Innholdsfortegnelse for 08-Jul-2021 i Horse & Hound

WHILE a phone app can tell you how fast a horse is moving, a heart rate monitor (pictured, below) will tell you how hard he is working. “A horse’s heart rate must rise above 180 beats per minute to reach the anaerobic zone,” says Spike. “He needs to work, otherwise you’re not achieving much. “To push your horse’s heart rate up, you need to go further, faster or steeper. If you go steady, you’ll need to go that much further. The trick is to find the balance, maximising the effect of his training without undue wear and tear or increased injury risk. “You may need to train a horse to gallop, as some warmbloods will only do a fast canter and never really raise their heart rate. But be careful…

IN the maxi cob division, age proved no barrier to popular amateur home-producer Avril Bartolomy, 74, and her evergreen 18-year-old Clantara Shadow Play (Sage), who produced another storming gallop in the Castle Arena finale after standing second in their class. “Heaven help me when he goes into his next senior class, though,” laughed Avril, who is probably the oldest showing competitor still riding at top level. “They’re not supposed to gallop in those classes, and there’s nothing Sage loves more. He just ate up the ground today like a four-year-old.” TALKING POINT…

YET again, Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) ridden classes proved extremely popular, with competitors nose to tail around the spacious Copper Horse ring. The horse title went to Linzy Dickinson, who confessed it was the win of a lifetime when her 21-year-old hunter Tikiri Canante (TC, pictured) was called forward as champion. The part-bred Irish Draught came from Ireland 12 years ago to be Linzy’s husband Stuart Allison’s field-mastering partner, first with the North East Cheshire Drag and then the North Staffordshire Hunt. A former eventing star stood a close second in this class. Happy Times, 22, the long-time partner of Australian rider Sam Griffiths – who still co-owns him along with Dinah Posford and Julia Donald – had numerous top-five Badminton and Burghley placings before retiring from eventing…

AN emotional Lucy Lockwood was the popular winner of the amateur hunter division with her in-form lightweight Chantilly Bojangles. In 2019, she occupied the same spot with her heavyweight victor, Rossa Dancer (Oscar). “It turned out to be the last time I ever rode him, as he died shortly afterwards from a rare form of cancer,” said Lucy, who works full-time and produces her horses at home with help from her parents. “He was only six and it was our first proper season together, so when Michael won today, it was as though Oscar was looking over us. It brought back all the emotion of losing him.” Camilla Stowell Davies and her own Glenkeeran Dance In The Deep stood second and reserve behind Lucy and Chantilly Bojangles. Suffolk-based farmer’s wife…

THE feature class on the penultimate day, the Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes for the King’s Cup, always produces an electric finish. But Kent Farrington and the white-faced Creedance, who pings 1.55m fences for fun, have now found the winning formula twice in this prestigious class. The USA’s Kent is one of the fastest riders on the circuit and first won the King’s Cup on his show debut in 2016. This year, the pair led from the front in an exhilarating six-way jump-off for the impressive silverware. The 40-year-old rider credited his pony-racing roots and the 14-year-old gelding’s devastating turn of foot for helping them to seize a 2.54sec winning advantage. “I started out doing pony races and I’m still doing it now – just on a slightly bigger pony with…

CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN created quite a stir at these championships with the six-year-old mare Times Kismet, winning the Prestige Italia novice title and the Equi-Trek elementary. The exquisite KWPN mare, who is owned by Peter Belshaw, is by Ampere out of the Lord Leatherdale mare Evita. She produced composed, confident performances in the atmospheric Hartpury area, with 76.72% at elementary and a whopping 79.01% at novice. “She is inexperienced; this is by far the biggest thing she has done so far,” said Charlotte, who dashed down the M4 to Windsor after her second test to perform with Gio ahead of the Olympic team announcement. “It was such a great experience for Kismet to come here and for me to see what she was like and put her through her paces. She…

