives a good ride and, yes, there’s showmanship but his correctness means he appeals to a range of judges.”

Whatever it is that gives them the edge, David credits Alice.

“She’s made such a fantastic job of him,” he says. “She’s done it all herself because I’m old and nearly in my grave. Her mother Lorraine’s had more influence than me – it’s her mother who’s taught her to gallop.”

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By Jan Cottam

Pattie Biden, the former rider and event organiser, died on 1 October, aged 74.

Pattie was a vivacious individual who devoted her life to eventing. She was brought up in Hertfordshire where, supported by non-horsey parents, she and her twin sister Carol learnt to ride. Pattie was bitten by the horsey bug and decided she wanted to go eventing.

After leaving school Pattie went to train with Alison Oliver, at her yard near Windsor. This was where she met the Princess Royal. They competed in horse trials alongside each other for many years. Pattie rode at Burghley and Badminton, and her best horse was Little Extra.

Pattie started to organise Barnsley Park with a committee of eventing enthusiasts.

When it finished, the princess asked Pattie if she would take the event to Gatcombe Park estate. By this time, Captain Mark Phillips was running “big” Gatcombe in the middle of the season so Pattie organised the first March Gatcombe, at novice level. With the generous sponsorship of Land Rover, an intermediate cross-country course was developed, and an additional Gatcombe event was established in September.

For almost three decades, Pattie was director and organiser of the two Little Gatcombe Horse Trials, the Princess Royal designing the cross-country courses. Competitors at the March event used the same distinctive bib numbers as Burghley and the September event, latterly sponsored by Whatley Manor Hotel, grew to become an international. Both events were always heavily oversubscribed.

After staging around 50 events, Gatcombe Horse Trials ended in 2019.

During her time as an organiser, with a small group of others, Pattie set up the British Eventing Organisers’ Association, which remains an important group for organisers. She was also a much respected British Eventing steward and the regional director for the south and west of England.

Pattie was an inventive, strong, kind and generous individual. She was hard-working, always immaculately turned out and had a great attention to detail. As an event approached, in the evenings she was often found with her sister Carol, painting white sticks for the cross-country tracks; she never stopped.

Towards the end of her life, she faced some difficult challenges but she will always be remembered for her immense contribution to eventing and her infectious smile.

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There are around 20,000 miles of bridleways in England – but how many of these would you feel confident exploring outside of your normal hacking routes?

A rider is creating a paid app to help equestrians discover more places to ride.

BridleNav, which has been trademarked and is set to launch in the spring, will feature routes across the UK, uploaded by riders.

The aim is for it to include the essential information you would give on to a friend who was going to hack one of your favourite routes for the first time. For example, where to park, directions at key points and other useful information such as gates, boggy patches, or where a bridleway marker has fallen over.

Riders will be able to see an overview of the route before they go, then the app will give them audio directions while they are riding. It will also include an SOS alert function.

“It’s an idea I’ve had in my mind for a long time,” BridleNav creator Charlotte Lowe told H&H.

She said there was a moment a few years ago where she boxed up to try a new hack for a change of scene. The faff of trying to map-read on a horse and paths’ being poorly signposted spurred her on to develop something better for riders.

“I wanted to build something that’s really convenient and easy to use, to take that pressure off riders and hopefully try to help them get out more,” said Charlotte, who also has a livery yard and runs guided rides in the Peak District.

She added that she knows travelling with horses on unfamiliar roads and not knowing the horsebox parking situation – or if there is somewhere to turn around – is a very real concern for some equestrians. That is why this is one of the key parts of the app.

Riders can opt to edit the start and end points of their route to avoid giving their yard location, for safety and security reasons. Information about platforms used by the app, the data collected and how it is stored can be found on the BridleNav website’s privacy policy page.

The number of rides in the app is growing and Charlotte is keen to hear from riders across the country who would be interested in uploading routes over the winter.

Each route upload requires a minimum of two photos, plus “turn by turn” details so the app can give other riders directions. Equestrians submitting rides will also have to tick a box to confirm that these are rights of way on which horses are allowed.

For more information and to contact BridleNav, visit: https://bridlenav.com/index.html

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The mother of a young rider who was born with cerebral palsy, had multiple major surgeries and spent months of her short life in hospital credits the power of horses for seeing her through.

Angela Hodge told H&H her 12-year-old daughter Esme has always had a passion for all things equestrian, and that horses have played a major part in her progress.

