Innholdsfortegnelse for 03-Jun-2021 i Horse & Hound

THIS week’s issue focuses, among other things, on the ponies who give us the perfect start to our riding lives. Having paid tribute to riding school legends who have launched the dreams of countless children (feature, p34) and delved into what makes dressage pony Cruz III so special (horse hero, p32), we then take a look at how parents can give their children the perfect childhood with days filled with the joy and responsibility of ponies. I wanted to revisit this topic knowing how many parents have, post lockdown, looked more than ever for ways to allow their children to enjoy the great outdoors, which poses an opportunity for the horseworld. Around a third of our readers keep horses at home, opening up the idyllic possibility of ponies outside the…

A NEW academy inspired by pioneering amateur jockey Khadijah Mellah is offering riders from under represented communities the chance to pursue a career in racing. The Riding A Dream Academy shares its name with the documentary that followed Khadijah from Ebony Horse Club to her victory in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood in 2019, where she became the first British Muslim woman to win a UK race. The academy will run the Khadijah Mellah Scholarship and a residential week. The eight teenagers on the scholarship will spend a week, and 11 weekends, at the British Racing School, Newmarket, have work experience with trainers and gain a qualification. The residential week will be aimed at less experienced riders. “Racing changed my life forever and I hope the academy will change other…

A “CRUCIAL” new project to help protect horses from equine grass sickness is in need of owners and vets to take part. Livestock health and welfare research charity Moredun Foundation and the Equine Grass Sickness Fund have launched a “biobank” of equine and soil samples that will play a role in future grass sickness research. The project is being supported financially by the British Horse Society. “A lack of suitable samples from [equine grass sickness] cases has hindered research progress into the causal agents involved, despite the disease being recognised for over 100 years,” said a joint statement from those involved in the project. “But horse owners and vets can now play a crucial role in this project by submitting samples from affected horses and field controls, along with soil…

▲ HEAT A US equestrian was irked to be called from her lunch at a roadside cafe by police, who had been called by a passerby concerned the horse in her trailer was overheating. Which would have been all very well, had the horse not been a plastic model. They tend to need less water than the breathing type. ▲ EXCUSES A rider was almost pleased with herself to be able to add the line “My horse’s penis is swollen” to her list of reasons for not being able to attend an event. “No one asked me to elaborate,” she mused. Can’t think why… ▲ COFFEE A mare dozing peacefully for the farrier woke with perfect timing to nudge her owner’s coffee cup at just the right angle to send…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 HICKSTEAD dressage is back with a bang, and now on the iconic showjumping site. Huge thanks to the Bunn family for taking on the challenge of putting on the recent Premier League show, with fabulous arenas, online results online, a livestream, and – vitally – a champagne tent. I hope this will be a regular feature (both the show and the champagne tent!). Is it too greedy to ask for an international again? The organising committee ran the event like clockwork and although the weather was inclement on the first day, the competitors’ spirits were summed up by an emphatic “who cares” attitude, and we all had a fabulous time. There was something of a party atmosphere with people cheerfully embracing the little emergencies such as forgetting your…

