Innholdsfortegnelse for 07-Mar-2019 i Horse & Hound

WITH normal service resumed in respect of the British weather, do turn to our show day survival guide feature (p8 of the show guide) where Harry Meade once again demonstrates his terrifying attention to detail. Have you ever considered checking the wind direction before arriving at a venue to ensure you park your lorry at the correct angle to avoid horses getting the brunt of it? No, well add it to your show preparations to-do list promptly. In fact, maybe that should be something for event organisers to shout about in their marketing — “parking steward is like Carol Kirkwood in cords and will park you appropriately for all meteorological eventualities”. Failing to prepare is preparation to fail, as they say, and undoubtedly the more forethought you can give to…

H&H FESTIVAL OF EVENTING IS BACK THE H&H Festival of Eventing is to make it a hat-trick this year, with its much-anticipated return. Following two successful competitions in 2017 and 2018, the three-day unaffiliated event will again run at The College, Keysoe, from 25-27 May, with four classes from 70cm-1m. The format will be similar to an FEI CCI-L competition. There will be a rider briefing on the Friday evening (24 May) and the chance to join cross-country course-walks with an experienced trainer on the Saturday, as well as a championship atmosphere, and all-weather surfaces for the dressage and showjumping. Entries open on 1 April. • Turn to p55 for details. EVENTING FIXTURE LIST IS DELAYED THE publication date for the list of Britain’s international and championship eventing fixtures from…

Assistant trainer Sean Murray, of Roger Fell’s Arthington Barn Stables, has received the Tony Balding Award, worth £4,000, which offers racing staff the chance to further their careers. Eventer Claire Drey-Brown has received the Hannah Francis Award, set up in 2016 in memory of Hannah for inspirational young eventers, for overcoming “emotional and physical battles”. Instructor Helena Sherwood has received the Pony Club coach of the year award 2019. Helena was Minchinhampton branch’s team coach for all the area competitions last year. Eventer William Fox-Pitt finished third at the Aiken Horse Park Foundation Grand-Prix Eventing in South Carolina, USA, on catch ride Sandro’s Star owned by Hannah Salazar. Jockey Richard Kingscote has reached his 1,000th career win with Sha La La La Lee at Lingfield on 2 March. Richard said…

NIP TUCK The Olympic, World and European team silver medallist is due to make his comeback with Carl Hester at Keysoe CDI3* (15-17 March). It will be the 15-year-old’s first competition since the 2017 Europeans. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS Cameron and Mary Crawford’s eventer, ridden by Caroline Powell, has been put down aged 16 due to soundness issues. He achieved numerous top-10 results, including eighth at Burghley 2016. SPRINTER SACRE The National Hunt legend will return to Cheltenham to take part in the Retraining of Racehorses parade on 13 March. The 13-year-old lives with Vicky Roberts and is “learning to adjust to a different way of life”.…

▲PICNICS Hats off to pointing trainer and jockey Claire Hart who shared a picnicking game-changer: sausages in a flask. Mind. Blown. Plus, of course, the glass of champers in the background proved that this is a picnic we want to be on. ▲ESCAPEES And keep those hats off for the US owner of two Clydesdales who made an escape from their field and had to be rescued from a lake. “You’d need a wall like Trump wants to build to keep them in,” she said. ▲DRESSAGE LETTERS A rider asking for help to remember the letters in a long arena was given it, the best from she who said a short arena is Any Kids Enjoying Horses Cost Massively Big Funds, and the long Any Kids Venturing into Equine Sports,…

LORRY LOVE WITH regard to your ecofriendly equestrianism article (14 February), I own one of the few hybrid horse lorries around. It is a 7.5-tonne Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid, found through an advert placed by a Mercedes-Benz dealership in H&H a couple of years ago. This dealership had adapted a number of the Canter Eco Hybrid chassis into different body structures, one of which was a horse lorry. It is compact (six metres in length) with a well-appointed day living and horse area, but leaving a three-tonne payload. With a three-litre engine, 2kWh lithium ion battery and a 40kW electric motor, it comfortably carries two large horses. The braking system generates the energy for the batteries, which has reduced my fuel consumption from my previous set-up of a towing vehicle…

EMMA LAVELLE has been in the training game for over two decades and is an established National Hunt trainer, but, in her own words, she has never trained a horse as good as Paisley Park. The seven-year-old son of Oscar provided Emma and his regular jockey, Aidan Coleman, with their first Grade One in December’s Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. The gelding is four wins from four starts this season and heads into the Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle (14 March) at the Cheltenham Festival with a live chance. Since being discovered at Ireland’s Goffs Land Rover sale in 2015 by Emma, her husband and ex-jump jockey Barry Fenton, and bloodstock agent Gerry Hogan, the talented gelding has taken his connections on a rollercoaster journey — from the lows of severe…

West Wicklow, Moynihan’s Bar FROM the town of Blessington in Wicklow, south of Dublin, the road follows the River Liffey and on either side are gorse banks, places that will hold a fox, and above them the majestic open ground of the Wicklow Mountains. Not for nothing is this beautiful countryside known as “the Garden of Ireland”. Since the hunt’s formation a decade ago in 2009, this has been the country of the West Wicklow Foxhounds, who meet twice a week, one of the days being on a Sunday. Driving the hunt’s creation and present day has been former Kildare joint-master and former chairman of the Irish Masters’ of Foxhounds Association (IMFHA), Rupert Macauley. In his role as IMFHA chairman (2011-2016), Rupert represented 50 foxhound packs. “During my term, I…

