Innholdsfortegnelse for 24-Jul-2025 i Horse & Hound

WHEN British Olympic double gold – and now double 2025 European silver – medallist Scott Brash writes the book on how to stay cool under pressure, revealing the secrets of his success, we will all surely be able to benefit from the read. Huge congratulations to Scott on this remarkable success, once again delivered with ultimate professionalism, calm and brilliance. And to the whole British showjumping team for another formidable championship performance. As Eleanor Jones writes in this week's bumper championship report, with team silver, Scott's individual silver plus four riders finishing in the top 12, it really was a phenomenal week for British showjumping (report, p34). This month Eleanor also caught up with the formidable near 90-year-old driving star Jeff Osborne, of refrigerator fame, who knows a thing or…

Angela Lyons (grade IV) with Woodcroft Santa Cruz, 17, owned by Angela Lyons Jessica McKenna (grade III) with D.C.I Cerruti, 14, owned by Elder Klatzko, Emma McKenna and rider Katie Reilly (grade III) with Keystone Dawn Chorus, 14, owned by Kathleen Heavey, John Norcross, and Brendan and Karen Reilly Clodagh Walsh (grade I) with Chantal, owned by Alan Walsh Non-travelling reserve for grade III combinations: Kate Kerr-Horan with Lykkebo's Don Akino, owned by Pam Kerr, Ted Horan, Louie Porter and rider ● The British grooms’ names have not yet been confirmed. Selection decisions are subject to the athletes and horses maintaining fitness, and may be amended up to midnight on 20 August.…

SAMUEL MCATEER THE leading producer of show horses has died, aged 81, following a brave battle with illness. Sam passed away peacefully at home on the farm in Northern Ireland, where he had lived his whole life. Sam had such an eye for a horse and there was no one like him for the ability to spot a diamond in the rough and turn it into a champion. His record at Dublin and Balmoral was testament to that. He won his first Dublin championship in 1998, when the horses were ridden by Sam's wife Sheelagh, a home-produced team. In 2000, having won two heavyweight hunter classes, stood reserve in the heavyweight championship and won a cob class and championship, Sam and Sheelagh were awarded the Perpetual Challenge trophy for the…

Ireland's Daniel Coyle and Daydream won the CSI3* 1.55m Porsche grand prix in A Coruña, Spain, which ran alongside the Longines FEI European Championships. Jockey Billy Loughnane became the first jockey in Britain this year to ride 100 winners following his victory aboard Gewan at Newbury on 18 July. Oxfordshirebased Tom Goode and Furstenrausch PS won the Deauville CDI3* grand prix on 70.74%, and were second in the special on 69.81%. Showjumper Mark Edwards and 10-yearold gelding Dillinger NE beat 34 rivals to win the Chard Equestrian CSI3* grand prix on 20 July. Reigning British champion jump jockey Sean Bowen, who landed the title for the first time in April, married fiancée Harriett Matthews on 11 July.…

▼ SCAMMERS This week's award to a seller who wanted money up front “for insurance”. That's a new one. Sadly, we're not sure there are scammer cover policies. So that'll be a no. ▼ SPARE TIME A rider's mum marvelled at the time horse care takes. “What would I do otherwise?” the daughter asked. “Paint your nails?” the mum replied. After a pause, she said, “I'd rather dig up ragwort.” Fair point. ▼ MAGIC Talking ragwort, there seems to be a new amazing variety that's a) indestructible/immortal, and b) everywhere this year. Pull it up one minute, it's back the next. Where are Harry Potter and a vanishing spell when you need them?…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. @ horseandhound instagram.com/horseandhound facebook.com/horseandhound CELEBRATING WHAT WE CAN DO WE have just returned from the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships at Hartpury College. I had to write so that the whole equestrian community who read Horse & Hound know how incredible RDA is. A weekend full of highs and lows like any other competition but with everyone championing each other, sharing horses and celebrating what participants can do. “What a privilege to have horses in our lives” NATALIE O'ROURKE The overwhelming thing that really stood out is what an absolute gift our horses are, giving so much to so many and making the magic happen. Patient, kind, well-trained horses allowing our participants to be athletes…

HIGHLIGHTS 7–13 July Edited by Oscar Williams oscar.williams@futurenet.com @oscnwilliams HAVE YOU WON A BD CLASS? DO YOU OR YOUR HORSE HAVE A GREAT STORY? Email dressagehighlights@yahoo.com within 24 hours of your win for a chance to feature on these pages FEI Young Riders and Under-25 European Championships, Kronberg, Germany IT was a nail-biting under-25 finish for the Brits, who all were championship first-timers with the exception of Annabella Pidgley, who was contesting a European Championship for the eighth consecutive time. Annabella and her experienced partner Vamos Amigos were consistent high scorers, placing ninth in the team test, sixth in the individual, and fourth in the freestyle. “I couldn't be prouder that Vamos Amigos played such a big part in helping the team bring home a bronze medal,” Annabella said. “It…

