Innholdsfortegnelse for 14-Jul-2022 i Horse & Hound

TACKLING risk in cross-country is understandably a highly emotive topic – brought into sharp focus by recent tragic horse and rider injuries. In this week’s issue, Martha Terry takes on the daunting task of trying to get across just some of the views of riders and other experts in this field, to establish what the eventing world believes should be done next, to, as far as possible, reduce the risks associated with the sport (feature, p32). Because that is the one thing everyone seems to agree on, that there will always be an element of risk. There is much besides over which the experts fundamentally disagree, be that ground lines, frangibles or the colour of fences, and it is no enviable task for those responsible to make sense of all…

HERMES RYAN Simon Delestre’s individual European bronze and CSI5* grand prix-winning ride has retired aged 17. The gelding, owned by Simon and Philippe Berthol, won his final start, a 1.50m Global Champions Tour class. DIPLOMATIC JACK The gelding who set Alex Postolowsky on the path to being a professional eventer has been put down aged 28. The pair’s successes included wins at the Pony Club championships and up to two-star (now three-star). FIT FOR FUN 13 Portuguese showjumper Luciana Diniz’s mare, who she owns with Ralf Jünger, was retired at Aachen aged 18. The pair came ninth at Rio 2016 Olympics, jumped at two Europeans, and won five-star grands prix.…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle MY big campaign for this summer is to stop everyone talking about the World Equestrian Games (WEG). WEG brought together the World Championships in multiple different equestrian sports every four years between 1990 and 2018. From 2022, different disciplines will hold their World Championships in different places, at different times. Sometimes two or more disciplines may hold a combined championship. This is what happened before 1990. None of the events before 1990 or after 2018 are correctly referred to as WEG – they are simply World Championships. WEG is a term unique to horse sport and, I suspect, was difficult for the wider public and mainstream media to understand quickly. World Championship is much more aligned to other sports and easy to comprehend, so now that it’s also…

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“CROSS-COUNTRY is the heartbeat of the sport,” says Lucinda Green, a world and double European champion who coaches at all levels. “We all do it for the cross-country, that’s what riders want and get out of bed for, but it’s hard to say ‘we need to keep the danger element’. “I wonder if we have shot ourselves in the foot by heightening the influence of dressage and showjumping, which has in subtle ways had a negative effect on the cross-country. Dressage breeding has crept in, often producing less sharp-minded horses; while showjumping breeding produces horses with caution but not always courage. The relative training time apportioned to dressage is frequently out of kilter with that afforded to cross-country and encouraging a horse to think for himself and have fun. “Many…

“GENTLE giant” Bentayga UKB made easy work of the prelims to win both at Manor Grange Stud, West Yorks. “I’m so lucky to ride him, but he’s a big boy for four, ” said Alexandra Hellings of Alison Singleton’s near 18hh home-bred Belissimo M gelding. “I finished backing him at the start of the year, with Alison and trainer Sonia Baines, and we’re giving him time to strengthen and grow. He does the odd grunt with a cheeky moment, but he’s a dream. The first few shows with him have been a pleasure.” ONE TO WATCH…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle Keyflow Feeds Barbury, Wilts MOLLIE SUMMERLAND and Charly Van Ter Heiden proved they have put a disappointing Badminton behind them by taking the CCI4*-S at Barbury. The pair, CCI5* winners at Luhmühlen last year, posted such a stunning dressage mark – 18.7, the best at the level by a British rider since 2014 – that they were able to afford a showjump down and 14 cross-country timepenalties and still maintain a cushion of 3.1 penalties over Pippa Funnell and Billy Walk On. The Italian judge at C, Nice Attolico Guglielmi, awarded Mollie and the elegant black 13-year-old Charly Van Ter Heiden a 10 for their entry and first halt, setting the tone for the test, and did the same for their final centre line and halt. “I knew…