• THE Equi-Trek elementary went to New Zealander Sarah Wilkinson, who scored 73.29% aboard the six-year-old mare Koko II (Desperado x Johnson, pictured). “My boyfriend and I moved to the UK in March 2020, 10 days before we went into lockdown,” said Sarah, who runs a riding, livery and training business. Sarah found Koko at Kirsten Becker’s yard in Germany: “She’s super-cool; she’s turning into a bit of a madam because I think she knows she’s good, but she is quite wise. I hope to produce her to grand prix. Along with three fantastic paces, I think her temperament will be a massive factor in that.” • PORTUGUESE rider Luis Vilhena piloted the five-year-old Millenium x Voice son Loves Black STH I into pole position in the KBIS prelim final…

Farley Hall, Berkshire LAURA SCHROTER and her top horse, Willem Van Wup, headed the advanced intermediate (AI), adding one showjumping rail plus a smattering of time-penalties to their dressage score of 28.3. “After a slightly stressful start to the season trying to get him prepared for Houghton CCI4*-S, it’s nice finally to get back into our rhythm,” said Laura, who explained that Willem had been sidelined with a minor leg injury for most of last season and then had a slow start to the year due to the hard ground. “It was really difficult to find suitable places to run him, but we made it to Houghton – just.” Laura, who runs a busy yard in West Sussex, jumped clear across country around Tattersalls and Blenheim CCI4*-Ls in 2019 with…

A NOVICE gelding belied his lack of ring experience to clinch the HOYS riding horse tricolour at Lincolnshire on his second outing. Leon King and Jean Walsh-Wright’s stunning small contender Stanley Grange Skylark strutted to the title over the second-placed large combination, Victoria Timperley and her Small Time LL. Jean – who has bred many successful show horses under the Becconsall prefix – sourced the Up With The Lark six-year-old from Jerome Harforth at the beginning of the season. “He’d only done one clinic in his life, but I never heard a peep out of him on the three-hour journey home,” explained Jean, who produces Skylark from home alongside her granddaughter, Becky Walsh. “He’s a promising horse; he’s full of quality and movement, but he’s got the temperament, too. Here,…

Summer tour one – international stairway special, South View, Cheshire THREE members of Mark Edward’s home-bred dynasty claimed a win a piece, including the international stairway, on another prosperous outing for the on-form Welshman. Fifteen-year-old Tinkers Tale took a 1.40m victory on the opening day, while his son Flying Tinker II claimed the 1.30m. Montreuxs Tale, also a son of Tinkers Tale, then closed the show with a win in the international stairway, propelling them into an eight-point lead in the league. The stairway was decided all on the clock, with five riders from six jump-off contenders delivering double clears. “We had three generations at this show”MARK EDWARDS Mark finished more than one second up on fellow prolific county performers Adrian Speight and Millfield Baloney, with Mennell Watson and the…

THE “vivid reality” of a top footballer’s sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has highlighted how quickly action must be taken to save a life - and sparked more discussions in the equestrian community. Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen experienced an SCA and was resuscitated on the field during the Denmark vs Finland European Championships match on 12 June. Following the incident, UK Coaching, in collaboration with Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance and the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, has produced a free “life-saving digital learning toolkit”, funded by Sport England, to help people learn what to do in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. The toolkit includes practical advice, videos, and an e-learning course. “You only get one shot at it, and you have to be quick”MEGAN HARDMAN In the event of…

THE vast majority of positive dope tests in racing and FEI competition are not deliberate “foul play” but the result of mistakes with withdrawal time, contamination or human error. The findings of research into positive equine samples taken over the past five years, in British and Irish racing and all FEI disciplines, were revealed at a webinar on 30 June. Kevin Corley, director and founder of specialist app EquiTrace, and a specialist in equine internal medicine and critical care, spoke about methods to reduce error in medicating competition horses. “We’ve all seen the headlines, unfortunately, and they’re not only damaging to the trainers involved, they’re damaging to the vets, the owners, the jockeys, and the sport we all love,” he said. “But when we look behind the headlines, it’s often…

COMPETE ONLINE WITH reference to the letter from Kate Hewetson in the 17 June issue of H&H regarding the shortage of British Dressage events, one option would be to compete online. There are many websites that off er monthly competitions, and clear instructions are given as to how to upload videos. Dressage Anywhere offers a wide range of classes from British Dressage (BD) intro to advanced medium, including freestyle, ex-racehorse and veteran classes, plus BD Quest Online and British Eventing dressage tests. There is something to suit everyone. The classes are judged by BD Listed judges and scoresheets are returned promptly. In addition to all this, there are no problems regarding travelling. Fiona Burns Clifton-upon-Teme, Worcs PICTURE PERFECT HOW delightful to see the photograph of Alex Hua Tian on Don…