“DONO is the easiest horse imaginable, even though he is so big. He is a massive people person and loves cuddles, and he is also a great licker – he likes to lick everything and everyone. If you give him a scratch up by his ear, he will rest his head on your shoulder and lean right into you. He is truly a Big Friendly Giant and you will never see his ears go back. “Travelling him to shows is a dream – he is good on the lorry and there is never a time when he is silly or difficult, although I do have to stand on a bigger step than normal to plait him, and I’m not all that short. “At home he tends to come out for…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International, Norfolk WORLD champion Ros Canter kept her cool under pressure in Houghton’s crucible of a main arena to win both CCI3*-L classes. Ros cantered into the showjumping as overnight leader and last rider to jump in both sections, and there was little room for error. Ros and the “really honest” nine-year-old mare Shannondale Nadia had one fence in hand in section B, and she had just a handful of time-penalties to play with in order to retain her lead in section C aboard Izilot DHI. But Ros is world champion for a reason and she produced two textbook showjumping rounds, stopping the clock just over the optimum time for 0.4 of a time-penalty with both horses. “Shannondale Nadia has taken a little bit…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 Somerford Premier League, Cheshire IT was no surprise to see Carl Hester win both the grand prix and grand prix special with En Vogue, but the way he did took the partnership up another level with a smattering of 10s in both tests and an impressive 82.24% in the special. “Carl’s just unbelievable,” stated Clive Halsall, who judged at C in the grand prix and E in the special. “All those horses of his come out and enjoy their job. Vogue is a really hot horse who made those difficult exercises look ridiculously easy. Carl intuitively knows when to take risks and when to sit quietly. He is such a clever rider and that really was something special to watch.” Carl was delighted with the 12-year-old Jazz son,…

Festival of Showing, Arena UK, Lincs LEADING names ticked off early Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) qualifier wins. In coloured ranks, Vicky Smith’s own untouchable plaited horse Bart – unbeaten in three outings this year so far – secured the championship over Sue-Helen Shuttleworth and Tina and Shirley Moro’s home-bred novice traditional Jethro. “He’s very correct with a huge stride”SUE-HELEN SHUTTLEWORTH ON JETHRO The late-cut six-year-old is by Apollo II, and has been based with Sue-Helen for the past year. “He’s very correct with a huge, elevated stride,” Sue-Helen said. “He came to me for schooling last year and he’s only been to clinics up until now. He rides like a horse, too, and while he’s still green he gave the judge a fantastic sit-on. We’ll still campaign him…

Edited by Catherine Austen catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123 WHEN at a masters’ meeting some years ago, the topic of the kennel-huntsman’s frequent “visits” to see a married lady subscriber was misguidedly attributed to “scarlet fever”. My joint-master, deep into his seventies and south of a barrel of liqueur, retorted forlornly that despite trying, he had failed to have that “feverish” effect, but hadn’t given up hope. Whether it is at school, on the parade ground, football pitch or hunting field, uniforms are worn with pride. School uniforms are considered a great leveller among peers. Hunt liveries try to raise the bar universally out of respect for the office or privilege held, the farmers and the landowners. “A coat is red, never pink” The histories behind individual hunt liveries tell an important narrative…

“HE was a life-changer for all of us,” says Emma, wife of trainer Ian Balding. “He was the most perfect horse, small of stature and big of heart, and his owner was one of the finest men you’d ever meet.” She could only be talking about the record-breaking Mill Reef and his owner and breeder American billionaire philanthropist Paul Mellon. Mill Reef arrived in Britain as a yearling in 1969 from Paul’s Rokeby Estate in Virginia to Ian Balding’s Kingsclere training yard, and lit up Flat racing as a two-, three-and four-year-old, until injury nearly ended his life. It was love at first sight for his groom, John Hallum, dispatched by Ian to collect the bay colt from the airport. John later recalled: “There was Mill Reef and there were…

Share your news story Call 01252 555021 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ FRESH challenges face elite British-based riders as travel restrictions place question marks on whether competitors will be able to travel to top-level events. Luhmühlen holds the first European CCI5*-L of 2021 this month (17–20 June) and more than 30 British combinations, plus leading British-based riders of other nationalities, are entered. Doubts were cast over whether riders would be able to travel from the UK to the event given the German travel ban, for which there are very limited exceptions (news, 27 May). The rules broadly mean that people cannot travel to Germany if they have been in the UK in the previous 10 days. A spokesman for the event confirmed on Friday (28 May) that there would be “no…