“It helps her in so many ways,” she said. “It’s her friendship, her motivation, her therapy, everything; she lives and breathes ponies.

“The main thing for us is that it’s her way; she feels at one with the ponies and feels at ease. She has difficult times and when she’s with horses, it melts away.”

Esme was born 12 weeks premature and spent time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Nine years ago, she travelled to the US for spinal surgery, returning for another operation two years later.

“Then in 2024, she had both her femurs cut and realigned with titanium plates, to straighten her legs,” Angela said. “She spent the entire summer in Bristol children’s hospital, and she was watching the dressage at the Paris Paralympics. The only way they could get her out of the bed and actually on to the bike to do her rehab was to put the TV in front of her so she could watch the dressage. It gave her motivation and something specific to work on.”

Angela said that when Esme was a baby the first garment she could wear, in intensive care, was a cardigan knitted by her grandmother, which had horse-shaped buttons.

“We got all the things out to show her when she was five or six, because she was interested in her time in NICU,” she said. “And by then, she was obsessed with horses. She saw it and she just loved the story that she was born to ride.”

Esme first rode on a mechanical horse aged nearly three, and on a real pony some months later.

“Despite the repeated interruptions of surgery, she’s been riding with the Avon Riding for the Disabled Association [RDA] group throughout,” Angela said. “She was introduced to dressage, which she loves, and qualified for the nationals twice. Twice she couldn’t go because of surgery but every time, she’s been working back to full strength to compete again.”

This summer, Esme did compete at the RDA national championships. She is now hoping to get her grading to be able to compete in para dressage.

Angela said Esme’s mobility has been much improved by the surgery – and the horses.

“Being on a horse has helped so much; she’s gone from not being able to sit up on a pony to jumping,” Angela said.

“The strength she’s got from riding has been incredible. Horses have helped her going through the operations but it’s more than that for her, it’s friendship, it’s motivation, it’s everything.”

Esme’s ultimate goal is to compete at the Paralympics.

“When when we first found out about her having cerebral palsy, I was told she would never walk, never talk, all these things,” Angela said.

“We’ve always told her there are things in life she’ll be able to do and things she won’t. But we focus on, ‘Even if you can’t do it, we first try to find out what are the barriers and how we can support you to try to see if we can do it an alternative way’. She’s always happy, smiling, always working. I’m so unbelievably proud of her.”

Jackie Linehan, legal director of Enable Law Legal who works with Esme’s family to meet her needs, told H&H: “It is always a pleasure to be able to support Enable Law clients so they can follow their interests and ensure they have access to opportunities to strengthen self-confidence and build independence that they might otherwise lack.

“We think the world of Ezzy, whose positive attitude and determination to focus on what she can do and her abilities rather than what she can't do and her disabilities is truly inspirational.

“She truly is a brilliant role model for young people who are living with cerebral palsy as she clearly won't let anything hold her back and we will continue to work with her family to help her pursue her dreams.”

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The instinct, when a walk pirouette isn’t working, is to use more outside leg. Most riders learn the movement through travers, where the outside leg asks the quarters to step in, so it feels like the obvious fix. But push the quarters in too far, and the horse either gets stuck or the pirouette gets bigger and bigger.

“One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that pirouettes and half-passes are all about the outside leg,” says Becky Moody. “Actually, it’s an awful lot about the horse being upright in front of that inside leg.”

A useful image is a compass drawing a circle. The hindlegs are the point, stepping almost on the spot, while the front legs walk round them. To do that, the horse has to stay upright – it can’t drop its inside hip as it turns.

What is a walk pirouette?

A walk pirouette is a turn on two tracks, in which the horse’s forehand moves around their haunches. The forefeet and outside hind foot travel around the inside hind foot, which marks a circle as small as possible. A half-pirouette is a 180° turn, and a full pirouette is 360°. Full walk pirouettes aren’t included in British Dressage (BD) tests.

The horse should stay slightly bent in the direction they’re turning, and keep a clear four-beat walk throughout. The inside hindleg shouldn’t plant, swivel or step sideways.

Sounds simple, but it’s a movement a lot of riders hate.

“It requires a really good understanding of what you’re trying to do, which is quite often the first thing that’s missing,” Becky says. “Then it requires really good control of the walk, of the horse’s balance, of the positioning, of how they are off your leg. They are actually quite telling.”

But Becky would rather riders stopped seeing them as a horrible test movement and started using them. She rides working walk pirouettes – not necessarily test-sized ones – with her own horses as a training tool for control, suppleness and reactivity.