Myerscough Winter Regional Championships, Lancs MELANIE PHILLIPS went home to Hereford with a huge smile after Ruxton Shogun and Ruxton Showgirl (Sasha) secured their winter championship tickets at advanced medium music gold and medium music gold. The pair are both by Showmaker out of Donna Schocolata, with nine-year-old Shogun the youngest by a year. “They might be full siblings but they are poles apart character-wise,” said Melanie, who trains with Serena Pincus. “Sasha is a complete extrovert and a diva while Shogun is really quite shy. In fact, this is the first time I’ve brought them to a show together and Shogun has been shouting for his sister all the time!” The two horses were bred by Melanie’s parents David and Millie at their Ruxton Stud, and although they have…

Equissage Pulse Para Winter Championships, Myerscough, Lancs FOR Izzy Palmer, victory in the grade IV individual gold championships rounded off an amazing week with Sophie Wells’ Touchdown M. Izzy had also won the silver advanced medium freestyle at the venue’s regionals at the beginning of the week. The 19-year-old Jazz x Fundus gelding had been side-lined in 2008 with a foot tumour before suffering a tendon injury and being retired to the field. “Sophie has always been my heroine; she mentored me when I got into the paras and then when my pony retired in 2015 she offered me Touch as he was then sound,” said 18-year-old Izzy, who has cerebral palsy and trains with Sophie alongside Angela Weiss. “What an amazing opportunity she has given me — we’ve been…

VALE VIEW 24 Feb: prelim 7 silv (S Smith).— 1, Spymaster (L Taylor) 64.77; 2, Watch Me VI (M Brown) 61.14. brnz.— 1, Hermits Zorro (Z Bennett) 63.18; 2, Castlehill Bobby (A Britton) 62.73; 3, The Honey Monster (Z Bennett) 62.27. prelim 17QA silv (S Cooper).— 1, My Lady Myfanwy (K Robotham) 71.55; 2, Watch Me VI 66.9; 3, Spymaster 64.83. brnz.— 1, Castlehill Bobby 63.62; 2, The Honey Monster 63.62. nov 28 silv (S Smith).— 1, Gangster (J Pidgley) 73.13; 2, My Lady Myfanwy 68.33; 3, Galway Foxy (H Griffith) 67.92. brnz.— 1, Quartimiro (G Jones) 66.67; 2, Alvescot Wise One (M Brown) 63.13; 3, Dark Angel 55 (E Bolley) 62.5. nov 37Qa silv (S Cooper).— 1, Gangster 70.19; 2, Firaccio (K Nunn) 67.5; 3, Arnold (T Lovegrove) 62.96.…

Cockshot Dressage, Cheshire | Field House EC, Staffs The Lancashire-based rider won both the silver and bronze sections of a prelim riding Poppy Lady and Eifl Ben respectively. The former has qualified for both Horse of the Year Show and the Royal International in the showing arena, while the latter has showjumped. Ben, who was making his BD debut, was bought out of the Clwyd Welsh auction as a two-year-old. “We were really just going for a look and it was a bad idea taking the lorry as inevitably we brought one back with us,” said Shelley, who trains with John Norcross. “But he was so level-headed and a nice mover, so we bought him. He’s qualified for Scope and the Blue Chip Championships showjumping in the past but he…

Hunters Equestrian, Glos “He’s very compliant and naturally loose and supple,” said Cath Creemer, “Sid’s” trainer, who rode the Silver Royal gelding to an elementary win at Hunters Equestrian for A-level student Charlotte McDowall. “Even though he is only just turning six, he is working at a good medium level at home.” Charlotte returned to Hunters later in the week with Sid to win a novice qualifier outright and an elementary gold section. “Cath has done a lot of the work with him, as I’m busy at school and with two mares based at another yard,” said Charlotte. “Sid can be a bit of a prankster in the stable and is known as the yard joker, but he was very good considering I haven’t competed him for a while.” Pippa…

I MUST say, life has changed rather a lot for me again. With the birth of our third child in January we now have two red-haired daughters, and if their temperaments match the ginger horses of my experience, then I know Mark and I are in for an interesting journey! It has now been six weeks since Hanni’s birth — luckily her brother and sister are smitten with her — and as her routine starts to settle in, I am back in the saddle, which gives me some “me time”, even if in a rather rushed manner. I am extremely lucky to have three happy, healthy children; they put career and ambition into perspective in a good way and yet, as a highly competitive career-focused woman, my challenge to balance…

HERE we are at the beginning of another eventing season. I took a couple of “babies” to Aston-le-Walls last Saturday to do the BE100; both went double clear and the weather was actually quite sunny and warm! And even on Sunday at Isleham, where I had one novice horse and NZB Campino in the open intermediate (OI), I managed to dodge most of the rain. I’ve ridden at Isleham in all sorts of weather, including snow flurries in the past, and it was rather nice to get going in agreeable conditions this time. It’s always interesting to see new horse and rider combinations out and about, but I thought both events were a bit quieter than normal — perhaps more people are waiting a little to get going, rather than…

CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour of Doha, Al Shaqab, Qatar THE new season of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) launched in spectacular style with a flying finish to the opening grand prix. Five of the tour’s leading combinations went to post for the jump-off, and just fractions of seconds — and a costly pole — equated to several thousands of pounds in lost prize money. But two of the world’s quickest riders took the top two placings and it was Frenchman Julien Epaillard, drawn first on the 11-year-old gelding Usual Suspect D’Auge, who triumphed with a blistering round, just ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Maher with his partner Explosion W. “It is crazy for me today,” said Julien, who becomes the first rider to qualify for the LGCT super…

RIHS, coloureds (D Christie, J Judge) trad/native/cob ex.153cm.— 1 & ch, K Colosso’s Rockstone Raven; 2, W Thorneycroft’s Colour Impact; 3, S Field’s Jambalaya II. plaited horse ex 153cm.— 1, R Cowan’s So Sweet; 2, L Leeman’s Kellythorpes Master Key; 3, W Morris’ Brechfa Brynach. native pony.— 1, E Bowen’s Valentines Girl; 2, Mrs Faulkner’s Seadier ‘Wor’ Jack; 3, A Osborn’s Oxford Blue. trad pony.— 1 & res, V Ward’s Red Warrior; 2, L Saunters’ Heartbreaker IV; 3, H R Townshend-Ward’s Mr Marley. plaited pony 143cm-153cm.— 1, C Baxter’s Nijinkski Diva; 2, D Ioannou’s Sunrise; 3, C Gray’s Alaskan Mist. plaited pony 133cm-143cm.— 1,T Guyett’s Hopgarden Ronaldo; pony not ex. 133cm.— 1, J Evans Pontardawe Tinkerbell; 2, M Tarrant’s Dooleys Over Ice. M&M (J Grummitt, C Dew) amateur.— 1, K…

DURING the Christmas festivities, someone sent me a copy of a Horse & Hound portrait gallery piece on show producer Colin Rose (who sadly died in 2004) written over 30 years ago by a lesser known author, Nigel Hollings. I’m sure I must have helped my brother write it as it ain’t that bad! Then again, Colin was the perfect subject for an interview, being one of the greatest showmen — well, before Hugh Jackman. Colin’s artistry on the ground was phenomenal; I was often mesmerised watching him lunge several ponies simultaneously on the same circle, like a Barnum circus act. Also something of a trendsetter, he was the first person I ever saw donning a dinner suit when showing in the evening performance of the in-hand championship at Wembley…

Cambridgeshire with Enfield Chace, Horseheath, Cambs A NIMBLE performance secured an impressive third win for Tricky Silence in the intermediate. Ridden by Jamie Brace, the talented seven-year-old gelding gave the finish of the day in a battle to the line with Tullys Touch, piloted by Jack Andrews, claiming victory by a neck. “He is a very nice horse, [owner/trainer] Jamie Goss has done a very good job with him — he has given him plenty of time between races and team chases, and hunts him, too,” said the winning jockey. “I couldn’t have asked for a better ride.” Tricky Silence’s last run was a win at Cottenham on 30 December, which was also the last win for men’s open victor Zeroeshadesofgrey. Owner/rider Charlie Buckle, who fits in riding around running…

A NEW British Showjumping (BS) national training centre will benefit riders of all levels, as well as coaches, officials and the sport as a whole, it is hoped. BS has completed the purchase of Home Farm, Hothorpe, in Leicestershire, which will be used for training of British squads, amateur riders, judges, course-designers and other officials. The site has a 40x60m indoor arena, outdoor arenas of 30x50m and 60x80m, an 18x35m outdoor pen and an 800m canter track, as well as stabling and accommodation. MAJOR STEP BS chief executive Iain Graham stressed that it will not be a show venue, as BS depends on its network of show centres to deliver competition every week. “Having been in other countries and seen their national and regional training centres, and the benefits they…

CHASE THE SPUD The 2017 Midlands National winner has been retired to live with Tori Knight, who looked after him while he was in training with Fergal O’Brien. Owned by Christine Banks, the 11-year-old won more than £136,000. ROARING LION The 2018 World Champion three-year-old has taken to his new breeding role “with aplomb” and his first three mares have all been scanned in foal. The Cartier Horse of the Year is standing at Qatar Racing’s Tweenhills Stud. MY ROYAL TOUCH Eventer Lydia Hannon’s top ride will miss the 2019 season after she was injured at Burghley last year. The 15-year-old mare, who has twice jumped clear across country at Badminton, will hopefully be put in foal.…

AN inquiry into fireworks law has been launched after nearly 750,000 people signed government petitions expressing concern over current regulations, in the past three years. The government’s petitions committee launched the inquiry on 27 February and will gather formal evidence from public bodies, fireworks experts and those who have signed the petitions. A total of 11 petitions closed in 2018 and there are currently a further 11 open regarding fireworks. Committee chair Helen Jones MP said the petitions system has provided “hundreds of thousands of people with a way to voice their views on fireworks”. “Through the scores of petitions we have received on this it is clear that public feeling about fireworks is very strong, and there is a real need to scrutinise the current laws,” she said. “The…

JAMES (JIM) LILLEY A STALWART of the equestrian world with a passion for life, Mr Lilley died peacefully at home in Northern Ireland on 15 January aged 80. He was known in many equine circles, an owner of top National Hunt racehorses and chef d’equipe of the Northern Ireland working hunter pony team. Mr Lilley grew up in a farming family in Co. Down — his father used heavy horses to work the fields, always with a young pony or two brought back from the sales to break in. He earned his living as a building contractor and held several public roles. Above all he loved sport — he owned Rathgorman, trained by Michael Dickinson, who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in 1982, as well as 1978…