TOMATILLO The clone of Badminton and Burghley winner Tamarillo, owned by the Hon Finn and MW Guinness, has scored his first eventing win in a novice section at Tweseldown (21 May) with Aaron Millar, who took on the ride last winter. GLOCK’S ZONIK NOP Medal-winning Dutch dressage rider Hans Peter Minderhoud has taken on the 13-year-old stallion from Edward Gal. The pair scored 73.15% in the grand prix and 72.94% in the special at Compiègne CDI3*. CAJA 20 The 2016 Blenheim eight- and nine-year-olds winner has had a filly by thoroughbred event sire Tajraasi. The 13-year-old mare, ridden by Willa Newton, was 2015 British seven-year-old champion. TOP NOTCH Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s National Hunt star, trained by Nicky Henderson, has died aged 10, having sustained a ruptured stomach. He…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. @horseandhound instagram.com/horseandhound facebook.com/horseandhound SUPER SHETLANDS HOW delightful to see my mother, Helen Langrish (née Link), on the front cover (13 May). She was two-and-a-half and with her Shetland pony, Peace Sign Of Felbridge. My mother, gran and great grandmother used to travel to all the local shows in an old A30 van with the Shetland in the back during the summer. And during the winter she was ridden out with the hunt, led by her grandfather on a bicycle while her parents were on point-to-pointers. My grandmother always claimed that the super Shetland had been considered as a suitable first mount for Princess Anne, but my grandmother got there first. Nice to know that even back then,…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald THE latest easing of restrictions has felt like a weight lifted and during this long journey, British Equestrian and its member bodies did a tremendous job of getting the sport back up and running. Protocols were quickly put together to bring us back as a single-player sport and training shows were introduced. But what’s next? There are definitely some keepers included within these recent changes. I think pre-entry and drawn orders for all competitions were long overdue. Similarly, the majority of people seem to hope that the collecting ring remains the safe haven it’s become, with a steward to adjust the practice fences and a limit on numbers. When these changes were introduced, we quickly adjusted – although I did have to smile at a recent show when…

There are three levels of pony racing; Pony Club, point-to-point – which takes place at 70 fixtures from January to June – and the Racecourse Series, which is 25 or so fixtures from April to October. This year is obviously different, but we are still hoping to run at least 20 Racecourse Series fixtures from July to November. There are between two and three pony races run before or after the main programme, for children aged from nine to 16. They need to qualify each year with their pony so we, or a Pony Club instructor, need to have seen them race. They’re all Flat races, from six furlongs to 1m3f and divided by pony height – 128cm, 138cm, and 148cm and under. Pony racing is a great grounding to…

HOW many millions of people will have had their very first experience with horses coming from a pony at their local riding stables? It’s like trying to count the stars in the sky. Those Saturday mornings and soft noses have ignited a love of horses in so many. “We have seen so many people who had their first ride on Goldilocks all those years ago now bringing their own children to ride her,” says Teresa Squire, yard manager at Woolacombe Riding Stables in North Devon. The 11.2hh, part-bred “cheeky” Shetland has spent 25 years giving children their very first taste of horses at the seaside riding stables since arriving from Exeter Horse Sales as a three-year-old. “The amount of families who come back year after year and ask, ‘Do you…

BICTON steps in to replace Bramham this year and hosts the same three classes that usually run at the Yorkshire fixture. Over 100 are entered in each of the CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S – both classes are supported by Chedington, who are also the title event sponsor. The news that there is no exemption to the travel ban and 14 days’ quarantine for entering Germany means those who were double entered here and at Luhmühlen are likely all to head to Devon. Now that the British nominated entries for the Olympics have been announced, the spotlight will be turned on every move those pairs make, good or bad. Seven of the nine come to Bicton, with only Oliver Townend with Ballaghmor Class and Harry Meade with Superstition missing, as those two…