“And if you want to be able to ride good canter pirouettes, you have to understand how to ride a good walk pirouette,” she adds.

What the judges are looking for

The walk should be collected, not slow, with active, even steps. According to FEI judging guidelines, the common faults are all ways the horse avoids taking the weight:

• the hindlegs stepping out
• the inside hindleg crossing in front of the outside one
• the horse stepping sideways
• the horse stepping back

There’s a catch, too. A pirouette can be in a perfect four-beat rhythm while the collected walk before it is irregular, and the judges will mark that down separately. The walk either side of the turn matters as much as the turn itself.

The basics come first

Before you think about the pirouette, look at the walk.

“As with anything, it’s about attention to the basics,” Becky says. “Do you have a good walk that is adjustable – can you organise it a little bit but keep the activity? Is the horse easy over the back and through to the contact? And do you have suppleness with alignment?

“Unless you have all of those things, you’re not going to be able to turn a good walk pirouette.”

Turn the shoulders, not the quarters

“You are not bringing the quarters in – you are turning the shoulders around the quarters,” says Becky. “The hardest thing is getting people to grasp how the travers helps, but that it is not your end goal.”

She sees two common faults. Either the quarters step out as the rider turns the shoulders, or – the one most riders fall into – they’re brought in too far.

Both come back to the inside leg. The outside leg still has a job, which is to stop the quarters stepping out, but it isn’t the whole answer.

Your position also plays a part. Too much hand can make your horse resist and lose their rhythm, and leaning in or out unbalances them. Instead, sit centrally with a very slightly weighted inside seatbone. The horse also needs to respond to your legs by moving away from them, not leaning into them.

Becky looks for a very slight shoulder-fore before the turn, some flexion and a horse that keeps walking, with activity and rhythm as she turns.

“It’s a little bit like the canter pirouette – I think about a really neat first step, then making sure the horse stays in front of my inside leg,” she says.

Think about the finish, too. Ride the horse forward and straight out of the turn, so the last step is as good as the first.

Exercises to improve walk pirouettes

From travers to shoulder-fore

Becky teaches inexperienced horses the pirouette through travers. She starts on the long side in walk, then moves on to a circle.

“Travers around the circle helps the horse understand being upright in front of the inside leg, while you have control of the outside with the outside leg,” she says.

From there, she alternates travers and shoulder-fore around a 10m circle.

“You’re really working on your ability to position the horse and place them where you want to,” she says.

Quarter-turns on a square

Before moving on to a half-pirouette, break the movement down into quarter-turns

Ride a square between R, S, V and P in a 20x60m arena, or between B, E, K and F in a 20x40m. Ride each side in a slight shoulder-fore, then make a quarter-turn (90°) at each corner, bringing the shoulders round.

Your horse only has to hold their balance for a few steps at a time, which makes it easier to catch the problems before they become habits: the shoulders falling out, the quarters swinging, or the walk losing its rhythm.

Mix up quarter-turns and half-pirouettes, too. That way, your horse keeps listening to you rather than guessing what’s coming.

But don’t make the turns too small too soon. While you’re teaching your horse, a useful guide is for the hindlegs to step around a circle about the size of a dinner plate. Ask for a tighter turn than your horse has the strength and balance for, and they will get stuck – just as a horse will fall out of canter if you spiral into too small a circle too soon.

Walk pirouette tips

Let the wall do the work

A pirouette that’s too big is one of the most common faults, and when you’re off the track, it’s hard to tell.

“Once riders are a little further on, I make them ride them on the wall,” says Becky. “That makes them really aware of the size, and of how much they’re stepping to the inside. If the horse has a tendency to step to the outside, it can help them feel that more, too.”

To prepare for a test, she sometimes lays poles across the arena on the line the pirouettes are ridden on.

“Just having the poles there really makes them think about the line they’re walking in on, and where they start and finish the pirouette,” she says.

Watch and learn

There’s no point riding a bad pirouette over and over and hoping the next one will be better. Get the picture in your head first.

“Something I say to riders a lot is to go online and watch good people riding them,” Becky says. “That can really help you understand what you are trying to do.”

Then ask yourself:

• Is the walk collected enough?
• Is the horse upright in front of your inside leg?
• Are you pushing the quarters in, when you should be turning the shoulders?

Fix the walk. Then ride the inside leg. The pirouette will follow.

