Innholdsfortegnelse for 3-Mar-2016 i Horse & Hound

THERE has been a global outcry among Arabian horse enthusiasts following the replacement of three experienced and influential figures, who were in charge of Poland’s state studs of Janow Podlaski and Michalow, writes Marilyn Sweet. On Friday, 19 February it became clear that stud directors Marek Trela and Jerzy Bialobok, as well as the chief Arabian horse specialist Anna Stojanowska, had been “released from employment” by the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Property Agency. All three served several years being mentored by the previous directors and inspector before taking over their roles and are held in high regard as top judges. Marek Trela is currently the vice president of the World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO). The studs are regarded worldwide as centres of excellence of Arabian horses, with…

INGRID KLIMKE The German eventer underwent surgery for an acute inflammation of the large intestine. Ingrid plans to be back in the saddle in three to four weeks. Her planned public conference in Münster Handorf has been postponed to 12 November. DAVID BECKHAM The football legend paid a special visit to Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre with his daughter Harper on 25 February. He was pictured at the Riding for the Disabled Association centre holding the Pony Club’s mascot Pete the Pony. MARILYN LITTLE US event rider Marilyn returned to her showjumping roots on 28 February, winning a World Cup qualifier at Live Oak International. She was also victorious in the 1.50m class the day before (27 February). GEMMA HOGG Micky Hammond’s assistant trainer has been named employee of the year…

THERE are plans for a new Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) and British Racing School rehabilitation and fitness centre in Newmarket. “There is a natural synergy working with the British Racing School in Newmarket and, together, we are at the very early stages of exploring what we might be achievable,” said Lisa Hancock of the IJF, which is H&H’s charity of the year. “Our current two centres, Oaksey House in Lambourn and Jack Berry House in Malton, play an important role in both rehabilitation and day-to-day fitness, and if we can, we would love to be able to offer Newmarket-based jockeys a similar level of support. “We also hope to be able to work really closely with the other charities already based in Newmarket.”…

A BIN MAN A video of a kind bin man helping a horse and rider in Wales on 21 February has gone viral on the Internet. The driver stopped his refuse lorry and fed the spooking horse a carrot before making sure he had passed safely. INJURED JOCKEYS FUND (IJF) Welsh Grand National-winning trainer Kerry Lee accepted a cheque for £200 in aid of H&H’scharity of the year, the IJF, when she opened Hafren Veterinary Group’s new surgery at Knighton, Powys. The Welsh surgery is near Kerry’s family-run stables. LADIES’ POLO British teams took the top three positions at the ladies’ snow polo tournament at Bad Gastein, Austria (19-21 February). A mother and daughter team from the UK won. HORSES IN WALES A new S4C television series focuses on the…

A more “modern and unisex” look is part of a brand revamp by the Pony Club, writes Lucy Pearson. The organisation, set up in 1929, recently underwent a brand “refresh” in conjunction with strategic brand consultants Harrison:Fraser. It reviewed how the Pony Club is perceived, how it can be moved forward and refreshed the Pony Club’s roundel. The new design still retains the traditional illustration. There is a new Pony Club badge, and new concepts for garments and stationery. Harrison:Fraser previously worked on a similar concept within racing’s “Racing For Change” model in 2009. The Pony Club project began in 2015. The process is a major step forward as it is the first time the brand has seen any kind of meaningful refresh since its inception. Opinions from regional volunteers,…

BEWARE CONCUSSION Sir — I wanted to commend you on the article on rider concussion (news, 18 February) and warn readers never to take seemingly mild concussion lightly. Some six months ago, my sister, Hilary, took a fall from her young horse and landed on concrete. Her riding hat was split in two and she seemed dazed and confused immediately after the fall. However, 30 minutes and a cup of tea later, she was back on her feet and seemed fine, so we refrained from taking her to hospital and she was back in the saddle the very next day. Weeks later, a horse reared and its front shoe glanced off her skull, causing the smallest bump to appear. Soon after, Hilary started to have problems concentrating and remembering things.…