CATHAL DANIELS (IRL) CATHAL won this class in 2019 on Rioghan Rua, and brings forward Sammy Davis Junior (above) this time. He didn’t compete internationally in 2019 or 2020, but scored a recent CCI4*-S third at Ballindenisk. HEIDI COY (GBR) THE former young rider individual silver medallist has three horses in the fray – nine-year-old mares Halenza and Russal Z and 13-year-old gelding Carrigsean Tigerseye. BUBBY UPTON (GBR) YOUNG rider individual silver medallist Cola III (below) was recently seventh in a competitive CCI4*-S at Aston-le-Walls, while the older Cannavaro was fifth in the other section at the same event. Both should be in the ribbons. YASMIN INGHAM (GBR) BRINGS forward three horses and is favourite to win this class on either Rehy DJ – who had a first five-star run…

“IT’S been a long time coming,” quipped Stephanie Read in reference to her BE100 win at Tweseldown (2), her first victory in nearly 20 years’ eventing. Steph, 38, runs a livery yard near Windsor and teamed up with her winning partner, Whitehill Boy (Fred), four years ago. “He’s a machine across country, but he’s also a low 30s kind of a guy in the dressage, so when I saw my score of 25.8 and we jumped clear in the showjumping I thought, ‘Heck, I’d better not blow it now!’” admits Steph. “Then part-way around the cross-country, the wind was blowing so much that it lifted up Fred’s ear veil and I had visions of it covering his eyes so he couldn’t see. But luckily I was able to pull the…

WHILE known for their Dartmoor pony bloodlines, the Newoak Stud were thrilled to hear that Katy Fearn’s 10-year-old coloured gelding Newoak Tabago Bay (Sebastian, pictured left) and new rider Ashleigh Walters booked their HOYS ticket at the Festival of Showing. The stud only breeds one coloured each year. “He tests the water at times but he’s getting there,” said Ashleigh, who has been partnered with the Danni Radford-produced gelding for just two weeks. Sebastian was Jacky Newbery’s first foal when she first forayed into a coloured breeding programme a decade ago. “We were showing coloureds at the time, and then Mum bought the stallion Chiddock Schooner Bay, and covered our mare What A Splash,” said Jacky. “We breed around 16 foals per year and Splash is our only coloured broodmare.”…

100 (indiv). — 1, Sienna II (Charlotte White/Abinger Forest); 2, Glenvilla Belle (I Sheldrake/Area 14); 3, Nibley Deja Vu (J Tarney/Riders 2000). 100 (team). — 1, Crown (M Shelley; Z Young; I Heathcote; L Shelley); 2, High Wycombe (L Newell; J Adderley; 3, G Plastow; J Tappin); 3, Three Valleys (M Johnson; C Johnson; C Styles; G Vasey). 100 (junior indiv). — 1, Sandstone Scalpins (A Sandiford/ Quantock); 2, Party Popper (L Walker/ Rearsby Lodge); 3, Dark Boy (E Kerry/ Sevenoaks). 90 (indiv). — 1, Edelman (S Langley/Cheltenham); 2, He’s Irish (G Glover/Wey Valley); 3, On A Whim II (B Blyton/Malton). 90 (team). — 1, Wey Valley (J Naylor-Davis; C May; J Morge; G Glover); 2, Bath (A Sawyer; A Swait; G Holdway; R Bailey); 3, Cardiff & Vale (E…

BROADCASTER and author Brough Scott (pictured) knew Mill Reef well (“very sweet, but he wasn’t a pet”) as he filmed a documentary about him. Watching him race “made the hair on my neck stand up…in a race you play your best card last and Mill Reef extended the distance between him and the second horse in the last 100 yards. He ran through the line.” The final scene of the film shows groom John Hallum saying goodbye and walking away, alone, as Albert Finney voices Hugh McIlvanney’s words: “that Mill Reef…he was something to brighten the morning”.…

FOR a while now, I have been thinking that I should do more with my horse, Jim; fill in the time between hunting seasons with the odd competition. I haven’t done anything competitive on a horse for 20 years and even then, it was very low key; a few local shows, hunter trials and team chases – the fourth member bringing up the rear. But I have happy memories of all these things and thought it would be fun to give it another go. Either that or I am having a mid-life crisis. It was the week of our local pick-a-fence event, which is organised by our Pony Club, and a group of us had got together to paint fences. Ailsa, the organiser, is a similar-aged mother-of-three, who competes her…