Walk pirouette troubleshooter

• Your horse sticks: The turn may be too small for their level of training, or you’re using too much hand. Make it bigger and keep the walk active.
• The pirouette gets too big: You’re probably pushing the quarters in with too much outside leg. Think inside leg and shoulders.
• The quarters step out: Your outside leg needs to guard the quarters, and check that you aren’t turning the shoulders too quickly.
• Your horse loses its rhythm: Go back to the walk before the turn – is it active, adjustable and through?
• Your horse anticipates: Mix quarter-turns and half-pirouettes, and don’t always ride them in the same place.

Walk pirouettes: your questions answered

Here are some common questions riders have about riding walk pirouettes.

Walk pirouette vs turn on the haunches?

Both turn the forehand around the haunches. A turn on the haunches is the more basic version, ridden at a lower level, usually from a less collected walk. A walk pirouette is ridden from a true collected walk.

How big should a walk pirouette be?

As small as possible. The inside hindleg should lift and land almost in their own footprint. When you’re first teaching it, a slightly larger turn – with the hindlegs stepping round a circle about the size of a dinner plate – is fine.

What’s the most common mistake in walk pirouettes?

Relying too much on the outside leg. The quarters are either pushed in too far, so the horse sticks or the pirouette gets too big, or they step out as the rider turns. Keep the horse upright in front of your inside leg, and turn the shoulders round.

Should the inside hindleg stop moving?

No. It should keep stepping in a clear four-beat rhythm. If it plants, the horse is pivoting rather than walking round.

What if my horse only sticks in one direction?

All horses favour one side, but if your horse regularly sticks or resists in one direction, it can be a sign of discomfort, so it’s worth asking your vet to check.

At what level do walk pirouettes appear in tests?

In BD tests, walk half-pirouettes appear from medium level. At FEI level, half-pirouettes feature in pony, junior and small tour tests.

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A premature foal who spent a month in intensive care after a red-bag delivery and with life-threatening sepsis is now “running laps as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened”.

Dave Aguilar’s mare Sierra usually foaled at the same number of gestation days but her 2026 colt MP My Goodbye Banks was born three weeks early.

Vet Kristen Wallert was on hand for the birth, and saved Banks’s life as the mare had a red-bag delivery; premature separation of the placenta from the uterus traps the foal inside and deprives it of oxygen.

Dr Wallert freed the colt from the placenta but he did not respond normally; he was unable to stand or nurse so she referred him to the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), William R Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH).

“On arrival at the VMTH’s large animal hospital, Banks was admitted to the Lucy G Whittier neonatal intensive care unit [NICU],” a UC Davis spokesperson said.

“Banks was quiet and small, with a silky hair coat and curled ears indicative of prematurity. X-rays of the bones in his knees and hocks showed incomplete mineralisation, another sign of prematurity. In addition, Banks had signs of severe systemic bacterial infection [sepsis], a life-threatening situation in new foals.”

The colt was given intravenous antibiotics and plasma, oxygen and a feeding tube. His organ function was monitored closely as these organs can easily be affected during oxygen deprivation, as was his respiration as premature foals can have trouble inflating their lungs fully.

The spokesperson said members of the UC Davis foal team – students who volunteer to help in the NICU – sat with Banks around the clock to monitor and ensure he was not injured.

“Banks remained critical for several days but responded well to treatment, transitioning from tube feeding to nursing from a pan, gaining energy and strength, and having normal organ function,” he said.

“He underwent intensive physical therapy to gradually help his bones and soft tissues get stronger without putting them under too much stress at any given time.

“The NICU is equipped with dual mare/foal stalls, so Banks was closely monitored by Sierra in the adjoining stall. Throughout his hospitalisation, she remained devoted, watching and talking to him, letting the team milk her regularly and just being a great girl.”

Banks spent 29 days in the NICU under the care of the extensive team.

Chief of service Emily Berryhill said: “Seeing the change from a foal barely able to lift his head and unable to stand to a bouncing, bucking, and nursing baby brings everyone so much joy.”

The spokesperson added that at six months old, Banks is “an active colt running laps in his corral as if nothing out of the ordinary ever happened”, and Mr Aguilar said he has a home for life.

“There was never a thought to selling him after what we’ve been through,” he said. “There’s just no way we’re letting him go.

“I can’t say enough about the care he received at UC Davis. That team cared for him as if he were their own. I’ve never experienced better care in any other veterinary or human hospital.”