SPORT HORSE BREEDING SPECIAL 52-PAGE PULL-OUT • Inside the Heniarth stud • Belissimo M stallion profile • Guide for the first-time breeder • Back to black: coat colour basics CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL PREVIEW Gold Cup prospect Cue Card at home; H&H interviews the clerk of the course Ñ plus meet Don Cossack EVENTING First report of the season plus Eventing Life SHOWJUMPING Train with Tim Gredley, plus action from Morris, Keysoe and Doha COLUMNISTS Mark Todd, Graham Fletcher, Carl Hester, Richard Johnson and Darren Edwards…

Keeping fit • We have dogs, who are walked every day, so I either cycle or power walk with them. • The kids go to swimming club so once a week I’ll get in the pool and do about 60 lengths in half an hour. It really benefits my cardiovascular fitness and I don’t get out of breath when I’m riding. Warm-up routine • I try and replicate what I do at home as much as I can in the warm-up. It helps Mr Hyde as he is very sensitive and can easily get uptight, so it keeps him relaxed when he is asked to do something familiar. In the zone • My mental preparation at shows takes place when I’m actually on the horses. We often have the children…

EQUINE Australia’s head team vet Graham Potts says that there is rarely a serious issue with horses arriving from the southern hemisphere to event in the UK. “Modern systems mean that a horse tends to cope just as well as humans do and their health isn’t compromised,” he explains. “Respiratory problems can occur due to horses standing on the plane for so long. Diet management is also paramount once they arrive to avoid tying up due to a drastic change in the type and quality of forage.” “Once horses arrive some can go off the boil. If a rider brings a horse over for a one-off, high-level competition, more pressure is often placed on the horse to perform on a day-to-day basis over a four- to six-week period.” He states…

ANDREW FELL designs the CIC3* and CCI3* tracks at Ballindenisk, and last year was responsible for CIC3* and CCI3* courses in Hungary and a CIC3* in Romania. He has also designed in Bulgaria and Slovakia, as well as Britain. He talks about his work in Hungary… “It was the first track I had designed there, and I hadn’t seen it at all, even on video, before I went there for the first time. The site was a long, narrow strip with an existing track (right). My builder was very good — but didn’t speak any English! “I focused so hard on trying to make the track flow within the very tight site that I think it ended up flowing a bit too much — the riders made nothing of it…

MOUTHGUARDS can be bought and self moulded. However, those custom-made by dentists, which will fit your mouth exactly and protect your teeth and gums properly, are recommended. Depending on your age they may need replacing as your jaw develops and changes shape. Mouthguards are made by taking an impression of your teeth, noting the way your jaws bite together. OPRO is the largest supplier of custom-fit mouthguards internationally — the first mouthguards in the world to achieve CE Type Certification to the latest standards. They come in three different impacts for different sports and cost £38.95-£47.75. However, a spokesman for the company echoed the view of the doctors, telling H&H : “There is not any way that we would be able to confirm that our mouthguards do protect against concussion;…

Branduardi EVENTER Matthew Wright and his girlfriend Victoria Peace’s Branduardi scored 67.24% on their first ever attempt at prix st georges (PSG) at Vale View EC, Leics (21 February). The eight-year-old was bought from Germany as a six-year-old and Victoria rode him before having a baby. “I started riding him and got quite into the dressage,” said Matthew. “He’s a serious moving horse, with a good brain and very trainable. We think he has huge potential. “That was his first time out for a while and I was really impressed with his score - we missed a change and the judge told me that if we’d got it, we’d have been pushing 70%.” Matthew has enlisted the help of Ian Woodhead and Conrad Schumacher for training in the coming months…