EVENTING Spotted on social media, a rumour that BE has added a fourth phase to combat any perceived dumbing down of the sport. The new phase, the rumour goes, involves navigating the new online entry system, with penalties for failed attempts, going over the set time and outside assistance. Possibly a worse week for those having to assist... EVENTING AGAIN So the Beast From the East didn’t return, last week was as if it was April, everything looked great for the first weekend of the season, then… thanks, Freya... MUGGLES As eventing kicked off, it was also time for a Yorkshire Supercar Owners Club meet. “Hoping the non-horsey other half didn’t notice we could have got a supercharged Porsche for less than the running costs of an event horse,” a…

• Most horses graze with the left foreleg forwards, which may represent the dominance of the right foreleg when it is in the stance phase, ready to push off in case of attack. This also explains why most horses spook to the left. • A foal is more likely to be on the left side of his dam. • Studies have shown that left-handed humans and primates are more easily scared. • Horses tend to greet each other left-to-left, suggesting a right brain hemisphere dominance of both positive and negative emotions.…

Count to three, then make a transition. For three strides, collect the canter and count. This helps maintain the rhythm of the pace. Use forward and back transitions within canter to keep it active. Be careful the horse isn’t heavy in the hand rather than collected; transitions within the canter can help. If the horse is getting long and flat, making a transition to collected canter will help him sit back on his hocks again. For downward transitions I sit deeper, half-halt with my outside rein, and like to feel I can give with the rein. I want to be able to lighten the hand into the walk so the horse is not balancing on it.…

FIONA BROWNE, founder of Festival favourite Browne And Daughters, suggests being brave with colour, and the new Cheltenham initiative #ColourMeMarch brings a vibrant backdrop to Wednesday’s racing. “The devil is in the detail — finish off your look with an original tweak or flourish on your jacket or suit, such as a red-lined collar [pictured, below], feather brooch, velvet-trimmed buttons, small suede-trimmed belt across the coat or faux fur collar, cuffs and hem,” she says.…

SO it has come to this. At the hugely successful hunt ball, held in Belvoir Castle by permission of the Duke of Rutland, I was won in the raffle. There was a time when my services were auctioned off. In fact, “A day and a night with the Ledbury huntsman” (’twas I at the time) once sold for pounds numbered in thousands. Alas, 20 years down the line, I have dwindled to a mere raffle prize. So a ticket was drawn, and somewhere between “a leg of mutton” and a “jar of Quality Street”, “a day upfront with the Belvoir huntsman” was won — by Mrs Chloe Jonason. A FLYING VISIT THE mysterious case of the equine flu occasioned something of an overreaction in some quarters; racing was suspended, as…

21 Feb: gr V nov A silv (S Leitch).— 1, Namibian (J Frizzell) 63.44. gr V ind gold.— 1, Diadeem (S Wells) 70.83; 2, BamBam (C Cundall) 69.88; 3, Cadeau K (H Hayward) 67.02. gr IV nov A silv.— 1, Parsley II (S Bates) 67.93; 2, Tango III (S Bates) 66.03; 3, Volente (O Cornick) 65.34. gr IV ind gold (J McGarel-Groves).— 1, Touchdown M (I Palmer) 70.24; 2, Grand Bolero K (I Palmer) 68.78; 3, Donnatella H (N Naylor) 68.41. gr V intro brnz (S Edwards).— 1, Inosent Flight (C Chadwick) 67.62; 2, Prototype II (S Pedersen) 66.19; 3, Dunkie (M Wilcox) 54.29. gr IV 31 silv.— 1, Oreo (O Park) 66.5. gr III 21 silv.— 1, Henry (T Dyer) 72.78; 2, Game Over (V Bower) 71.39; 3, Nap…

Tillyoch EC, Aberdeen | Fountain EC, Aberdeen Nicky rode Verity Jenner’s home-bred Furstinclaire to lead a brace of medium silvers. The talented rising seven-year-old mare is an embryo transfer twin by Fürstenball and a granddaughter of Farouche. “She has such a phenomenal temperament that we’ve been concentrating on training, but thought we’d have an outing before the regionals,” said Nicky, who went on to finish second in the elementary gold and medium silver regional finals at Morris. “She’s ready to start changes and I hope to move up to advanced medium this year.” Jennifer Johnston-Harman also achieved a double at elementary gold with Jacqui Ross’s Bolero VIII. The Blickpunkt rising eight-year-old has been with Jennifer for seven months as Jacqui’s daughter Fenella is concentrating on her advanced horses. “I’ve had…

Bury Farm, Bucks | Crofton Manor, Hants | Fairoak Grange, Berks Adele Rawlinson, who employs Fiona at Daneswood Dressage, bought Jerez (by Apache) as a two-year-old and Fiona has been riding him for four months. “He’d never seen the white boards before so was a bit shell-shocked in the first test. He has a fantastic brain and when he went in for his second test he understood what was wanted,” said Fiona, who will aim Jerez at five-year-old young horse classes this season. “At close to 18hh already he has a lot of filling out to do, and there’s no pressure.” At Fairoak Grange, Fiona Gierer scored over 75% at novice on Lindsey Dawes’ Keystone Rhadiant (Roxy), whom she has been riding since August last year. It was the German…