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Neville Bardos, the horse who took US rider Boyd Martin to his first championship and fought back to compete at Burghley Horse Trials after surviving a barn fire, has been put down aged 27.

Boyd said: “Nev spent the last few years living out in the field with the young horses at our farm in Pennsylvania. He was very happy, but over the last year, he really started losing weight and muscle. I had Neville's longtime vet and good mate, Dr Kevin Keane, take a look at him, and we both agreed that the upcoming winter would be unfair for Neville to endure.”

Boyd said Neville was a horse who changed his career, adding: “I’m not sure I have ever ridden a horse as tough and brave as Nev.”

The chestnut was named after an infamous Australian gangster and Boyd – who is Australian-born but now rides for the USA, where he is based – bought him as a three-year-old former racehorse in Australia for AUS$850 (about £450 in today’s conversion).

“Nev had a feisty outlook on life, and I soon realised he wasn’t going to be a quick sell, said Boyd. “After working away with him, I started to realise that he could seriously jump!”

The horse gave Boyd his first taste of a win at long-format international level, at Melbourne in 2006.

“I will never forget pulling out a clear round and receiving the trophy from Australian eventing legend Bill Roycroft. From that moment on, the fire was lit!” said Boyd.

Boyd moved to the USA and finished ninth at Kentucky Three-Day Event on Neville Bardos when the horse was just eight years old in 2008. He put together his first syndicate to support Neville and thanked the owners who backed “an unknown rider with a wild thoroughbred and big dreams”.

A win at Fair Hill CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in 2009 and fourth at Kentucky in 2010 set Boyd up for his first championship selection, for the World Equestrian Games at Kentucky.

“I had come so close so many times to riding at a championship but had always fallen short. I honestly thought it might never happen,” said Boyd, who finished on his dressage score for 10th, best of the home side.

“Neville really delivered! To this day, I can still remember every stride and every jump of that showjumping course. That event really gave me momentum for the rest of my journey.”

In 2011, there was a terrible barn fire in the barn Boyd and his wife Silva rented at True Prospect Farm, Phillip Dutton’s yard.

“It was one of the most horrific events of my life,” said Boyd. “I managed to free a few of the horses, the last one being Nev. I will never forget dragging him down the aisleway by his windsucking collar, with my good mate Phillip pushing him from behind as the roof was falling in.

“Along with a number of other horses, Neville spent weeks in the intensive care unit at the New Bolton Center recovering. I truly got to see the heart of a champion when Neville came back into work and we completed our goal of competing at Burghley. I have never felt a horse with so much grit and determination as Nev.

“I also believe he was the first event horse ever to make the front page of The New York Times through his amazing achievements.”

Neville finished seventh at that Burghley, adding just one showjump down to his dressage score.

Neville Bardos: ‘Such an incredible impact on my life’

Boyd paid tribute to the many people who helped him with Neville over the years: “Firstly, his grooms and handlers throughout his career: Kate Chadderton, Shannon Kinsley, Lindsay Taylor, and Steph Simpson. They all equally loved him and cared for his every need during the prime of his competition career.

“I also want to thank his farriers, Bob Sims in Australia and Doug Neilson in America, for their care and dedication to Nev over the years.

“Sarah Reese cared for him, rode him, and groomed him every day in the twilight of his life. Neville loved Sarah, and she really looked after him like the champion he was.

“I had so many coaches who helped me with him across two countries. Obviously my wife Silva (who rode him at his first-ever eventing competition at Scone Horse Trials, and fell off him in the cross-country!), Heath Ryan, Jamie Coman, and Leesa Robinson in Australia, and in the US, Phillip Dutton, Katie Prudent, Lauren Hough, Michael Barisone, Oded Shimoni, and Captain Mark Phillips.”

Boyd buried Neville Bardos at the top of the gallop track at the Martins’ farm.

“Every time I zoom up that track, I will always think of him at the top of the hill,” he said.

“It’s amazing how horses touch our lives. Never in my life would I have believed that a scruffy off-the-track thoroughbred would have such an incredible impact on my life.”

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Georgia Bartlett said farewell to the 20-year-old Spano De Nazca, the 15.2hh horse who took her all the way from junior medals to five-star, on Wednesday (28 October).

The young British rider described “Nono” as: “My best friend, my heart horse, my one in a million, the best team mate and teacher I could ever have wished for.”

She said: “I would be nowhere without him and I will be forever indebted to him for the way he changed my life for the better. He took me on a journey I would never have believed possible.”