SEEMINGLY out of the blue and with immediate effect, the FEI is going to charge the owners of horses that have prefixes added to their existing name a commercial rate of £979 for an FEI passport. Birth names — including prefixes — will incur no extra charge. Who saw that coming? However, the subject is hardly new. The addition of prefixes has long been a bone of contention with breeders, especially as their own name often gets lost once this has happened. Prefixes confuse people as they can easily presume the horse with a prefix to have been bred by the owners of the prefix. Why wouldn’t they? After all, there are many studs that have their own prefix. There will now be plenty of disgruntled producers who will possibly…

€50,000 in one day THE Killinick Harriers may not be the biggest hunt in Ireland, but it certainly punches above its weight when it comes to fundraising. Secretary Philip Hore is suffering from cancer and so the Killinick decided to hold a charity ride last December in aid of St Vincent’s Hospital Dublin Oncology Unit and St Anne’s Day Care Ward, where Philip is being treated. Two hundred riders attended the ride, which was over the Killinick’s finest country, and there was an auction afterwards, which included bidding for John Stafford to shave off his trademark moustache — this lot eventually went for € 1,200 (£936). In total, the day raised nearly € 50,000 (£39,000).…

CHLOE WINCHESTER had a little compensation for missing out on trips to Al Ain and Spain last month by notching up a double in the 1.40m and grand prix on Ed Howard’s Zandokan H. “My top horse Twigg [Avoca Valkyrie] is off with injury, so I said goodbye to jumping on the Nations Cup team in Al Ain and going to Spain — it isn’t worth travelling with just the young horses — but luckily we have caught Twigg’s injury early so she will only need three months off,” said Chloe. Zandokan stepped up to the plate admirably here. “I’d moved him up to 1.40m classes and area trials last summer, but jumping outdoors is entirely different to indoors in tight arenas,” said Chloe. “The 1.40m was so fast, but…

‘He looked so fantastic turned out that we thought we might have one last go’Rose Dobbin on ‘unretiring’ Rocking Blues WHILE the last-minute auditions for Cheltenham took place at Kempton, the best story of the weekend unfolded at Newcastle, where Rose Dobbin saddled the once-retired Rocking Blues to win the Betfred Eider Chase, her big local chase. Eleven-year-old Rocking Blues travelled supremely well through the race and, going a mile further than he had ever been before, the only doubt his trainer could have had during the race was that he was almost doing too much for the stable’s conditional Lorcan Murtagh, who is also her husband Tony’s godson. But three out Murtagh sent the lightly raced chaser on and he galloped clear like he had just jumped in. His…

THE ladies’ open saw 10/1 shot Masterleaderman ease clear of the field to give jockey Harriet Tucker her first taste of success at Black Forest Lodge (28 February), writes Megan Furse. Harriet owns and trains the eight-year-old by Beneficial and has been based at Chloe Roddick’s Somerton yard since October. “I didn’t expect to win,” said Harriet. “He jumped up with the leaders at the ditch and I just tried to keep it together.” This is Harriet’s third season riding and she has had Masterleaderman since August. Robin De Souza continued his winning streak in the confined, making it four wins out of four for trainer Dean Summersby and owners Tony and Eileen Worth. “Robin’s jumping today proved that he would want the ground a bit softer,” said Dean. “The…

THE Gerald Bailey-trained Gunmoney fought hard for a third successive men’s open victory at Garthorpe (28 February), pipping Real Milan (Jack Jones) by a head in an exciting finale. “He never felt like he was going to be beaten. Gunmoney jumped a lot better than he did last time out, where he made a few holes,” said jockey John Russell, who was kicked in the face later that day after falling from Easythingsarebest in the restricted. He was taken to hospital, where X-rays showed no broken bones and a full recovery is expected. Awesome George (Lara Mahon) dominated the ladies’ open, eventually winning for trainer Martin Weston by ¾ of a length. “George ran away with me a bit,” said Lara. “But when we turned around the top and started…