LUCINDA ATKINSON steered Pippa and Jane Reynolds’ talented six-year-old Twice Proved (Missy) to a novice win at Baileys Horse Feeds Somerford Park (1). The Irish-bred grey mare, who came from Goresbridge Sales in 2019, had already finished seventh and fifth in her two CCI2*-S starts at Floors Castle and Alnwick Ford (1). “We bid on her while shopping in Tesco, ” explained Jane. “Lucinda went to Goresbridge armed with photos of the horses we liked and when we saw Missy loose-jumping we decided to go for it.” The mare’s connections were particularly pleased with her dressage score of 30.3. “She is a diva and very tough, which makes her a great cross-country horse, but the dressage has taken some work, ” added Jane. “The halts and rein-backs in particular have…

catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123 Wales and Border Counties, Builth Wells, Powys THE Teme Valley hounds achieved a remarkable triumph at this year’s Wales and Border Counties Hound Show. While their Dilwyn 20 was winning the overall championship in the Welsh ring, ably shown by huntsman David Savage, the fellhounds were being shown in another ring, where amateur whippers-in George Hodnett and Ellen Jones, along with David’s brother Robbie Savage, were having great success with more Teme Valley hounds. Following Dilwyn’s success, David had time to get to the sidelines and gesture some tips to George in his white smock before their Dido 17 was picked out as champion fellhound. “They had been showing our fellhounds all day so it was only fair to let George show Dido in the championship, ” said…

Share your news story Call 01252 555021 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @jones_eleanor_ OBSTACLE safety and ground conditions are the focus of “up-and-going” welfare projects – as the racing and wider equestrian worlds are reminded that when it comes to equine welfare, “we are all in this together”. The racing industry’s Horse Welfare Board (HWB) set out 26 projects at its launch (news, 27 February 2020). Its equine safety advisor Mike Etherington-Smith and aftercare lead Francesca Compostella shared progress and projects it is focusing on, at the Horseracing Industry Conference in Newbury (30 June). Obstacle (fences and hurdles) safety, ground conditions, plus a stalls and starting review are among current projects. “We are looking at obstacle improvement and development and what we can do in terms of profiles, materials, design and sighting,” said…

“CHOOSE DON’T CHASE” FOR SHOWS THE National Pony Society (NPS) has reiterated the “choose, don’t chase” ethos. As in previous years, the NPS has released a statement encouraging members to take into account the effects of overtravelling, especially in hot weather. It comes after a busy period, with many Horse of the Year Show qualifiers. The statement said: “There have been instances of the same ponies being shown at opposite ends of the country within a short time frame and we sincerely ask that our members and others consider this as a welfare issue. “The message ‘choose, don’t chase’ still applies.” UNSUNG HEROES SOUGHT FOR AWARD THE National Equine Forum (NEF) is calling for nominations for the Sir Colin Spedding Award 2023. The honour goes to an “exceptional unsung hero…

Olympic champion Ben Maher and his wife, showjumper Sophie, have welcomed a baby boy, Cooper. The couple married last year following Ben’s gold medal win in Tokyo. Showjumper Matthew Sampson has claimed his second five-star victory, and his 10th win of the Spruce Meadows summer series. Matthew and Ebolenksy won a 1.50m on 9 July. Lincolnshire-based para dressage rider Roberta Sheffield has been selected to represent Canada at the World Championships in August. “Bert” will ride Fairuza. Former jockey Jacob Pritchard Webb, who was paralysed in a fall in 2020, has completed a 140-mile hand cycle, raising £15,000 for the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Matt Hampson Foundation. H&H commercial partnerships director Justeen Jones received a star award at the SEIB Yard of the Year Awards. Star awards are given…

GOOD WEEK ▲ LANGUAGE BARRIERS In response to a “model who can’t ride a horse” video shared online, in which said horse looked rather shabby and skinny, a US rider said: “They could have taken a curry to him.” Her UK counterpart, confused by thoughts of chicken tikka masalas, twigged. As in comb, not korma. Gotcha. ▲ COMEBACKS Overheard, a rider reporting being asked: “Does it not worry you that all your friends are getting married and having kids and you’re still riding horses?” Top marks for the reply: “Yes, but I don’t know how to help them.” Well said! ▲ OBSERVATIONS One for music fans. Has anyone thought that during the entirety of that ride through the desert, America could have thought of a name for the horse? We’re…

