Innholdsfortegnelse for 9-May-2024 i Horse & Hound

HAVING very much enjoyed Royal Windsor last week (report, p44), I’m into the swing of the competition season and cannot wait for Badminton. Whether you are heading to the five-star in person – I hope you’ve bought tickets in advance – or are watching on Badminton TV, you will want to have Pippa Roome’s superlative form guide to hand (p30). I’m particularly looking forward to watching Libby Seed (interview, p18) – who inspires amateur riders everywhere. I’ll be glued to horseandhound.co.uk throughout the event, finding out who has gone into the lead, how the judges are marking and how the course is riding. And I’ll have this form guide on my lap or in my bag too, feeling completely in the know about each combination and their chances this year.…

IN THE NEWS FASTORSLOW The Martin Brassil-trained eight-year-old and jockey JJ Slevin defended their Punchestown Gold Cup crown (1 May), overturning Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs. VANIR KAMIRA Trevor Dickens’ 19-year-old eventing star has been longlisted for the children-on-horses dressage Euros with her owner’ 13-year-old granddaughter, Annabelle Wesley. HONEYSUCKLE The mare’s silks were sold for €105,000 (£89,870) at auction to Peter Molony, to raise funds for the new Jack de Bromhead Equine Therapy Centre run by ChildVision in Dublin.…

Showjumper Joe Whitaker and his wife Fiona welcomed their fourth child, a baby girl named Bonnie, on 28 April. The couple said: “Our hearts are so full”. Dressage rider Edward Gal and Total US returned to competition at the Exloo CDI (1–5 May). The combination’s last international outing was the Tokyo Games. Irish trainer Willie Mullins’ phenomenal season continued when he broke his own world record for the most Grade One victories in a season on 2 May. France’s Pierre Le Goupil will replace Ian Stark as the Maryland 5 Star cross-country course-designer from 2025, following Ian’s retirement this year. Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien was inducted into the British Flat racing hall of fame in a ceremony during the Guineas Festival at Newmarket on 4 May.…

oscar.williams@futurenet.com @oscarw_dr THE Winter Dressage Championships at Addington were a fabulous opportunity for British horses to experience a bustling and atmospheric competition venue. My home-bred Full Moon certainly could do with some more practice! He felt fabulous at the smaller shows and in the warm-up at Addington, but I lost his focus going into the ring. He didn’t lose his head or get stressed but nothing flowed the way it should have and little mistakes crept in as I was wrestling the tradestands for his attention. It’s fantastic to have competitions like that across the levels to prepare our young horses for bigger occasions in the future and the experience has strengthened our partnership even if it was not our best. Next for me will be Hickstead Premier League with…

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A DARTMOOR trotted to the ridden senior pony title. Rebecca Hartland’s 19-year-old Collstone Bonanza (Jack) and Myles Hartland, 10, won the senior class of 24 ponies en route to the tricolour, ahead of Alison Gordon’s 15-year-old Highland Balmoral Mandarin, bred by The late Queen. “Jack is such a superstar,” said Rebecca. “He’s our fun home pony; we do Pony Club and hunting with him, and Myles’ little sister has learnt to ride off the lead- rein on him. I thank my lucky stars for this pony.” FIRST WINDSOR WIN…

oscar.williams@futurenet.com @oscarw_dr HIGHLIGHTS 22–28 April Cherwell Competition Centre, Oxon A CHANGE of tactics is paying off for Ali Dane and Lusitano gelding Lidador (Baluarte Da Broa x Iberico) who won the elementary 55 with 71.45% and medium 61 with 69.83%. Although Ali has owned the nine-year-old gelding for two years, she only began riding him a year ago. “The month after I bought him, I fell pregnant and it took a year to get out competing,” said Ali. “He is very anxious and suffers from nerves. He doesn’t spook but has a whopper of a buck, which comes out when he’s nervous.” Ali explained that she now has a method for coping with the gelding at shows. “A friend now comes and helps me get on him because that is…