SALSIFY Twice winner of the Foxhunter at the Cheltenham Festival, Salsify will not bid for what would have been an unprecedented third victory in the race next month. The 11-year-old’s trainer Rodger Sweeney is now aiming the horse at Aintree instead. VITANA V Spanish grand prix rider Morgan Barbançon Mestre has sold her number one horse to the South Korean Samsung team. The 14-year-old Dutch warmblood mare will be ridden by Yoora Chung and will be aimed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. BURNMOOR CARADOG The very successful M&M working hunter pony has been put down aged 22 due to laminitis. The Welsh section D gelding went to the Horse of the Year Show eight years running, jumping clear every year with Leanne Cox. SILVERMOON The Trakehner breeding stallion has died…

ANYONE registering a horse with a commercial prefix to compete under FEI rules must now pay CHF 1,000 (about £723), following a clarification to the FEI fee structure, writes Pippa Roome. Previously commercial prefixes were charged at CHF 1,035 (about £748) per horse, but this was not consistently applied. The new cost will be levied on companies, stables, people and associations. Breeders are exempt if the horse has had a prefix since birth. “We now have transparency and clarity — the same process for everyone,” said an FEI spokesperson. “This system is designed to benefit everyone, from breeders to sponsors who see the considerable value of naming horses, thanks to media coverage, including television and on social media, and the on-site profile at events.” Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horses…

WITH just three days until the 6 March cut-off for Olympic individual qualifying spots, sky-high scores awarded at Moscow CDI last weekend (26-28 February) have sparked controversy. Russian rider Inessa Merkulova (Mister X) received a huge new personal best of 82.2% in the grand prix and 83.15% in the freestyle. Their previous top scores were 76.46% and 81.37% respectively — also achieved in Russia. Although Inessa was already set to claim an Olympic place for Russia through her group C ranking, her compatriot Marina Aframeeva (Vosk), who was also awarded marks much higher than her previous top scores (71.9% and 75.63%) with 76.78% and 78.43%, has pushed Poland’s Beata Stremler out of a qualifying slot. Aside from qualifying through the regional grouping criteria, six riders will qualify through the FEI…

THE final of showjumping’s FEI Nations Cup series could be held outside of Europe for the first time if a host bid from New York is successful. Old Salem Farm, in Westchester County, New York, has bid for both the 2017 and 2018 finals. Alan Bietsch, manager of Old Salem Farm, said: “The FEI Nations Cup jumping final presents the world’s best in international team competition. “We are confident that Old Salem Farm offers a home suitable for that calibre of competition.” Old Salem Farm, based in North Salem, currently hosts the $200,000 Longines FEI World Cup New York, part of the recently created Longines FEI World Cup Jumping North American League starting this season. “The more attention we draw to North American venues, events and talent, the stronger our…

TRAVELLING A horse had a lucky escape after falling through the floor of a horsebox on 21 February. Spencer was anaesthetised and cut free by Hampshire firefighters and is making a good recovery. LADBROKES The betting company reported post-tax statutory profit of £5.1m for 2015 on 23 February — down £35.9m on 2014. The company said this was due to the impact of increased tax and regulation. A WANDERING DONKEY Staff at a chemists in Wirral were shocked when a donkey walked into their store on 5 February. He was captured using a pair of tights. A RIDING SCHOOL The owner of Sunshine Riding School in Luton, Beds, has said local building work is putting riders and horses at risk. Luton Borough Council approved a 19-house development next to the…

EVENTING The season kicks off on 5 March with events at Isleham, Moreton, Aston-le-Walls and Askham Bryan College. www.britisheventing.com DRESSAGE Houghton Hall’s British Dressage winter regionals will be held at the Cambridgeshire venue on 1-4 March. www.hheqc.co.uk BHS CONVENTION Nick Turner hosts the British Horse Society National Convention on 7 March at Hartpury College, Glos. Ben Hobday and Stephen Clarke will also be speaking. There will be demonstrations and an “ask the expert” session. www.bhs.org.uk SHOWING Go to the British Show Pony Society Wales winter show on 5 March at Talfedw, Tregaron. www.bsps.com SHOWJUMPING A pony premier show is being held at Keysoe, Beds, on 5-6 March. www.keysoe.com NATIONAL HUNT Enjoy racing in the Scottish Borders at Kelso’s Premier Hurdle Day on 5 March. www.kelso-races.co.uk POINT-TO-POINT This week’s fixtures include…