The Anglo Arab by Daguet Du Rochau started his career in France with French rider Louis Seychal. He teamed up with Georgia at the end of 2016 and the pair were successful in junior ranks.

In 2017, they won the junior CCI* (now CCI2*-L) at Frickley. They helped Britain to junior European team silver in 2018 and 2019, finishing 11th and fourth (on their dressage score) at those championships individually.

They also won the CCI3*-L at Millstreet in 2019 and the young rider CCI3*-S at Cornbury in 2020.

The pair stepped up to four-star level in 2020 and had numerous good results at that level, including third at Millstreet CCI4*-L in 2022 and 11th and 16th at Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-L in 2021 and 2023.

“For me Nono was extraordinary because he was not extraordinary,” said Georgia.

“He was tiny, his confirmation wasn’t particularly good, he didn’t have hugely extravagant movement and his jump wasn’t overly impressive.

“He was never meant to go as far as he did and that’s exactly what made him totally extraordinary, taking on and excelling round some of the biggest and most prestigious events in the world – my little miracle pony.”

In 2023, the pair made their five-star debut at Mars Badminton Horse Trials, when the little horse showed his heart by jumping most of the way round in very wet conditions, until Georgia made the sensible decision to pull up after a problem near the end of the course.

In 2024, they returned to Badminton and finished 28th with a cross-country jumping clear, and Georgia took the prize for best under-25 rider.

After the 19-year-old Spano De Nazca was not accepted at the first horse inspection at Badminton in 2025, he enjoyed a final season at a lower level, including completing the CCI4*-S at Defender Bramham Horse Trials and finishing 12th in the CCI3*-S at Cornbury on his final run.

“We had a one of a kind partnership built on implicit trust and mutual understanding of one another,” said Georgia in her tribute.

“A truly outstanding horse with so many incredible accolades to his name which were beyond my wildest dreams when we first met. He was all heart, an out and out competitor and the bigger the stage and the higher the stakes the deeper he dug to give me his all.

“Nothing thrilled him more than a big crowd and atmosphere. He just knew when he needed to perform – so highly intelligent and bringing me home safe every time.

“There aren’t enough words or superlatives to truly do him justice, but thank you a million times over for everything my precious boy. Enjoy galloping round your favourite cross-country courses up there, and spoil yourself with an endless supply of apples, carrots and polos. I will miss you always…”

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The Princess Royal joined The Horse Trust to celebrate 140 years of supporting working horses – as it was confirmed that the charity’s partnership with the Army will help “shape the future for some of the UK’s most beloved horses”.

The Horse Trust patron Princess Anne was at the anniversary reception at Hyde Park Barracks last month to celebrate the foundation of the charity in 1886, with the charity’s supporters and partners, and Army representatives.

“The reception celebrated the charity’s long history of supporting London’s working horses and the many partnerships helping it continue this work today,” a spokesperson for The Horse Trust said.

“Guests had the opportunity to meet horses from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and learn more about the relationship between The Horse Trust and the British Army, including the development of its new respite programme, which brings the charity back to its founding mission of 1886.”

The spokesperson said the charity and the Army are continuing to develop their partnership to benefit the welfare of military working horses.

“Following the incident involving Household Cavalry horses in London in April 2024, the two organisations worked together to explore how additional respite care could support horse welfare and help reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future,” she said.

“Following a successful trial, serving horses from the Household Cavalry and King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery are now able to spend time at The Horse Trust on a rotational basis, enjoying a change of environment with time in the trust’s pastures.

“The approach has shown encouraging results; improvements in horse behaviour and benefits to the safety of soldiers. It builds on the long-standing relationship between the organisations, which includes providing permanent retirement for former military working horses and other service horses.”

The spokesperson said the respite programme “brings The Horse Trust full circle”. The charity was founded to provide respite for the working cab horses of London by giving them rest and care while loaning their owners other horses so they could continue to earn a living.

“The project continues this legacy, enhancing the lives of London’s working horses by giving them more time turned out at grass,” she said.

The scheme has been made possible partly thanks to the charity’s “home for more horses” project, which raised £90,000.

The Horse Trust's CEO Jeanette Allen said: “We were delighted to celebrate The Horse Trust’s 140th anniversary with our patron HRH the Princess Royal, alongside our partners in the British Army and the many supporters who make our work possible. It was a valuable opportunity to showcase the lives of these horses while they are still working and to demonstrate how respite can enhance their welfare long before they reach retirement.