HIGHLIGHTS 20–28 April Stainsby Grange EC, N Yorks PARTNERS Emma Crawford and Miles O’Donnell had a fairy-tale outing at the season’s inaugural Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifiers when they each won a second round. The weekend started with a near one-two for the couple in the newcomers, where Miles set a sound lead from first-to-jump on nine-year-old Jackpot DS, before Emma entered the ring on King Louie III and came within 1.57sec of his time. Their positions held for another five riders, but second-to-last Jordan Thompson (Muzica TL) spoiled the party with a great bid that fell just 0.71sec short of Miles’s time, to oust Emma from a qualifying spot. “Emma did say that if anyone beat her, she wouldn’t mind if it was me and Jordan, as…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald QIPCO GUINEAS FESTIVAL 3–5 May Qipco Guineas Festival, Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk THE Classic generation was unwrapped in full force with Notable Speech boasting the wow factor when striking in the 2000 Guineas, before Elmalka followed up in the fillies’ equivalent during a blockbuster weekend at racing’s headquarters. Jockey William Buick expressed his delight at finally landing Saturday’s colts’ Classic at the 14th time of asking, as he was cheered back to the winner’s enclosure in the blue silks of Godolphin for trainer Charlie Appleby. “These races are incredibly hard to win, so I’m overjoyed,” said two-time champion jockey Buick, who had been placed six times in the historic race. “Notable Speech really was impressive. I’ve not very often believed in a horse as much as I have this…

ETHAN DAWES broke his riding duck with a win in the conditions (level one) novice riders at Dingley aboard Nerris Baker’s Port Of Mars (pictured). The 10-year-old gelding by Westerner is trained by Dale Peters. “He is perfect, to be fair – he jumps well and stays,” said Ethan, who rides out full-time for Dale and is working towards becoming a jockey. “He wouldn’t have any gears but he stays. He looks after me and travels well and I just leave the jumping to him and he sorts it out.” Ethan expressed his gratitude to both the owner and the trainer for his success. “I couldn’t do it without Nerris or Dale,” he said. “Dale is my mentor and I’m really lucky that Nerris has given me this opportunity to…

IT was lovely to be back in the south, seeing old friends and some new. My sister, Gillian, has a pony on loan for her daughter Lily, who is five. Like all the best ponies, this one came about through word of mouth – via a friend who also grew up hunting with the South and West Wilts and hunts there now with her husband and children. First ponies are like Mary Poppins. They work their magic with one family and then move on to the next. The new arrival is a smart little bay mare called Daisy, looking good in her late twenties, but she needed a bit of help to shed her winter coat. I set to work with the brush, pulling her mane and cutting her tail,…

Share your news story Call 0330 390 6386 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ THE FEI has set out its much-anticipated action plan to ensure “a good life” for equines – but questions remain on whether “the voice of the horse” is being heard. The first session of the 2024 FEI Sports Forum (29-30 April) was dedicated to discussing the final report of the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWC), “A good life for horses: a vision for ensuring the future involvement of horses in sport”, presented at the general assembly in November (news, 30 November), and the FEI’s proposed strategy. FEI president Ingmar de Vos described the session as “the most critical topic” of the forum, and stressed the importance of all in the industry working together to tackle welfare concerns.…

RIDERS have been warned to take care when using oral syringes after an event horse suffered a nasty wound under his tongue – and the owner’s vet son came to the rescue. Rebecca Tooley noticed that her Irish gelding Mr Blue Sky Too was drooling and appeared to be in discomfort, after being given an oral sedative for the farrier, and so called Seadown Equine. It was her son, vet Alex Tooley, who arrived. “That was the first time he’s been to me to do something that wasn’t routine,” Rebecca told H&H. “Sadly there are no mates’ rates. But I’m very proud.” Rebecca said seven-year-old Blue often needs the sedative for the farrier. “He half-reared and jumped forward as we were giving it,” she said. “He managed to cause a…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald THE theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, running from 13 May, is “Moving more for our mental health’. In our sport we move a lot, so maybe it’s a good opportunity to stop, take a breath and see how we and those around us are doing. Showjumping has a sense of community, but it can also be lonely. Travelling, whether locally or internationally takes you away from family and a sense of stability. It’s an emotionally challenging sport and while the top end may look glamorous, even the best riders in the world are under immense pressure to continually produce good results. Losing an owner or sponsor could take you from the top to the bottom. The odds are stacked against you and the statistics show…