HUNTERS EQUESTRIAN 20 Feb: prelim 13Q gold (E Clarke).— 1, Woodcroft Juliquina (R Anand) 59.62. prelim 15Q gold (C Green).— 1, DJ Sonata (P Hutton) 73.6; 2, Curioso De Vida (S Grant) 69; 3, Woodcroft Juliquina 66.8. silv.— 1, Bowland Star Hit (G Leverett) 66.8. brnz.— 1, Cassidy’s Finbar (J Cassidy) 66.8; 2, Randys Mistery (D Amer) 65.4. nov 27 gold (E Clarke).— 1, Jenny Wren (A Jenkins) 72.5; 2, Idorijke (P Hutton) 69.82; 3, DJ Sonata 62.68. silv.— 1, Santiano D (C Dicker) 70; 2, Movi Makebelieve (N Sells) 62.5; 3, Bowland Star Hit 62.14. brnz.— 1, Willy Do (E Hazell) 67.14; 2, Vision D’Auteuil (L Jackson) 65.36. nov 38Q gold (C Green).— 1, Idorijke 73.71; 2, Jenny Wren 70.65. silv.— 1, Woodcroft Sylvester (C Creemer) 67.74; 2, Santiano…

HAT-TRICKS FOR TWO ON the CSI3* Vilamoura Atlantic Tour in Portugal, Chris Franks was a treble winner with Mega Times, while Chloe Aston jumped to top spot, heading Wednesday’s 1.45m speed class on her great partner Amigo T, just fractions ahead of Laura Mantel (Glory BV). In the young horse section, it was a phenomenal hat-trick for Laura Renwick, who topped the five-year-olds with Cottee (by Asterix EZ), the six-year-olds on Sky’s The Limit (by No Limit) as well as the seven-year-olds riding the Diamant De Semilly son Maverick. A FRESH IRISH TEAM THE Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, hosted a Nations Cup in which the home team won and Ireland finished second for the second year in succession after a jump-off. Both teams tied on eight faults after…

90cm.— 1 & 3, Ferrybank Roy & Spending Record (O Banks); 2, Llettycrudd Cardi Bach (M Grey). 11yo & under.— 1 eq, 10 tied. Graham Heath Equestrian 128/138cm h’cap.— 1 & 2, Playboy Van De Zoetewei & Coreys Princess (T Kyle); 3, Madonna (C Mensley). winter 128cm 2nd rnd.— 1 & 2, Living The Dream & Borderhill William (T Kyle); 3, Clooncraha Lady (L Aspell). winter 138cm 2nd rnd.— 1, Fountain Ranger (E Herrmann); 2 & 3, Lissduff Royal & Playboy Van De Zoetewei (T Kyle). BS 128/138cm h’cap special.— 1, Barracurra Jellybaby (T Kyle); 2, Astral Ruben (P Deakin); 3, Bingo Bong (M Archibald). Graham Heath Equestrian 128/138cm h’cap.— 1, Lissduff Royal; 2, Buttons Two (R Proudley); 3, Clooncraha Lady. winter 128cm 2nd rnd.— 1, Coreys Princess; 2, My…

ALTON-BASED sisters Alicia and Steph Sherborne have been collecting plenty of tickets to the Blue Chip Championships. They travelled to Crofton Manor recently, where Alicia rode Ettonia to third, one place ahead of Steph with Conrad VH Gehucht Z. Then at Quob Stables, Alicia and her six-year-old Herman De Lassus added power qualification to their previous discovery ticket. The sisters started working together in 2018 after Steph left her job as an NHS physiotherapist to manage their Sherborne Showjumpers business. Alicia now rides full time, while Steph has a part-time physiotherapy job at Southampton Football Club. The 10-year-old Ettonia is currently Alicia’s top ride and will also contest the Blue Chip B&C final. “I’ve had her for four years, so we know each other really well,” said Alicia, who also…

A SISTER act scored in the RIHS hacks. Charlotte and Sophie Hall’s winning novice, small and overall champion hack Carrhouse Dark Silk won the hack section of the SEIB Search for a Star final last year, and turned in a performance to match the professionals here. Twins Charlotte (pictured) and Sophie share the ride. They bought “Tabitha” as a two-year-old five years ago and she is precious, but not wrapped in cotton wool. “We take her on local gallops to keep her fit,” said Sophie. “My boyfriend Henry Browne, who is a polo player, rides her and they get on annoyingly well!” The Halls keep Tabitha at home and do everything themselves, although they have had help from Simon Reynolds, Leon King and Stephanie Turner.…

DUKE OF BEAUFORT’S, DIDMARTON Saturday, 2 March Hunt members.— 1, W Jarrett’s The Flying Doc (W Biddick) E Walker. intermediate.— 1, T Faulkner’s Mister Robbo (B Moorcroft) T Faulkner. conditions.— 1, A Dorman’s Sarazen Bridge (N Phillips) E Brown. conditions for novice riders.— 1, A Bromley’s Vivaldi Collonges (B Bromley) J Owen. restricted.— 1, N Phillips’ Mankala (N Phillips) E Brown. maiden conditions 4,5,6&7yo.— 1, The Back Of The Car Club’s Hot To Trot (T Worsley) L Redman. open maiden.— 1, C Lloyd Davies and C Pugh’s Oscar Bravo (J King) C Lloyd Davies. MID SURREY FARMERS’ DRAG,GODSTONE Sunday, 3 March Conditions 9yo&up.— 1, N Padfield’s Excitable Island (G Andrews) N Padfield. conditions for veteran and novice riders.— 1, N & D Cherriman’s Kashmir Peak (D Cherriman) A Hill. mixed…