Which famous person would you invite to dinner? Chris Hoy – I think he is really interesting as a sportsperson and I’m fascinated by other sports and how athletes train using different approaches. I’d also invite Michael McIntyre because he’s hilarious, and I don’t like being the centre of attention so he could take that role. If you weren’t a rider, what would you be? I work in marketing and events outside of riding anyway, but I actually wanted to study law at university – I’d love to be a lawyer. How do you handle your competition nerves? My mind is very good at overthinking, so I have to try to keep that in check and just stay in the moment. I’m better once I’m on the horse; going from…

DERBYSHIRE-BASED amateur home-producer Jessica Taylor had a justifiably tearful moment after posting her first Royal Windsor win, heading the working show horse class with her athletic 17-year-old grey Randal, a son of John Whitaker’s great showjumping stallion Randi. The night before, Jessica and her family were devastated to lose their much-loved home-bred dog Buster due to heart failure at the age of nine, so it was only reluctantly that they set off for the show more than three hours later than planned. Subsequent motorway closures and delays then added to the stress factor and they did not arrive until well after midnight. “I really didn’t want to come at all but it was like a dream to compete in the main arena for the first time,” said Jessica, who works…

A 16-YEAR-OLD rider and her home-produced Fell pony flew to the 133cm mountain and moorland (M&M) working hunter class en route to the section title. Judges Caroline Whiteley and Kevin Walker had a broad choice of breeds – including a New Forest, a Shetland, a Welsh and several Connemaras – to select their champion from, but it was the stunning jet black gelding Greenholme Falcon (Dan) who shone brightest. The 12-fence course made use of the Frogmore Arena’s immaculate surface, but competitors needed to be on their mettle as spook-provoking challenges included a water tray and a duck-themed filler. Despite this, clears were plentiful and so conformation and breed type came to fruition. Owned by Chantelle Chapman’s mother Victoria Oliver, 10-year-old Dan – by Greenholme Look At Me out of…

KATEY SAGGERS was another emotional winner when her home-produced mare Whalton Razzle Dazzle was called forward in the amateur hacks. “It’s been a long journey for us, as she was diagnosed with a bone cyst in her coffin bone as a yearling and we were told to put her down,” she explained. “However, after discussions with my vet, we brought her home to Cornwall to give her time out. We tried putting her in-foal as a four-year-old and she didn’t take, but she had come sound, so we broke her in slowly and started competing her at six. We haven’t looked back since. “She’s the easiest, sweetest mare and now she’s given me my first win at my very favourite show.”…

THE big red wall made a welcome return to the grounds of Windsor Castle and came down to a head-to-head between 21-year-old debutant Joe Stockdale (far right) with a ride of just five days, the Bussey family’s Florida VDL, and the vastly experienced duo of Guy Williams (near right) with the multi-winning Mr Blue Sky UK. The two combinations made it through to the fifth and final round, where the bricks stood at 2.10m, splitting the £5,000 prize money after both cleared it effortlessly once again. “I knew Florida VDL was capable of jumping the wall but I’d never done one before, so that’s a great result for me,” said Joe. “It’s a lot more intense when you get in there – it’s a big, intimidating wall and the width…

CHARLOTTE TUCKWELL gained a first national title when she and DHI Alligator took the inter I bronze with 69.65%. Charlotte, 22, is work rider and head girl for Nathalie Kayal, who also took an inter I title here in the Superflex final. Charlotte took over the ride on 16-year-old DHI Alligator four years ago at novice. “We’re not that established at inter I, so it was a nice surprise to win,” Charlotte said. “Normally his pirouettes are his weak point, but he stayed with me during them, rather than getting tense. He was on form and so much more confident – and I remembered to count my three-time changes! “He’s done everything for me – he’s taken me from my first British Dressage [BD] competition to inter I at the…