British five-star event rider Coral Keen is engaged to boyfriend Oliver Hardman. In her announcement, Coral said she “couldn’t be happier to have said yes to this special man”. Ryan Day, the stable jockey to National Hunt trainer Nicky Richards, has retired from racing. The 27-year-old rode 100 winners from 960 starts during his nine-year career. Top eventing course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith is among the new appointments to the racing Horse Welfare Board. He will take on the role of equine safety advisor. Andrew Osborne has succeeded Lord Mancroft as chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association. Mr Osborne has served on the committee, and been vice-chairman since 2019. Flat jockey Rachael Kneller, 34, has retired from race-riding after 14 years and 47 winners owing to persistent concussion symptoms following a…

WINSTON CHURCHILL’S pony Rob Roy has taken up residence in Blenheim Palace’s historic stable block. The pony is a model of Churchill’s childhood equine, who was first ridden by the then seven-year-old boy during a stay at the palace in April 1882. He is joined by a life-size Shire, made from willow, in a new exhibition at the palace (22 May-6 June). Churchill had strong connections with Blenheim, his birthplace, where he proposed to his wife Clementine, and a churchyard on the edge of the estate is his final resting place. The exhibition includes Blenheim’s original tack room, open to the public for the first time. Visitors can ride side-saddle and watch displays, and the exhibition will also highlight the equine connection with the wider estate.…

FURTHER to Sally Learoyd’s letter (13 May) in which she states that “it isn’t appropriate to own a horse unless you can provide it with suitable grazing – not just turnout”, not everyone owns huge acres where horses can graze fulltime, all year round. Horses are no longer the plains-grazing equid of millions of years ago. Of course, horses need to move around, but this may be of ultimate importance to youngsters, not mature horses who are endlessly adaptable. Most owners do their best to make their horses’ lives as good as they can, but modern horsiculture makes life difficult. There is little shelter behind an electric fence from blazing sun or wind and little joy in legblistering mud. In over 50 years of horse owning, I’ve discovered that no…

alexandra.robinson@futurenet.com @alexrob_journo_ AS I write this I have seven shows looming over an eight-day period – obviously not with the same horses. I don’t know whether to celebrate being back in full swing, or to put in a furlough request as the sheer thought of it exhausts me before it begins. On a serious note, I’m concerned that too many shows are being crammed into such a small time frame, in some cases in close proximity, while offering the same qualifiers. As a result, entries across the board are suffering massively. It has become a standing joke that in the open Dartmoor, Exmoor and Shetland classes all you need to do to gain a Royal International (RIHS) ticket is turn up and stay on, but it’s no laughing matter. Nor…

SUDDEN CHANGE A FLUSH of grass growth can trigger a reaction in the gut and create gassy colic, which can cause the colon to displace or, even worse, to twist – a particular problem with mares who have recently foaled and have extra space in the abdomen. Impaction colic is not just a winter worry, so try to avoid dietary disturbances such as stabling ponies on straw bedding for a week at camp, or adding electrolytes to drinking water without realising that the horse does not like the taste. GRASS SICKNESS A POTENTIAL killer, and most common between April and July, equine grass sickness (EGS) is a degenerative disease of the nervous system that results in impaired motility of the gut. INTERNAL PARASITES MODERN de-wormers have reduced colic risk, but…

● FIND a yard where there are other children for your child to ride with. ● Join your local Pony Club branch or centre for a framework of training activities throughout the year for all levels. ● Contact your local riding school or Pony Club for recommendations about local instructors. ● Seek out friends with ponies and get together for trips to the beach or competitions. ● If you aren’t horsey, find someone knowledgeable to help and guide you.…