I welcome the fact that more research is being done on hat safety and that helmet manufacturer Charles Owen is to receive a grant from the EU (news, 18 February). But yet again the hat industry is missing a crucial point. We are told to replace our hats after a fall or a knock. But there is no mechanism for testing whether a hat is sufficiently damaged to merit the expense of replacement. So inevitably we go to the trouble of changing our hats only after severe damage – and then with a sense of reluctance. I cannot see why a simple device cannot be incorporated into a hat – a coloured glass tube for instance – which indicates when a hat is no longer fit for purpose. DAVID PEASE…

My secret weapon is... Arnica! I eat the tablets before I ride on a raceday, and put some in the bath if I have a fall. I use arnica gel on the horses’ legs. I really think it helps any ache or pain. My learning curve… Realising that not everyone is your friend, and not everyone believes that you should treat people in the way that you would like to be treated yourself. My best time-saving tip… Having a skip next to every stable with a hoof-pick tied to it — you never lose the hoof-pick. My earliest equestrian memory… Going hunting with Mum, on the lead-rein, aged six. I followed her over a wall, but there was wire and I ended up turning a somersault. Mum just picked me…

IAN STARK believes that no one should design a track for more than seven or eight years. “I think all events are in danger of sticking with one designer for too long,” he says. “It can take three or four years to get what you want, especially if you are taking over an existing track, but after year five you are tweaking your own track. It isn’t necessarily a healthy thing for the sport.” Mark Phillips’ response is this: “At one-, two- and three-star, you can change designers frequently. At four-star, it probably takes three or four years to understand the ground and venue, as the margin for error is much smaller. Four-star design is like four-star competition: not for everybody.”…

SAM GRIFFITHS SAYS: “As event riders, when we ride into the dressage arena we want to ride like Carl Hester, when we go into the showjumping arena we want to ride like Scott Brash and when we go across country we want to ride like the masters, Mark Todd, William Fox-Pitt or Andrew Nicholson. “I believe the first step to this is thinking like those riders - what is running through their minds before they get on the horse, while they are warming up, as they enter the start box or arena and halfway through the test or round? We so often hear ‘it’s all in the mind’ and eventing is no different. “A lot of this will be to do with coping with nerves - I am sometimes asked…

Fiona Stryjewski and Devon B FIONA achieved a lifetime ambition when topping the 24-strong elementary restricted with Devon B, an eight-year-old by Sir Sinclair. “I can’t believe I qualified,” she said. “I felt he was really tense and I sent a message to Mum saying that he had his sparkly pants on but they were a little on the tight side! “I’ve taken things quietly - he’s started to sparkle in the last five months and has filled out and matured. “He knocked over a flowerpot once the bell rang to start but really tried his heart out. I was pleasantly surprised and knew we couldn’t have done any better. All the work is there, I just need to get the balance of energy without tension. To know I’ll be…

An unexpected addition • THERE was an unusual addition to the catalogue of racehorses and selle Français horses at the Deauville mixed sale on 8 February in the form of the grand prix dressage gelding Rossini. Competed internationally extensively in 2014 and 2015 by Anne-Sophie Serre (France), the horse was auctioned as part of the bankruptcy liquidation of the registered owner, Biosem. The 13-year-old by Rivero II achieved a knock-down price of € 83,000 (£65,000). Shifting stables • OLIVIA OAKELEY’S grand prix horse Donna Summer has been leased to Ellie McCarthy following a six-month stint with Ottilie Bardsley.…