IT’S likely you’ve used polework in your training, but have you yet explored all the possibilities? There is growing interest in elaborate floorplans — you may have noticed a trend for polework exercise videos on social media — which look advanced and complicated, but “anyone can try them,” as dressage rider and trainer Tania Grantham insists. “All you need to get started is six poles and a 20x40m arena,” she enthuses. “One of the reasons I started using the bigger layouts is that I didn’t want to have to keep getting off to change things during a session — you can approach these in so many different ways. A helper is useful if a pole gets knocked, but you can use the arena surface to wedge the poles in place,…

THE family of a young rider who was an inspiration for a change in organ donation law is encouraging everyone in the equestrian world to talk about the subject. Keira Ball, who had a “real passion for horses”, was nine when she died in 2017 following a car accident, in which her mother and brother were seriously injured. Her father, Joe, was approached by the organ donor team at Bristol hospital and made the decision to donate her organs as it was what his daughter would have wanted. Keira’s organs saved the lives of two adults and two children, including 10-year-old Max Johnson, who received her heart. On 26 February, Max and Keira’s Law, named after the pair, cleared its final parliamentary hurdle. From 2020, the law in England will…

NEW research from the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) has suggested cribbing horses are more likely to be reacting to stress than stomach discomfort. The study found although crib-biting and ulcers may not be directly linked, stress could be the common denominator. While there are limitations to the study in terms of size and logistics — dead horses were used, which may not accurately reflect the physiology of the living stomach — the non-invasive approach has given some further insight into the conditions. The study involved a total of 42 stomachs of dead horses — half of which were crib-biters — in the two-part experiment. The team looked for the presence of ulceration, stomach pH, and gastrin (a hormone that stimulates the production of stomach acid). They found there was no…

OVER the years, I and my British Riding Clubs (BRC) colleagues have endured more bouts of verbal abuse over the BRC zero-tolerance “flu vac” rule than any other. BRC is one of the few organisations outside racing and the FEI that checks the full vaccination history of horses competing at qualifier level and above. They also devote time and effort to training officials to carry out the job of checking correctly, and include a freely available flu vac checker on their website. With many on social media now insisting that vaccinating for equine flu should be mandatory, BRC are to be applauded for their long-term stance on this. Maybe people who have fallen foul of the rules in the past will now realise why this is so important. Jane Fisher…

ALICE PETERNELL Alice Peternell (née Wilson) competes successfully in dressage and is currently campaigning Welsh cob stallion Cynheidrefawr Crème De La Crème towards grand prix. Alice, a level three UKCC dressage coach, trains under the banner AP Equestrian from her Wiltshire base. TRAINING THE STARS THE pony I’m competing, Cynheidrefawr Crème de la Crème, is a Welsh section D, so isn’t bred for dressage. I’ve had to find ways of training him to get the best out of him, and ensure he is forward and reactive to my aids. Using plenty of transitions in our training has really improved his way of going. He has improved beyond measure, going way beyond my initial expectations.…

TOP NOTCH — 8yo b g Poliglote x Topira (Pistolet Bleu) trained by Nicky Henderson. Goes for the Ryanair Chase. TERREFORT — 6yo gr g Martaline x Vie De Reine (Mansonnien) trained by Nicky Henderson. Entered for the Ryanair and Gold Cup (pictured, below). SCEAU ROYAL — 7yo b g Doctor Dino x Sandside (Marchand De Sable) trained by Alan King. Entered for the Champion Chase. FOOTPAD — 7yo b g (Creachadoir x Willamina (Sadler’s Wells) trained by Willie Mullins. Goes for the Champion Chase or Ryanair, Ruby Walsh rides.…

Goathland and Glaisdale, Ugthorpe, N Yorks IT was getting late in the afternoon and his hounds had excelled themselves all day, but joint-master and huntsman John Musgrave was in no mood for home. There were only a handful of us left on horses but a squadron of local foot-followers, all eager for another hunt. He took the hounds up into the conifer plantation behind Land O’ Nod farm, where forestry thinning operations have left a carpet of thick brambles over the brash, where hounds pushed into the undergrowth and were soon running again in the briars. A radio message signalled that they were away towards Ugthorpe village. By the time we got round, the pack was casting around in some cattle on the crest of a ridge where the wind…

Superflex inter I (K Barker, H Bradley, J Loriston-Clarke).— 1, DHI Cleverboy (N Kayal) 70.75; 2, Odwigs Echo (B Moody) 70.13; 3, Full Fusion BS (B Moody) 68.42. Magic PSG (H Bradley, L Smith, V Smyth).— 1, Odwigs Echo 69.21; 2, DHI Cleverboy 69.04; 3, Full Fusion BS 68.64. Charles Owen adv med 98 gold (A Crane, J Loriston-Clarke, F Scott).— 1, Heavenly Kiss BS 70.39; 2, Faydirime ZH (S Higgins) 69.47; 3, Negradite (D Lever) 63.82. silv (H Bradley, A Crane, L Smith).— 1, Odwigs Echo (L Swinden) 70.26; 2, Touchdown M (I Palmer) 69.3; 3, Bojack JX (H Dunning) 68.99. Nupafeed adv med FSM gold (H Bradley, L Smith, V Smyth).— 1, Ruxton Showgirl (M Phillip) 70.56; 2, The Contact Peoples Destiny D (S Kingswells) 69.89. silv (K…