TRUE first ridden Heniarth Teacake (pictured) went through the card to lift the BSPS Pretty Polly M&M championship with 12-year-old Freddie Lake, who has made a show ring comeback this year. “Freddie gave up riding after we competed at the RIHS in 2022 and I was heartbroken,” said Freddie’s mother Katie Griffiths, who leased the 10-year-old mare out to Bella Adam for the 2023 season, the pair qualifying for HOYS. Katie has plans for her four-year-old daughter Florence to ride Teacake in future years. “She’s a proper first pony; Freddie takes her hacking on his own and they go hunting too,” Katie added. Reserve went to the lead-rein winners, Millie Hollis and Welsh section A Woodend Marigold, led by Amy Cook. Judges Mark Robert Reeves and Steven Hulston agreed unanimously…

ROYAL WINDSOR Amateurs FULL-TIME lawyer Rose Bailey kept her cool to go one better than the reserve position she occupied here 12 months ago and lift the overall Rosettes Direct-sponsored amateur hunter championship. “I’ve finally got my Royal Windsor rug,” declared a delighted Rose, whose winning ride was her own upstanding middleweight contender Bloomfield Greystones (Liam), also reserve supreme amateur hunter at the Royal International (RIHS) last July. Rose and the nine-year-old gelding were watched from the ringside by their producer and trainer Jayne Ross, who piloted Liam to finish open hunter reserve in 2022 when the then seven-year-old was owned by Sam Powell. “I’m so lucky to have Liam – he’s the perfect gentleman. And Jayne does the most fabulous job,” added Rose, who lives in central London but…

LAURA KRAUT’S Manama Rose show stakes winner Calgary Tame was on flying form throughout the show – assisted in finding vital extra millimetres by his lightweight, rubbercoated aluminium front shoes. “When Julien Epaillard had him before me, he had no shoes, because that’s what Julien does – but I just didn’t like the feeling of it,” Laura said. “I always got the impression that the horse didn’t love the nails, so these shoes are rubber coated and they glue on. “With these shoes he feels great, he’s been really happy with them. I also have Confu in them, as well as a couple of my other horses, and they seem to really like it. “Knock on wood, they seem to stay on much better than shoes with nails and I…

oscar.williams@futurenet.com @oscarw_dr ROYAL WINDSOR 1–2 May Royal Windsor CDI4*, Windsor Castle, Berks EMILE FAURIE and his exciting mare Bellevue smashed their personal best to win the Defender CDI4* dressage freestyle. While judges weren’t unanimous in placing them as the overall winners, their artistic mark of 80.16% was easily the best, giving them a final score of 76.28%. Lewis Carrier and Diego V, third here last year, settled for second on 75.16%, with Singaporean rider Caroline Chew and Blue Hors Zatchmo third (74.99%). With this trio tightly bunched, errors were costly, and Emile capitalised on his mistake-free test. Tom Hunt composed Emile’s music for the Bordeaux mare, whom Emile has been competing internationally for 16 months. “She’s so elegant that you can’t have anything too dramatic as it’ll overpower her,” said…

AT their first summer campaign show at Myerscough College, Lancashire, Andrew Hackett and six-year-old Westfalian gelding Escalade, won prelim 19 with 76.46% and novice 38 with 71.94% Escalade was bred by Gestüt Gut Neuenhof KG in Germany, who owns his sire Escolar. “I bought him as a two-year-old and then produced him myself,” explained Andrew. “He’s training at elementary and medium at home, and I plan to get him qualified for the prelim and novice regionals and then have a go at a few higher levels. He’s very capable. “He has been a bit silly at shows as a five-year-old, but I was surprised with how mature he was this time. He’s very good at using his body and is a fun horse who always puts a smile on my…