KEYSOE’S new owner, Sarah Stoute, bought the venue last winter and has big plans for its future. “‘We have the ambition to grow Keysoe International to be able to facilitate all equestrian disciplines for all levels of abilities,” she said. “We have started a journey towards creating a world-class facility, and our vision includes a new indoor arena and additional outdoor arenas with wax-free surfaces, and a hotel and spa.” It was great credit to the organising team that the 01 was the final outing for the four Tokyo-bound British team horses, and that they ran – gently – across country. All four – Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend), London 52 (Laura Collett), Toledo De Kerser (Tom McEwen, pictured) and Brookfield Inocent (Piggy March) – looked superb and, notably, Toledo De…

ANDREW PARRY and Autumn Bright Star topped a BE90 class at Launceston (1). The result was just reward for North Devon-based Andrew, who works long hours in HR for a large energy company. “Before Covid I would commute to London and stay there three days a week, but in the last year I’ve worked solely from home, which has been a real bonus,” explained Andrew, who still has to rely on a “fabulous neighbour” to help keep Autumn fit and ready to run. “I’m very lucky to have the horses at home – I can see them out of my office window – but my neighbour does all the hacking and fitness work for me when I’m working.” The pair’s win was particularly fitting as it was almost six years…

BRITAIN will hold a CCI5* event this year, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of all involved. Bicton Arena in Devon will host a one-off top-level event in what would have been Burghley week (2-5 September), as a replacement after the cancellation of Badminton and Burghley. Eventing Riders Association of Great Britain (ERA of GB) president Bruce Haskell said this is “the right thing for the sport”. “It’s not just because the five-star horses are so special, it’s the connection,” he told H&H. “It’s the engagement; for people to be able to follow these top-level horses; there will be limited spectator tickets, but it’ll be available on live-stream. “I’m buzzing from a fan’s point of view, for people to be able to see and be involved with this level…

CHANGES to whip use and related sanctions in racing are likely to come into force next year. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) launched its delayed public consultation on whip use in the sport on 1 July. BHA chief regulatory officer Brant Dunshea stressed that this is “not a polarised yes-no debate” or “referendum” over whether the whip stays or goes; it is a question of how it is used and what the sanctions are for misuse. But he said some reform is likely and “nothing is off the table entirely”. “What is clear is that the whip is an issue of public trust, and the sport must be alive and responsive to the view of the public, who are our current and future customers,” he said, adding that it is…

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THE Taylor family were celebrating when their aptly named home-bred five-year-old Dare To Dream gave them a first Windsor win, scoring in the novice hacks partnered by Amanda Picillo [née Taylor]. The first-season campaigner, by Up With The Lark, is produced by Jerome Harforth and Team Emmerson. “I’ve been with Jerome for nearly 30 years and he’s just the king of hacks,” said Amanda. “We won the novices at Midland Counties and qualified for RIHS in his first open class at Area 7, but we all think a lot of this horse and won’t rush him. Winning here is an absolute thrill.”…

HOME-PRODUCED Welsh section A gelding Broekland Allesandro gave his eight-year-old jockey a winning first ride on royal ground. The delightful 13-year-old and Elsie Cowell headed a mammoth M&M first ridden class of 28 entries, en route to the section championship, where they stood above the super-mannerly lead-rein Shetland Briar Snow Fox and Penny Richardson. “Elsie is so dedicated and does all the horsey stuff at home herself,” said Elsie’s mother Katie Bates, who sourced the former HOYS open winner from Nicky and Demi Appleton in October. This is the family’s first season of affiliated showing and also Elsie’s first off the rein. “We had a lead-rein for last season, but due to Covid we couldn’t get out, so when Allesandro came up for sale we bought him,” added Katie, who…

Royal Windsor, Berks WITH four weeks to go before the Olympics, Ben Maher and Explosion W showed the home crowd exactly how golden their medal hopes are in Tokyo. It’s been almost two years since we’ve had the chance to witness the unparalleled athlete that is Explosion W on home soil – on that occasion he triumphed in the Global Champions Tour grand prix in London. Just 20 miles further west, he was untouchable once again in the CSI5* Rolex grand prix. “He has a good track record in England, I wish the Olympics were here!” said Ben, who understandably couldn’t sing the praises of this magnificent chestnut enough. “He’s like a Ferrari, he fills me with so much confidence,” he said. “There are many great horses in the world…