1) Which was the top eventing sire in the UK in 2021? 2) When Felix Vogg won Luhmühlen 2022, he became the first Swiss rider to win a five-star horse trials since ______ won ______ in 1951? 3) In what year did Ada Cole found the International League Against the Export of Horses for Butchery (now World Horse Welfare)? 4) Which breed of horse is nicknamed the golden horse? 5) Name the mare who features in Penelope Chetwode’s Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia. Answers from 7 July: 1) Sandro Hit; 2) Osmington, Dorset; 3) Endurance; 4) Justin Morgan, aka Figure; 5) Tullabeg Flamenco.…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald IT was great to see such big crowds turn out for last month’s Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – they had 35-40,000 people over the week, which shows that people still love a spectacle. Even Saturday’s speed Derby figures were up. For the people who perhaps like to watch showjumping once a year, they go to watch the Derby rather than the same-old jumping round a sand ring. As a sport, we need to remember that. Hickstead was disappointing from a personal point of view because, having shared top spot in Friday’s Derby trial on Equine America Billy Diamo, I’d started convincing myself I had a real chance of winning the Derby on Sunday. He’d been jumping so well. “All being well, we’ll have a team with a…

RIDER LOTTIE FRY “MY grand prix special on Glamourdale in Opglabbeek, Belgium, was the best test I’ve ever felt. Everything came together and when he is doing everything really well he can easily get nines and even 10s for almost everything. Even though he scored 80% in that test, I can feel there is so much more to come – there seems to be no limit to his potential. “The feeling from that test was of everything coming together, and it was incredible – when I did my last halt I knew it was good. “He is very powerful, with amazing self-carriage and natural balance. Wherever he goes he wants to show off, so when there is a big audience he just gets better and better. He knows when everyone…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 Hartpury CDI3*, Glos BECKY MOODY was the undisputed queen of Hartpury with a hat-trick of small tour wins aboard her prolific Jagerbomb, while Gareth Hughes and Fiona Bigwood spearheaded the British grand prix success stories. Becky and her own eight-year-old Dante Weltino gelding, who scooped a trio of national winter titles here less than three months ago, opened their account with a class-topping 75.24% in Friday’s prix st georges (PSG). As the heat and the competition built, so too did their marks. The pair headed Saturday’s inter I by an almost 6% margin, scoring 77.32%, before breaking the 80% barrier in Sunday’s freestyle to the sound of Tom Jones’ Sex Bomb. “He goes in there and he has a smile on his face and I think the judges…

MARCELLE WARD achieved a particularly satisfying win in the grade IV freestyle with her home-bred De Niro mare Dornroeschen. Marcelle underwent a total hip replacement in January. “I wasn’t allowed to ride again for three months, so I only got back on in April, ” she said. “But she was awesome today; she gave me everything and it felt really harmonious.” Marcelle rode to music put together by Equivisions, after her husband discovered their canter music on a toothbrush advert on Facebook. “It matches her really well, and she really wanted to dance today.” AGAINST THE ODDS…

“HE seems to have come onto the straight and narrow, ” said Natasha Gibbons of Forever Mine, who headed both elementaries with plus-70% scores at Widmer EC, Bucks. “Our expectations weren’t high, but he exceeded them.” The 11-year-old gelding, known as “Bramley”, proved problematic when Natasha bought him five years ago. “He suffered saddle issues and lost his big movement, ” she explained. “We had to forget about dressage for a while, but with a new saddle he has changed shape and regained his sparkle. We give him plenty of variety. He hacks, loves jumping and playing at cross-country. “Bramley had never really been to a show, so the aim this year is to get him out having fun, ” added Natasha. “At Widmer, he knuckled down and got on…