Master and huntsman: Johnnie Roche Whippers-in: Albert Whitehead, Paul Scallan and Michael Murphy Kennelman: Shane Robinson Kennels: Newtown, Bridgetown, Co. Wexford Meets: Mondays and Thursdays, 12 noon Joint hon-secretary: Philip Hore and Scott Mernagh, 00 353 87 2052993. Note — please make sure you book well in advance as the Killinick restrict their fields to 50. Hounds: 25½ couple of harriers crossed with Old English foxhounds. Johnnie Roche said: “In 2013 I drafted in five couple of Old English foxhounds. I think that the foxhound/harrier cross is much steadier on the line, which allows the field to stay in touch.” Quote of the day: “A man gave him to me when I put a gearbox in his transit van” — Charlie Doyle, 64, on how he acquired his first horse,…

Troy III CHLOE WINCHESTER has recently acquired the rides on five of Michael Bates’ home-bred horses, including Troy III, a seven-year-old by Chacco Blue out of a Quidam De Revel mare. The new pairing are currently jumping at Foxhunter level, and they were placed down the line in the Blue Chip Karma performance. “I’ve only ridden him for two weeks, but he has lots of scope and wants to please,” said Chloe, who is aiming Troy at the seven-year-old classes at the Cagnes-sur-Mer and Mâcon-Chaintré shows in France in March and April.…

‘Advena By Request was a hot and difficult horse — very Australian and very thoroughbred’ IN 1993 I won the Pony Club under-25, club, zone, state and national championships in Australia with Advena By Request. He was the first horse I produced to advanced level and he made me believe that I could fulfil my dream of becoming a professional event rider. In my late teens I was a working pupil for Brook Staples and Julie Piggott while also studying for a degree in agricultural science at the University of Western Australia. Julie had Advena, then a five-year-old, in for breaking and training and I persuaded my parents to buy him. It was a bit of a gamble as he hadn’t done anything and he was quite a hot and…

A horse owner has successfully sued for compensation after a livery yard owner’s dogs lamed her mare. Sharon Bates, 49, received £7,332 from the proprietor of a DIY livery yard last week (22 February), following an accident on 1 June 2014. Her 17hh skewbald mare, Ella, was being brought in from the field by Ms Bates’ niece at 3pm when two German shepherd dogs (not pictured) “came from nowhere, chased her and bit her hindleg”. The 13-year-old horse slipped on the concrete in the attack and on vet’s advice was put on bute for two weeks, but was still lame afterwards. After a nerve block and X-ray, vets said Ella had lost a bit of bone from her front leg. They said there was too much damage to operate. The…

RIDERS around Britain could have access to safer roads, thanks to the work of a Cornish campaigner. Debbie Smith launched a petition to encourage motorists to pass wide and slow last year (14 December) after having numerous run-ins with drivers going too fast on lanes around Penzance. The petition, which also encourages riders to wear hat cameras in order to record dangerous driving, has reached more than 57,000 signatures. Ms Smith and her local MP, Derek Thomas, presented the petition to Andrew Jones, road safety minister, on 23 February. As a result of the meeting, a national THINK! campaign focusing on horses and riders is now on the cards. THINK! is a national campaign that aims to reduce the number of deaths on the roads. Mr Jones will also be…

NOMINATIONS are now open for the 2016 Virbac 3D Worming Equine suitably qualified person (SQP) of the year awards. Every SQP must maintain continuing education to ensure they are up to date with current developments, enabling them to provide accurate information when it comes to the best worming approach for your horse. With their knowledge of the key facts about different aspects of worming, such as faecal egg counts, pasture maintenance, how a horse is kept, making sure owners use the correct wormer drug and the right dose for the weight of each horse, SQPs work with owners to keep horses healthy. • Nominate at: www.3dworming.co.uk…