NANCY LYONS TEEHAN, 10, proved a chip off the Lyons family block when securing her first HOYS 133cm worker ticket on the evergreen 20-year-old Tybroughney Cloud, who produced the only clear and also stood reserve in the Festival pony finale. “Cloudy is a legend,” said mother Louise, whose sister is Kelly Ward. “He does everything from Pony Club minimus and tetrathlon to open workers. He has taught many young riders to event and show, and he has given Nancy so much confidence.” Not to be outdone, Louise – also a successful eventer at the top level – was in the ribbons too, with a haul including the champion performance working hunter title riding Lady Pereira Blackwood’s imposing Irish Draught Clandeboye.…

VICKI HANCOX and Petti Cash (pictured) enjoyed a successful weekend after they clinched victory in the 93-strong 100 showjumping, were part of the second-placed team in that class and finished as runners-up individually in the 105 showjumping. “She has jumped seven clear rounds – you can’t ask for more than that,” said the Worcester RC member who jointly owns the 10-year-old mare with Joyce Brown. “I had to have my dog, Sidney, put to sleep yesterday so I nearly didn’t come. He was my best mate and I’m absolutely devastated. “I’ve been trying for years to win a [British Riding Clubs] BRC individual title. It’s such a hard thing to do as you’ve got to be careful and quick, but the luck of the gods and having Sidney looking down…

IN THE NEWS BELLEVUE The 13-year-old, ridden by Emile Faurie, topped the CDI4* grand prix freestyle at Royal Windsor (2 May), the mare’s first show this year, with a score of 76.28%. Report, p72. SIRE DU BERLAIS The thrice Cheltenham Festival winner, owned by JP McManus and trained by Gordon Elliott, sustained a fatal injury during the Stayers’ Hurdle at Punchestown (2 May). FIRST RECEIVER The King’s ex-racehorse scored a double victory at Royal Windsor, taking the Retraining of Racehorses open in-hand title, plus the thoroughbred ridden show horse series accolade.…

▲ WEIRDNESS A rider was spotted in shock. “I don’t know what happened,” she breathed. “I went to the tack shop for two things – and came out with just those two.” Wait. What? Mulder and Scully, to the yard! ▲ TEARS Spotted at a show, a tiny rider in tears – because she had wanted a rosette of a different colour, to complete her set. She had a winning one though, so overall, not a bad day. ▲ HOBBY HORSES The craze is taking off, and many, including riders, are keen. “If I did it, I think my hobby horse would run out and buck me off,” sighed one H&H reader. Happens more than you might think… ▼ WORK Overheard at the yard: “It wasn’t a great day -but…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. @ horseandhound instagram.com/horseandhound facebook.com/horseandhound SET THE STANDARD IF breed societies do not do more to support performance ponies – while maintaining breed standard, conformation and way of going – we will lose the individuality of our native ponies forever. Take Shetlands, for which the Shetland Performance Awards Scheme was set up to promote the breed’s versatility. The scheme, recognised by the breed society but run by volunteers, covers everything from fun rides to dressage, hunting and more. Our two-day national performance show supports riders of all abilities and disciplines too. “We risk losing the individuality of our natives” LUCY BEARCROFT We also champion those who do charity work while promoting the breed and have raised over £35,000 in…

THEY may call her Angel, but Heartbreaker Star Quality was not a match made in heaven for Libby Seed in the early days. Libby was handed the mare as a sales livery when the mare was a six-year-old, and “didn’t get on with her at all”. “I used to ride for Carolyn Bates, eventing her stallion Philanderer,” says Libby, 26. “I would have seen Angel in the field as a youngster, but I never picked her out. Carolyn had her sold as a six-year-old, but the day she was due to leave, she cut her eye in the stable and got a virus. They thought she might go blind. So Carolyn sent her to me to sell.” The eye duly resolved, although it’s now a different colour and slightly cloudy,…