“Our partnership also brings us back to our founding mission in 1886. It’s wonderful to see this principle being revived for a new generation of service horses, helping us enhance their wellbeing both during and after their working lives.”

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The life and legacy of the late Dame Jilly Cooper will be honoured at Cheltenham racecourse with a special tribute to the much loved author.

A memorial bench will be unveiled on the crescent walkway overlooking the parade ring on Countryside Day (13 November). The Retreat bar will also be renamed for the November meeting (13 to 15 November) to The Rutshire Arms, in a nod to Jilly’s work.

“Mum adored everything about Cheltenham – the fabulous racing, the wonderful horses, the glamorous people and of course the champagne,” said Felix Cooper and Emily Tarrant, Jilly’s son and daughter, in a statement.

“She would be both utterly delighted and thrilled that Countryside Day this year is being held in her honour. Thank you to everyone involved.”

The unveiling of the bench will take place ahead of racing, and more details of further celebrations are set to be announced.

Cheltenham racecourse chief executive Guy Lavender said: “Dame Jilly was a wonderful lady with a huge zest for life. Her passion for the sport was undeniable, and in particular her love of the racecourse and the Cotswolds.

“We are delighted that her family will be able to join us on Countryside Day and, along with the rest of the racing community, help us to celebrate in a way that Jilly would have wanted.”

The celebration will take place the same week as the second part of series two of Rivals, the TV series based on Dame Jilly’s Rutshire chronicles, is released on Disney+ (11 November).

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If you’re looking for a lovely – and horse-themed – alternative to the usual chocolate Advent calendar, look no further than the 2026 Schleich Horse Club Advent Calendar, which currently has 20% off at Amazon.

If you’re like me and looking for horsey Christmas gifts for children at discounted prices, this one is not to be missed. Forget daily sugar rushes – as one of the best horse-themed Advent calendars, this Schleich set brings 24 days of horsey surprises, imaginative play and festive fun.

John Lewis has matched the 20% off price – if you’d prefer to shop there – but we can’t find it as low anywhere else.

More about the Schleich Advent Calendar

This Advent calendar contains a total of 32 pieces, including exclusive mare and foal figures that you won’t find elsewhere.

Behind each of the 24 doors is a new surprise, so as Christmas approaches, your young horse lover can gradually building an exciting Horse Club playset.

This Advent calendar set is designed to inspire imaginative storytelling – and the pieces can also be combined with other Schleich Horse Club sets for even more adventures.

What is Schleich?

Schleich is a German toy manufacturer famous for its high-quality, hand-painted plastic animal figurines and detailed playsets.

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Wondering what horse racing is on TV this week? Or how to watch each race, wherever you are in the world? You’ve come to the right place. Horse & Hound’s horse racing TV and streaming guide will keep you updated throughout the 2026/27 National Hunt season, so you don’t miss a moment of the action.

Below, you’ll find details about which races are being televised this week, which broadcasters are showing them, and how you can access that coverage.

We'll try to make it as simple and cost-effective for you to watch all the horse racing you want, with information on subscriptions, streaming deals, free trials, and free streams.

Horse racing on TV this week – at a glance

Watch horse racing on TV from anywhere

If you’re away from home during the National Hunt season and your usual coverage is geo-blocked, a VPN can help you access your favourite free streaming services from anywhere in the world by changing your device’s IP address to appear as if you’re in another country.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, where you can get an exclusive 77% off and three extra months, which offers a 100% risk-free money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

How to watch racing at Aintree

UK: Viewers can watch on ITV4 or ITVX for free or Racing TV.

Ireland: Watch on Racing TV.

US: Races will be shown on Racing TV International.

How to watch racing at Hexham

UK: In the UK, you can watch Friday's meeting at Hexham on ITV4 or ITVX. It is also available on Sky Sports Racing.

Ireland: In Ireland you can watch via Sky Sports Racing.

How to watch racing at Doncaster

UK: As with the Hexham meeting, racing from Doncaster will be available on ITV4/ITVX and Sky Sports Racing.

Ireland: In Ireland you can watch on Sky Sports Racing.

Plans and prices

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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Horse riding holiday insurance is travel insurance that covers riding as the main activity of your trip, so should you fall off you’re covered for medical treatment, getting home and losing the holiday.

If you plan to ride outside of the UK, don’t assume your horse rider insurance will cover it.