A Cheshire man who pretended to trade in equestrian products was jailed for four years last month (15 February) after a £2m tax fraud was exposed. Anthony Knowles, 57 of Clapgate Crescent in Widnes, submitted several suspicious VAT repayment claims to HMRC in 2013 prompting an investigation. During checks on Knowles’ VAT repayment claims, HMRC uncovered “myriad false documents and lies”. The investigation revealed that Knowles had provided officers with false paperwork, including bank statements, in a bid to convince them his multi-million pound business was booming — despite it being run from his two-bedroom council house. There were three companies registered as trading from Knowles’ home address. Eques Nobilis Ltd was described as a manufacturer of advanced-medical supplies. H2 Healthcare Ltd marketed equine products and Zone 37 Limited sold…

HENDRIK WIEGERSMA A leading figure in the equestrian world, Mr Wiegersma died on 23 February aged 65. Born in Holland, he moved to the UK aged 20 to work for Olympic gold medallist eventer Bertie Hill. He competed at international level, including at Badminton. Mr Wiegersma and his wife, Pippa, were also among British Eventing’s longest-standing event organisers. He founded West of England Stabling in 1998 and his son, Jake, became involved in running the business after Mr Wiegersma suffered a serious accident in 2011. His daughter is four-star eventer Lucy McCarthy. IZZY SQUIRE THE 19-year-old British event rider died while travelling in Vietnam on 27 February. Her sister, Beth Anderson, and fellow traveller Christian Sloan, also died. British Eventing’s (BE) Midlands region under-18 coordinator Arabella Bealby described her as…

AROUND 15,000 “invisible” foals could be being born in the UK each year, according to research by an equine welfare charity, writes Lucy Elder. World Horse Welfare contacted 66 equine passport issuing organisations (PIOs) in the UK to ask for information on the number of foals they recorded in 2014. Thirty-eight PIOs responded. Based on their statistics, plus estimates for those which did not reply, the charity calculated around 25,000 foals were born and recorded in the UK that year. “Based on a total UK equine population of 800,000 the true number is likely to be around 40,000, with thousands of foals born every year that are unrecorded,” said Roly Owers of World Horse Welfare. “We knew a good number were slipping under the radar but this is a shocking…

SADLER’S WELLS might be well-known in equestrian circles, but this month the name will be hitting the headlines because of the venue rather than the famous sire. Though there will of course be an equine twist. A new show, Golgota, will star four horses and a donkey. The performance has been devised by French horseman and artist Bartabas, who aims to bring equine theatre to the public eye. He will be appearing on horseback alongside Spanish flamenco star Andrés Marín. The stage has a rubber matting style covering for the horse’s hooves. “Inspired by the theatricality of sacred rituals, particularly the ceremonies of the Seville Holy Week, Golgota navigates the bodies of its human and animal performers through a dramatic environment of Gregorian chants and physical poetry,” reads a preview…

AS an Antipodean, I’m honoured to have been asked to guest edit this traditionally very British magazine — and I had to use the opportunity to bring a southern hemisphere spin to one of the articles (p30)! Additionally, I wanted to address safety, so we put the H&H investigating team onto mouthguards (p38). I wonder if the medical profession needs to research this more closely — specifically from an equestrian angle. Getting inside course-designers’ minds is always interesting. It takes great creativity, foresight and a natural feel for ground to create the world’s top courses and this was a perfect chance for me to discover how the best designers develop a course on virgin land (p34). The format of eventing in relation to the Olympics is a hot topic. While…

HANNAH BIGGS’ soft hands kept the bubbles from bursting in Don Caledonia’s 74.07% winning advanced medium open performance. “He’s potentially a top class horse and Hannah’s super suppleness as a rider allows him to move and she works with him not against him,” the judge at C, Mark Ruddock, commented. But Hannah had applied the word “plonker” to the Don Schufro x Welt Hit II nine-year-old (known as Archie), after their second-placed 72.22% advanced medium freestyle nearly bubbled over the previous evening. “He trotted around the outside of the arena great, but when the music started he went ‘whey hey’! I managed to keep a lid on it and do all the required movements,” she said. “In the advanced medium 98 I wanted to give him his confidence back, so…