MOLLIE SUMMERLAND admitted that, with a CCI5* victory in 2021 under her belt, she had found her retirement across country at Badminton this spring hard to deal with. “I felt a lot of pressure in the run-up to Badminton, and when it went wrong I took quite a long time to come back from that, ” she said. “I deleted all my social media apps for a while and that was really refreshing – to take a step back, focus on myself and take some time back in my own little bubble.” She dropped Charly Van Ter Heiden down to intermediate level for three runs, resisting the temptation to tackle anything bigger until Barbury. “Initially I wanted to go straight out and redeem myself, but giving ourselves the chance to…

alexandra.robinson@futurenet.com @alexrob_journo_ Devon County, Westpoint Showground A HOME-BRED broodmare who had a successful career under saddle headed a strong line-up of contenders to land the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) Price Family supreme in-hand ticket. Leading Royal Stage to the top in-hand accolade was Jeff Grace. Queenie, as she’s called at home, pulled off all the moves to be crowned judge Cindy Sims’ overall champion for breeder-owner Virginia Russell-Wood. The 10-year-old mare, who was based with Team Holder during her ridden career, is by Kilvington Scoundrel out of Virginia’s Cuddywinning mare Stage Whisper. She was shown with her first foal, Stage Affair, by Cosford Criminal Affair, at foot. “I was there to watch her win her class, but I had to go to a school function the next day…

WE were in North Yorkshire at the weekend. A place of fond memories for Adam who hunted the Sinnington between 1998 and 2001. He liked the Yorkshire tendency to call a spade a spade and their do-or-die commitment to hunting. Although we were there on non-hunting business – to give Jack a look at his new school, Aysgarth, in the Bedale country – there was spare time to cruise around some old haunts. For some husbands, this might mean pointing out a house where they lived. The pub where so-and-so did this. It’s different with a huntsman. Driving through the Sinnington low country, still a gorgeous backwater to this day, Adam wasn’t seeing hedgerows billowing with elderflower or the mellow glow of a warm June day, he was pointing into…

AN apprentice provider has been graded “outstanding” by Ofsted for a fourth time. Stubbing Court Training (SCT), which provides apprentices to the equine industry and receives input into its curriculum from equestrian figures such as Chris Bartle, received the grade overall and in all seven sub-categories, including quality of education, personal development and leadership and management. “This is fantastic validation of our constant striving to enable all apprentices to have the appropriate opportunities to attain world-class standards,” said Belinda Turner, SCT chief executive. “The report also recognises the superbly talented professionals we are privileged to work with as employers and trainers.”…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 I START this column by correcting my last. I mentioned that there was no professional dressage riding exam in the UK, making it difficult to define ourselves as qualified professional people. But the British Horse Society (BHS) now offers a dressage-specific coaching pathway. This includes riding which, if passed alongside the other sections, means one carries the title of stage five performance dressage coach BHSI. It’s quite new and I wanted to know what it’s about, so I’m taking the exam, which is rebranded as an assessment. I reached BHSI stable manager level 25 years ago, but I didn’t complete the riding section as it was a multi-discipline exam, and I am the most spectacularly untalented jump jockey. I had no desire to do it and doubted that…

PLENTY of riders are good. Some are great. Only a handful go down in history as the defining horsemen of their generation. There is no doubt where Gina fits on that scale. Sport has a funny way of delivering a story. Gina rang in the new year by breaking Polly Gundry’s long-standing record as the winning-most point-to-point rider of all time, on Fumet D’Oudairies – a horse bought for a single bid for £800. Foxhunters glory and a ninth championship title followed, with her husband Tom Ellis also smashing the record for the most winners trained in a season. “The highlight of this season has been the highlight of my entire career, and that was Latenightpass winning the Foxhunters at Aintree. That was a dream come true. I used to…

“GLAMMY is super-sweet and cuddly, and just a super-cool chap. He loves a good scratch and also gets very excited each day when it’s time for him to go out to have grass. We do really spoil him, and he has a proper look he always does with his ears forward as if to say, ‘Oh… are those treats for me?’ “He is fine travelling on the truck, although he always manages to get his headcollars off – both of them! He wears two in the hope that he might keep one of them on, but he always manages to get out of them. He is a master at escaping! “Glammy is always super-chilled when he is staying away at a show, and if he’s travelling with his stablemate Inclusive,…