Executive director of KBIS Lawrence Gill says he wouldn’t get on a horse abroad without it.

“Riding holidays tend to take you to beautiful, remote places on horses you’ve never sat on before,” he continues. “This is the whole point, but it also means that if you do have a fall you could be a long way from a hospital.”

As Lawrence explains, being flown home with a major bone break is not something you want to be paying for yourself.

“It is also worth remembering that a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) only gets you state healthcare in Europe on the same terms as locals; it will not pay for private treatment, mountain rescue or getting you home,” he adds.

Does standard holiday insurance cover horse riding abroad?

Standard holiday insurance should not be relied upon – further interrogation of the policy wording is needed.

Lawrence Gill says when it comes to riding holiday insurance, you should never assume. “Recent research by Go.Compare found that around three in ten single-trip policies don’t include horse riding as standard. Tell the insurer exactly what you’ll be doing and get it confirmed in writing.”

While you don’t necessarily need a specialist insurer, you do need a policy that names the equestrian activity you plan to undertake.

“Many insurers class riding as a hazardous activity and want an extra premium for it, some only cover riding that’s ‘incidental’ to the trip rather than the reason for it, and others draw the line at jumping, polo, cattle work or riding without a hat,” says Lawrence.

Your UK horse or rider insurance won’t fill the gap either.

“While some membership policies give liability cover abroad for a limited period, none of them pay medical bills or get you home, so you still need proper travel cover,” confirms Lawrence.

What does good horse riding holiday insurance cover?

As Lawrence explains, good horse riding holiday insurance comes down to what is stated in the fine print.

“Riding should named as a covered activity with no catch,” says Lawrence, who also flags emergency medical treatment, repatriation and air ambulance as key terms to look for.

“Plus, search and rescue if you’re heading somewhere remote, and cancellation cover, including if you’re hurt in a fall at home a fortnight before you go,” he adds.

“On top of that I’d look for personal liability, in case your horse kicks another guest’s or you damage someone’s property, and personal accident.”

Lawrence also points out that riders should check the medical limit suits where they’re going. “The US and Canada are very expensive places to need a hospital.”

If you’re taking your own hat, riding boots and body protector, check baggage cover, too.

“And read the small print on hats,” Lawrence advises. “Some policies won’t pay if you weren’t wearing one, which is a good rule to follow anyway.”

Horse riding holiday insurance for UK breaks

Planning a horse riding holiday in the UK, or looking for scenic horse riding locations elsewhere in the country but not in your local area? Jordan Brownless, claims and customer experience manager at The Insurance Emporium says suitable cover might form part of your existing horse rider insurance – provided the holiday and planned activities fall within the existing policy terms.

“Riding holidays can take many forms,” he says. “Some riders may want to take their own horse away, while others may choose a holiday where a horse is provided to enjoy riding somewhere new without the logistics and expense of transporting their own horse.”

The Insurance Emporium’s horse rider policies cover damage, loss, and liability arising whilst in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man and don’t cover overseas horse riding.

“Horse rider insurance could provide reassurance when you're riding away from home, particularly as you’re often in unfamiliar surroundings and riding horses you may not know,” continues Jordan. “Benefits such as personal accident cover and public liability cover can be especially valuable on a riding holiday, as it ensures riders have cover in place for any unexpected situations that can arise.”

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In episode 182 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, sponsored by FMBs Therapy Systems, Olympic dressage team gold medallist Laura Tomlinson talks to our dressage editor Oscar Williams about her up and coming horses, the changes to the grand prix dressage tests in 2027 and juggling motherhood with riding at top level.

In this episode, Laura kicks off by talking about her rising star eight-year-old Ostmarks Digal, who won the Fairfax Saddles PSG gold and the D&H gold inter I at the LeMieux nationals, followed by the Future Elite dressage title at HOYS.

To hear Laura’s thoughts on the rest of her current string of horses, judges’ scoring, the upcoming changes to the FEI grand prix dressage tests for 2027, and much more, listen to the latest episode of the podcast.

Want to listen to more podcasts?

Every episode is available for H&H fans to listen to via your favourite podcast app, as well as here on the website. Search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your preferred podcast app and click subscribe to be notified about each new episode.

• View all episodes of The Horse & Hound Podcast

Whatever your preferred discipline, there is so much to enjoy listening to in our podcasts. We love to hear your feedback on any of our podcasts, so please do send your thoughts to pippa.roome@futurenet.com

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