‘A real occasion’ • HELEN GALLOP and her Summerhouse team certainly pulled out all the stops to create a championship feel at their first regionals. An innovative online system meant that riders could access scores on their iPhones within 15 minutes. “We’re competitors ourselves, so we wanted to make it a real occasion,” said Helen. • JUDGE and writer at E in the restricted novice were none other than Maria Eilberg and her mother Geri. “A lot of horses were quite spooky and the inside leg/ outside rein connection was not always there,” said Maria. “The winners showed good balance and would have been fine in the open section. With the championship atmosphere, horse and rider need to be doubly established at their level to keep concentration.”…

OLYMPIC dressage is under threat and action needs to be taken. One of the reasons dressage is under threat is because the scoring is difficult to understand. Judging is hard. There’s no doubt about that. I have the utmost respect for anyone who judges. I’m still emotionally scarred from one of my first experiences judging unaffiliated prelim: my first competitor fell off and I hadn’t revised the rules for acts of God so in my efforts to ensure fair play I left her face-planted in the arena surface while I scrabbled for the rulebook. The next competitor made no attempt to canter as the horse “wasn’t ready”. By the end, I was in utter turmoil as I’d over marked the first ones so much in my efforts not to destroy…

EMILE FAURIE has a new horse and burst out of the blocks with him, scoring 73.7% on their grand prix debut. Weekend Fun is a 15-year-old chestnut gelding by Welt Hit and is owned by Emile in partnership with Germany’s Ulli Kasselman. “I felt my way round as I don’t know him that well and rode carefully,” Emile told H&H . “I’d forgotten how nice it feels to ride a really straightforward and uncomplicated horse round a grand prix. He’s got no real weak points and he’s certainly one of the best grand prix horses I’ve ever ridden.” Emile plans to contest one more national class before testing the horse on the international stage and is looking forward to “being able to put my foot down in future”.…

“KICK on now, lads!” shouted field master Pat Whelan from behind a hairy great bank. I had been chuckling about the fact that our field master was addressing us as lads — “Hold hard, lads!”, “Keep in, lads!” — but there was something a little more ominous about this exhortation. Hounds had already been hunting for 15 minutes, after finding their fox in the plantation below Johnny Codd’s farm at Clearistown. All perfectly legal in Ireland without the confines of the Hunting Act 2004. A heady cocktail of adrenalin and Irish whiskey was pumping round my system, and we were now facing our first double bank of the day. I had always thought that a double bank was one bank followed by another, but of course I was wrong. As…

‘Young riders need to go to more high-level shows at home and have better UK facilities’ THE Furusiyya FEI five-star Nations Cups are always critical in a selection year, and this year’s series has now commenced with the first leg in Al Ain last weekend (17-20 February). While Di Lampard may say she is happy with Britain’s result — finishing equal ninth of 11 teams — I suspect she may be disappointed to have gone all the way to Abu Dhabi with a World Class-funded team and not have made the second round. It was predominantly a young, inexperienced team but you have to ask, with the World Class programme training and producing them, is this the best we can do? We finished equal to Syria. Our young riders may…

IT was a case of doubles all round for jockeys Tom Hamilton, Paul Collins and Jacqueline Coward, as well as training doubles for the latter pair. Tom’s first winner of the day came aboard debutant Over To Sam, owned and trained by Tom’s mother Wendy. The victory took Tom’s career tally to 60, including 15 under Rules. Over To Sam took it up from Moscanisi (Henry Morshead) at the last before drawing clear to score by three lengths in the open maiden for four-, five- and six-year-olds. “What a thrill. He’s a star and that’s given me more pleasure than any of my other winners,” smiled Wendy. Tom added: “Sam powered up the hill from two out and finished so full of running that I had a job to pull…