PAIN relief for horses is almost entirely based around either non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or opioid medicines like pethidine or butorphanol. There is a potent opioid analgesic, fentanyl, which is preferable to some others as it has fewer side effects, such as slowing the bowel and causing colic. Fentanyl has to be given by intravenous injection, the pain-relieving effects of which last for no more than 30 minutes. If fentanyl is used for pain relief, it must be given in a continuous drip, which is often inconvenient or impractical. In human medicine, fentanyl patches are stuck to patients’ skin and the pain killer is slowly absorbed through the skin over a long period. Vets in the US have investigated whether fentanyl skin patches might be a possibility for horses. They…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald ROYAL WINDSOR 1–5 May Royal Windsor, Windsor Castle, Berks MARTIN FUCHS took a chance bringing only one horse to Royal Windsor, but his faith in Leone Jei’s exceptional talent was rewarded when he took home the Rolex grand prix. It was the second consecutive year that the Swiss rider has secured the €125,000 (£106,990) first prize here, having piloted another extraordinary horse, Connor Jei, to victory over Ben Maher and Explosion W in 2023. “There’s usually a lot of pressure on the one class, not having any other chances, but I felt very confident after a good round on Friday,” said Martin, who had jumped a relaxed warm-up in the 1.55m Defender stakes. “I knew today after I walked the course that the jump-off would suit us very…

AFTER four years of suffering from uveitis, Stephanie Graves’ gelding, Rockwell Blue, had one of his eyes removed in February and is back winning between the white boards. The pair won two elementaries at Cherwell, one with over 73%. “I’ve had ‘RB’ since he was three,” said Stephanie, who bought the now 10-year-old from Brightwells. “We did lots with him as a four- and five-year-old but he began to struggle with uveitis. He wasn’t enjoying being ridden and became unrideable, downing tools after 10 minutes, and in the end, we stopped riding him and kept him as a pet.” After a bad flare-up at the beginning of this year, it was advised that he have the affected eye removed. “We think he was getting quite intense headaches so we had…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle HIGHLIGHTS 23–28 April Cirencester Park (2), Glos BEANIE STURGIS and Packer Moose made light work of the sticky ground conditions to blitz around the cross-country in one of the fastest times of the day en route to victory in intermediate section I. “I certainly didn’t set out to go fast, but she’s a rangey thoroughbred with a high cruising speed and we both know how to go in the mud,” explained Beanie, who put her decades of experience in the hunting field to good use. The pair added 1.2 time-penalties across country, plus a rail down in the showjumping, to their dressage score of 29.1. This was a first win at the level for Packer Moose, who was bred by her owner, Caroline Brooks, and named by Caroline’s…

AGAINST THE ODDS CO WATERFORD schoolteacher Dee Kinsella was delighted when her home-produced 18-year-old small hunter Tullyroan Cracker (Tom, pictured) – amateur and veteran supreme here – stood reserve supreme ridden horse. This is the pair’s first season back after a horrific horsebox accident more than two years ago in which Tom badly damaged a foreleg. “A tractor drove into us as we were leaving a competition,” explained Dee. “Even after 18 months of treatment with the vet, physio and farrier trying literally everything under the sun, I decided enough was enough and retired Tom to grass. I used to bring him in when the weather got really bad and last Christmas, he was jogging beside me and I noticed he was sound. “After this was confirmed, we did a lot…

catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123 TIM LANGLEY was a top-class professional huntsman who served the Berkeley for 30 years and was held in great esteem, both in his own country and throughout the land. I was privileged to have been able to watch him hunting the Berkeley hounds with such skill when I was an agricultural student. Many years later, and some 40 years ago now, following his retirement, I went to see him and his wife Alison in their cottage at Berkeley to ask him about his career. Remembering the pre-war days when he started, he said a huntsman only had to please his master and the whipper-in had to please his huntsman. He emphasised how the role of the post-war professional huntsman changed. “These days you have to please a lot…