Vale View, Leics Veterinary medicine student Katie Robotham and her 10-year-old Welsh part-bred mare My Lady Myfanwy topped a prelim with 71.55% at Vale View. The mare, whom Katie bought as an unbacked four-year-old, has only been back in work since January. “She qualified for the novice and elementary Area Festival finals last year, but went lame with a bruised pedal bone and had six months off, so we didn’t get to go to the championships,” said Katie. “We’re not sure how she did it but it was pretty bad, so I’m just pleased to have her back.” Katie is taking the mare out at the lower levels to get her back into the swing of things. ‘My plans are to do internationals this year and go to the pony…

TALL TREES ARENA 15 Feb: prelim 18 brnz.— 1eq, Greycroft Ronan (C Day) & Pandora VI (C Morcom) 65.58. prelim 17A Q brnz.— 1, Grantstown Tiffany (C Mack) 56.21. nov 22 gold.— 1, Loki II (D Randall) 66.38. nov 37A Q gold.— 1, Loki II 66.11. brnz.— 1, Grantstown Tiffany 55.19. nov FSM brnz.— 1, Greycroft Ronan 64.17. elem 43 silv.— 1, Besor FP (L Dubois) 66.55. brnz.— 1, Tinkerbell II (A Cox) 66.38. elem 53Q silv.— 1, Volante Libero (M Clifford) 66.91. brnz.— 1, Tinkerbell II 66.76; 2, Jeepers Girl (G Beckerleg) 63.53. med 61 brnz.— 1, Woodwick Right Said Fred (N Allen) 61.72. med 75Q brnz.— 1, Woodwick Right Said Fred 61.08. elem FSM silv.— 1, Volante Libero 71.35. PYO adv gold.— 1, Dark Knight III (C Deithrick)…

BURY FARM 18 Feb: prelim 15Q silv (A Nicell).— 1, Dinan Darcy (A Geday) 69.4; 2, Hunter III (Y Mason) 67.6; 3, My Bay Beauty (R Thompson) 67.4. brnz.— 1, Over The Limit (L Crouchman) 64.2; 2, Rockwell Domina (D Bassett) 62.8. prelim 17A Q silv (A Bostock).— 1, My Bay Beauty 67.76; 2, Dinan Darcy 67.24; 3, Holiday Queen (T Stamp) 67.06. brnz.— 1, Rockwell Domina 63.44; 2, Over The Limit 60.34. nov 23 gold (A Nicell).— 1, Jerez (F Brennan) 62.5. silv.— 1, Elegido CXL VII (T Wakely) 66.67; 2, Kartouche IV (C Davis) 66.46; 3, Atinas Bela (R Pocock) 65. brnz.— 1, Holiday Queen 66.46; 2eq, Clohessys Sinbin (M Parish) & Nigel III (A Fogden) 63.12. nov 37A Q gold (A Bostock).— 1, Jerez 73.33. silv.— 1,…

Isleham, Cambs PIGGY FRENCH started the season as she means to go on when taking the top class at a blustery Isleham. She recorded the quickest time of the day on the cross-country aboard her 2018 World Equestrian Games ride Quarrycrest Echo, owned by Jayne McGivern, adding just 0.4 of a penalty to a 24.8 dressage. “It’s certainly not about winning the open intermediate at Isleham,” joked Piggy, who has her sights set on Kentucky CCI5*-L (previously CCI4*) for this 12-year-old by Clover Echo. “But he’s not a horse you can just canter round an event in second gear as he’s got plenty of character and as soon as I ride him like I think he’s God, he makes me look a prat! He’s also such a lovely, balanced horse…

OI.— 1, Quarrycrest Echo (P French) 24.8,0,0.4=25.2; 2, Ballaghmor Class (O Townend) 23.4,0,2.8=26.2; 3, Tregilder (O Townend) 28.9,0,1.2=30.1. int.— 1, Erano M (N Wilson) 22.7,0,16.8=39.5; 2, Fortunus (J Stead) 36.6,0,9.6=46.2; 3, Forever Noble (H Needham) 38.9,0,12.4=51.3. ON sec H.— 1, Chabadu (N Wilson) 26.5,0,2.8=29.3; 2, Arklow Puissance (O Townend) 30.3,0,0=30.3; 3, Farndon (F Whittington) 28.3,0,4.8=33.1. sec I.— 1, Sportsfield Top Notch (P French) 25.5,0,0.4=25.9; 2, Miss Cooley (O Townend) 27.8,0,0=27.8; 3, Hot Party Juice (N Dixon) 28,0,2=30. nov sec J.— 1, One Misty Morning (L Good) 25.8,0,2.4=28.2; 2, Wetherbrook Paganini (H Butler) 31.3,0,1.2=32.5; 3, The Aviator III (L Allin) 31.8,0,2=33.8. sec K.— 1, Hello Stranger (I Taylor) 28.5,0,1.6=30.1; 2, Diamond Mine (K Barber) 33,0,0=33; 3, Lady Elfreda (E Beehoo) 35.5,0,0=35.5. BE100 open sec C.— 1, SF Detroit (D Bathe) 24.8,0,0=24.8;…