WITH an international grand prix win already under their belt this year, 19-year-old Lily Freeman-Attwood and Cor-Leon VD Vlierbleek Z were always in strong contention for the under-25 win. In a 14-strong jump-off, they delivered the fastest of five double clears, seeing off a competitive challenge from Flo Norris and the very experienced five-star horse Gin Chin Van Het Lindenhof, who were just 0.26sec behind. The jump-off track sifted the field, with the majority of riders faulting at the final double or on a turnback to a grey oxer, where five combinations had a rail. “They put the fences up a lot for the jump-off as they had quite a lot of clear rounds and it caught a few out,” Lily said. “The turn back to the oxer was quite…

FIRST NATIONAL TITLE SINCE 2006 ANDREW GOULD went home with the Magic PSG title, his first national title in 15 years. Riding Tatiana Skillman’s 10-year-old Zhivago stallion Genie III, Andrew scored 70.44% – the only plus-70% mark in the class. “We’ve had him for 18 months,” said Andrew. “He’s probably the easiest horse I’ve ever had from a character point of view. He is a stallion and he will cover at some point, but his trainability is brilliant. He just wants to work, he has energy; he wants to please. “I think towards the end of the year, he will take steps towards his first grand prix.”…

FORMER event rider Lizzie Bulmer was emotional when winning her first national title in the medium silver on Duke Of Light. Lizzie, who rode on the British team at the junior European Championships in 1990, scored 69.75%. Lizzie admitted: “I’m totally overwhelmed. This is his first time at a championship – he’s been so difficult that we have never tried to qualify for anything before.” The rider bought the now-13-year-old by De Niro x Wolkentanz from Brightwells auction when he was three. “He’s had various issues, from saddle-fitting problems to ulcers, and has been wild at competitions,” said Lizzie. “Lockdown gave us time to train and consolidate. He’s a different horse this season.” AGAINST THE ODDS…

Alnwick Ford (1), Northumberland KIRSTY HETHERINGTON and her “jumping machine” Timeless Crusader (Dougie) stormed to a win in one of two intermediate sections. The seven-year-old belied his age and relative inexperience to add just 2.8 time-penalties to his dressage score of 34.3. “The ground was a little wet and slippery, but trickier conditions help us out as he’s the most brilliant jumper, but his flatwork is not as established,” explained Kirsty, who bought Dougie as a rising four-year-old. “I actually went to look at him for a friend who wanted a project horse. She didn’t like him, but I went back to try him. He’d only just been broken in and I can remember jumping a 45cm cross-pole on him before he rodeoed off around the arena. I thought he…

CHARTERED accountant Victoria Wilson has waited 14 years for a first affiliated eventing win, but it came at the best possible time – in the BE100 Science Supplements Area Festival Championship at Chillington Hall. Victoria and her partner of 10 years, Armani V (Harry), went home with a stash of prizes, including £200, an Equireel video of her cross-country round, a sash and an assortment of horsey goodies. “I’ve always struggled to get everything right on the same day – although I guess that’s the gripe many eventers have – but at Chillington Hall we had luck on our side,” she said. Like many working riders, Covid has provided a silver lining in that Victoria has managed to spend far more time in the saddle. “My office in Manchester is…

Lincolnshire Horse and Pony Show, Lincolnshire Showground AS form dictates, the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) mountain and moorland (M&M) classes were brimming with quality across the breeds. Making a long journey over from Larne in Northern Ireland well worth the effort were father-and-daughter team Tony and Zoe Bell and producer Rachel Moore, who won two tickets as well as the small breeds championship. Their front-runner was the striking black Shetland stallion Wikners Gryffindor (Griff), who was ready for his moment at the head of the line after top placings at both Three Counties and Cheshire County earlier in the month. The nine-year-old by Kaunisrannan Harry Potter out of Kaunisrannan Ronja was purchased from Finland as a foal. “Dad was judging over there and tried to buy his sire,”…