Name: Angelika Trabert Nationality: German Disability: Angelika (pictured above, at the 2008 Paralympics) has dysmelia, a congenital disability. She was born without legs, and with only three fingers on her right hand. How she got into horses: Angelika started riding aged six. “I watched cowboys and Indians films and wanted to ride like the Indians,” she says. “I just loved being around horses and riding gave me the freedom I didn’t have.” To begin with, Angelika rode with artificial legs, but they rubbed her skin, so a saddle was specially made for her in 1989 which revolutionised her riding. “My saddle has a cushion on each side for my legs to sit in,” she says. “I have an unfixed leather strap that goes over my legs to help me stay…

• THE dressage for all three classes takes place on Thursday, 10 and Friday, 11 June. The cross-country for the CCI4*-L and the under-25 CCI4*-L is on Saturday, 12 June and the showjumping for those classes is on Sunday, 13 June. The showjumping for the CCI4*-S is on Saturday, 12 June and the cross-country for that class is on Sunday, 13 June. • Find extensive coverage of the event from Wednesday’s trot-ups through to Sunday at horseandhound.co.uk/eventing-hub • Our magazine report and a column from competitor Andrew Nicholson will be published in 17 June issue. • Hear from under-25 competitor Yasmin Ingham on The Horse & Hound Podcast in 10 June episode: horseandhound.co.uk/podcast • All the action will be live streamed on horseandcountry.tv – where there are classes running simultaneously,…

The Lucinda Green XC Academy Tweseldown (1), Hants STIFF cross-country tests and sideways wind and rain meant that the two CCI3*-S sections were anything but a dressage competition. This played into the hands of section M winners, Fiona Kashel and Kildalton Henry, whose completely clean jumping sheet – the only one of the 36-strong section – saw them rocket up the leaderboard from 18th after the first phase into the top spot. “The conditions really suited us as Henry’s a jumping machine”FIONA KASHEL ABOUT KILDALTON HENRY “The conditions really suited us as Henry’s a jumping machine, but he’s not a natural on the flat,” said Fiona of Alex and Maddie Taylor’s Obos Quality gelding, who scored 35 in the dressage. Henry was previously ridden by Alex’s daughter, Maddie, but before…

NANCY HARPER and Brechfa Mirain kept up their 100% winning record when adding victory in the under-18 BE90open at Tweseldown (2) to their win in the same class at Ascott-under-Wychwood (1) in April. “She’s the most amazing family horse. My mum [Fiona Harper] bought her to get her back into riding after a 20-year break, then my sister, Betsy, evented her for two seasons,” explained Nancy. “I’ve taken over the ride on her this year while my pony is off with an injury. She’s such a genuine, kind horse. My mum used to ride and lead me from her out hacking when I was about five and riding my first pony.”…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald Bolesworth National, Cheshire LAST year’s world-leading seven-year-old Kingsborough Kasper stepped up with confidence to take a win on his grand prix debut for Louise Saywell, delivering the quickest of just three double clears round a testing track. A schedule that eased in with some softer 1.30m to 1.40m opens ended with a bang for the final day’s big class, where only four horses jumped first round clears from 50 starters. Two of these were piloted by Louise, who also took Old Lodge’s grey Sharp Image, a winner in the opening day’s 1.35m, through to the decider. “There had been nice courses for the first few days, nothing too technical, and then Sunday morning you walked into the ring and had a proper grand prix course, which is as…

PROBABLY the most bowled over by their results over the week was Team Ahern, who watched nine-year-old Lilly Ahern-Lee and Rachel Brightmore’s 13-year-old Shetland Lotuspoint Cassius gain two tickets. At the Festival of Showing, the delightful coloured pony and Lilly headed a 21-strong open coloured qualifier, “He’s never done coloureds before,” said Lilly’s aunt Kirsty Pickles of the gelding. “We really threw Lilly in at the deep end; she was riding against lots of adults and professionals, but the pair of them looked the part and she rode beyond her years.” The pair dropped down a gear to win their HOYS first ridden ticket and the mini M&M championship at the first of four 2021 Stoneleigh Horse Shows. TALKING POINT…