CSI4* Sunshine Tour week three, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain IRELAND’S Peter Moloney has paired up with the Team Harmony-owned mare Ornellaia — previously a successful partner for John Whitaker — to clinch victory in Sunday’s grand prix. From 50 starters, only five jumped clear in round one and the €23,500 (£20,200) top prize was won in a time of 43.25sec. Swiss rider Carlo Pfyffer was nearly a second behind in 44.10sec on Intermezzo while Peter’s countryman Billy Twomey took fifth on the 10-year-old daughter of Lord Z, Lady Lou. “I just jumped the small class with Ornellaia on Thursday, then the ranking class on Friday and jumped clear so I decided not to go in the jump-off there and it paid off today,” said Peter of the 14-year-old For…

IT was early February when the wagon-train left our yard for Vilamoura, Portugal. It’s always going to be hectic taking 15 horses, but at the end of the third week it’s still running smoothly — thanks more to the organisational skills of my wife Tina than to me. She even found time to take a client to see a really nice seven-year-old that was competing on the Sunshine Tour running concurrently in Spain. It was interesting to hear Tina’s comparison of the tours, too. Spain was stunning with 18 rings, including eight superb grass-on-sand arenas with excellent footing. Tina said it reminded her of shows in Wellington, Florida — but bigger. Vilamoura is more rustic with relaxed Portuguese charm as really good crowds enjoy food and wine in the sunshine.…

BSPA Winter Championships, The College EC, Beds TERRI GUYETT proved the progress that can be made in just two seasons by standing supreme ridden champion on Red Warrior, Victoria Ward’s seven-year-old 145cm traditional pony. In 2017, Terri was reserve novice champion on the gelding at the British Skewbald and Piebald Association (BSPA) national championships, just a fortnight after he joined her Essex yard. A year and a half on, they have established the perfect partnership. “He’s been in the field all winter, then Victoria did some loose schooling for a few weeks before he came back,” said Terri. “He’s lovely to deal with. He’s so quiet in-hand and then goes into the ring and picks himself up.” They were reserve in the Royal International (RIHS) championship to Rae Colosso on…

WHEN the going gets tough, the bravest competitors get tougher. Lynn Russell, second in the RIHS heavyweight cobs on Starfall, was riding two days after starting radiotherapy treatment for early breast cancer. “It’s the most common cancer among women in the UK and I’m getting amazing treatment from the NHS, so I’m raising funds for Breast Cancer Care [BCC],” said Lynn. “That, and the fact that it was picked up on a routine mammogram, is why I’m telling people about it.” Kim Colosso, who is sponsoring Lynn through Mrs Candy clothing, is making her a jacket with a pink lining to reflect BCC awareness campaigns. Kim said these would be available for customers and that she will donate £10 to the charity for each one ordered. Katie Jerram-Hunnable made a…

THE build-up to this year’s Cheltenham Festival has been as manic as ever. On Sunday, we saw many horses turn up for a racecourse gallop at Newbury Racecourse. It was pouring with rain and the conditions were foul, but it didn’t stop trainers doing final preps with their Cheltenham-bound horses. Many top horses were there to gallop, especially those who had missed their pre-Cheltenham warm-up races due to the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA) updated flu vaccination requirements. It is a huge bonus that we are allowed to do this and Newbury, as always, were most obliging. There were bubbles burst, of course, but probably better to do that in a racecourse gallop than at the Festival. Phone calls from trainers to owners after their horses’ work were either going to…

LUKE SCOTT took his second win in as many weeks with a skilful performance in the novice riders’ contest. The teenager, who started riding for Fran Nimmo aged 12 and now works for Olly Murphy, steered the Andrew Pennock-trained Mahlers Spirit to a 15-length victory. The feat was made all the more impressive by the fact that Luke hadn’t sat on the nine-year-old gelding before the race. Luke received the call-up on Thursday and jumped at the opportunity in what proved to be a top decision.…

HUNTING is such an addictive sport; the more you do, the more you want to do, and it completely takes over. But now the season is rolling to an end, it’s time to start focusing on other things. It’s the same every year. You look at the meet card at the start of the season and savour all the days in store; opening meet comes and goes, November and December pass slowly, then after Christmas, you have to grab every day you can because it’s soon all over for another year. Everything else gets neglected. I still haven’t chosen loos for the new house — at this rate we’ll be using buckets. VERY February half term, our Pony E Club decamps to an equestrian centre near Alnwick for the first…

BRITISH EVENTING UKCC level three coach Eloise Mayhead suggests keeping it simple when introducing your horse to polework, by riding over a pole in both directions. “It’s amazing the reaction you can get over the same pole but going the other way,” she muses. “If your horse is lacking confidence, follow another horse if you can, or ask someone to walk at a safe distance ahead of you.” Eloise also suggests using traditional lines of poles to begin with. “If horses have come from a jumping background, they will often try to jump them. In this case, keep it really simple until they get the idea,” which she says usually doesn’t take long. “Vary your entry point to a line of straight poles,” Tania suggests. “Use the coloured stripes, if…