LYDEARD FARM Broomfield, Bridgwater, Somerset For you: a fabulous farm within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with far-reaching views. The house is Tudor and Grade II-listed with six bedrooms. There is also a detached three-bed converted barn, plus a farm office with meeting rooms and a bedroom, and a secluded bush camp with five wooden lodges in a private valley. For the horses: an open-fronted barn, a gated yard with four looseboxes, rug storage, two tack rooms and feed store. There is a further covered yard with two stables and horse-walker, plus a stone barn with two pens and small stockyard. There is an 25x50m all-weather manège. Set in nearly 70 acres. £3m GTH, 01823 277121, gth.net HORSE SHOE COTTAGE Crimes Lane, Beeston, Cheshire For you: a…

MATS BJÖRNETUN, an automobile industry expert who invented the MIMclip, is in the process of unveiling a log which can be used on frangible pins –typically logs are too heavy. The Dutch made a foam log several years ago, which fizzled out because it broke. But Mats has high hopes for his prototype. The log is hollowed out with a bandsaw, filled with polystyrene, and glued back together. Later this month, after extensive testing, Mats plans to “teach the world how they can do this – it’s not about cost, but you do have to put more work into the log”. “It’s about preserving the integrity of the sport,” he says. “Because you cannot have too much weight on pins, oxer rails have to be so thin, but this brings…

Hartpury Premier League, Glos ANDREW GOULD made a winning grand prix debut on the talented black stallion he bought with the Paris Olympics in mind, Indigro. The pair have been together for three months, since Indigro was bought from the Netherlands for Andrew by Max and Tatiana Skillman. Here the nine-year-old Negro stallion posted 73.46%. “He is so honest and genuine. Around the arena, he felt amazing, and I got the sense that he would be on board. I had a brilliant ride, ” said Andrew. “He finds all the work relatively easy, but he lacks the experience as he hasn’t done a lot of shows since he was six. He’s capable, but there is a big difference between knowing it and stringing it all together. I didn’t know what…

“IT’S been an amazing journey, ” said Jo Weekes, after a PSG qualifier win at Reaseheath College, Cheshire, with Rossetti’s Destiny. “He’s only nine and I’m an amateur, working as a consultant radiographer in nuclear medicine with the NHS, so he’s schooled just twice a week and not drilled in dressage. He has natural ability and remembers things, relishing his work and always rising to the occasion.” Dubbed the “mini professor” by Jo and her trainer Debbie Jones, the Desperados gelding is off to the Somerford Park regionals next. “Debbie has been instrumental in improving my accuracy, ” said Jo. “She’s helping nurture him to that next stage. There’s no rush.”…

“THIS WAS HER BEST TEST TO DATE” HENRY CARTER scored a convincing outright novice victory at West Wilts with Active Vogue. “She’s a little powerhouse, ” said Henry, who has just relocated to a Devon yard and rides Vogue for Alison Pomroy. The five-year-old mare has won every novice she has contested so far: “While she’s a bit bolshy on the ground, she’s hot but not silly. She loves to learn and get on with the job. She can struggle with tension as she’s so green, but this was her best test to date. I literally felt her go into the arena, take a deep breath and relax.”…

The National Saddle Centre, Offchurch Bury, Warwickshire LORNA RILEY and her own Vienna Ask battled the elements to score a pillar-to-post victory in the first of two CCI*-intro sections. A weekend of lashing rain came as a shock to the system after a spell of settled weather, but the livery yard owner from Essex and her seven-year-old mare added just a smattering of timepenalties in both jumping phases to their leading dressage score of 30 to finish on 34.4. “She’s only ever jumped on harder ground before, so I had no idea what to expect, ” admitted Lorna, who relocated from Durham two years ago and set up a livery yard just outside Colchester. “She slid to a halt both times in the dressage and lost her balance once or…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald NAF Five Star Hartpury Showjumping Spectacular, Glos KARL ROBINS and G Camille HBF have been reliable three-star Nations Cup performers this year, and returned to British soil to take the area trial with the sole double clear. The partnership were the only clean combination in the first round, with the five top performers going through to the jump-off. Alfie Bradstock collected the runner-up spot on Classy Cat, having made up for a four-fault performance in the first round with a fast clear in the second, while Rose Moss finished in third after also having one down and a clear on Amina OL. “It was well built, and Krissy [Spiller, course-designer] got very good results the whole show; she did a great job all weekend, ” Karl said. “Because…