Kelsall Hill EC, Cheshire NINE-YEAR-OLD Linck GE overcame his nervousness to give owner Harriet Horsfall wins in novice and elementary classes with personal best scores of over 72%. “He's very genuine but gets nervous and seeks confidence from his rider,” said Harriet, who runs a livery yard in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, with her sister. “He's shy the first time he goes round the arena, then the second time, he gets on with his job. I just have to keep him in the correct balance.” Josephine Clewlow and Ferrij started medium classes in February and have already scored six wins in a row. Josephine has had the 15-year-old San Remo gelding for two years and her win leaves her only one more needed to qualify for the winter regionals. “We haven't…

HIGHLIGHTS 7–13 July HAD A NOTABLE WIN IN THE SHOW RING? Email bethan.simons@futurenet.com within 24 hours of the show for your chance to appear in this section BSPS Scotland Summer, Champfleurie EC, W Lothian CADLANVALLEY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR and Lucy Smith stormed to the junior M&M championship and the Scottish supreme before also topping the overall supreme of show ahead of reserves, Kerridene Night Fury, ridden by Phoebe McGregor and led by Charlie Cousins who had stood future stars, mini and Scottish Heritage champions. Eight-year-old Welsh section B Buzz is by former HOYS champion Cadlanvalley Buzby out of Stockham Carole. He has previously won the open section B final at HOYS ridden by owner Myranda Houton and been fourth there in junior ranks with Lucy. “Lucy absolutely loves riding Buzz in…

THE East of England Showground is undergoing development, and the developers announced that the usual Festival of Hunting facilities would not be available this year less than two months before the show. Alison Queenborough, show secretary, did a quite remarkable job in moving the footprint of the show, with its five rings, tradestands and multiple tented areas, a few hundred metres away on another part of the showground in such a short space of time. The modern foxhound ring was covered by a large marquee and retained its traditional “grandstand” seating, but the ring was grass with a concrete pad, rather than a hard floor. A new electronic scoreboard was a great addition and the new layout was acclaimed a marked success. In all, the change was considered a good…

Edited by Eleanor Jones Share your news story Call 0330 390 6386 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ IT was a fabulous week for Britain at the Longines FEI European Showjumping Championships, as the team won silver – and Scott Brash and Hello Folie the individual silver medal. Scott and Folie, Ben Maher (Dallas Vegas Batilly), Matt Sampson (Medoc De Toxandria) and Donald Whitaker (Millfield Colette) stood on the podium on Friday, having added just four faults to their first-round score over two more days of jumping. But the week hadn't finished; Britain had a staggering four combinations in the top 25 and, after the first round of jumping in the individual final, all four went through to the top 12. Scott and 10-year-old Folie jumped clear to win silver, Ben and…

GABRIELLA BLAKE, 32 (GRADE I) STRONG BEAU, 16 OWNERS: rider and her parents Estelle and Gavin Blake BREEDER: S Amos BREEDING: Spinway Blackthorn x Balda Beau JEMIMA GREEN, 36 (GRADE II) FANTABULOUS, 7 OWNER: rider BREEDERS: Rainer and Angelika Ahlers BREEDING: Foundation 2 x Fürst Romancier MARI DURWARD-AKHURST, 31 (GRADE I) ATHENE LINDEBJERG, 18 OWNERS: D Redfern, R Hart and N DurwardAkhurst BREEDERS: U & K Bech BREEDING: Gribaldi x Diamant NICOLA NAYLOR, 64 (GRADE IV) HUMBERTO L, 13 OWNERS: rider and Rosalind Emery Kay BREEDER: J Lamers BREEDING: Cachet L x Haarlem…

DICKIE, LAURA AND LOUISE AT LONDON LONDON International Horse Show (18–22 December) has revealed the line-up for the first of its 2025 LeMieux masterclasses. The series “highlights top equestrian personalities in exciting and informative sessions” in the New Horizon Plastics Arena. British Equestrian technical director and eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood will present “perfect polework” on 18 December. It features eventing Olympic gold medallist Laura Collett and international dressage rider and showing producer Louise Bell on the benefits of polework and cavaletti. Dickie said he is “delighted to be back” at London International. “With the wonderful Louise Bell, I'm eager to show polework is important in not only dressage but showing and beyond,” he said. HELP REDUCE THE RISKS OF HERPES OWNERS are asked to complete an equine herpes virus…

Edited by Jennifer Donald jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald OPINION WHAT a fantastic European Championships this was! Brilliant courses by Santiago Varela tested the utter concentration of riders as well as the total athleticism and scope of the horses throughout the competition. Full marks to Spain and A Coruña for providing the backdrop, facilities and top-class going to produce such a spectacle. There have been times when a European Championships can fall a bit flat when it follows all the euphoria and emotion of the Olympics. But that certainly wasn't the case on this occasion. Indeed, many of the top riders had lightly competed their horses this year to have them spot on for these Europeans. It was interesting to read an interview with world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler, who's just won…

I called my first race when I was 15. My late father, Stanley, was commentating at the Cleveland point-to-point. I was standing next to him when, halfway through a race, he switched off the microphone and said: “I can't see them any more. You take over.” He thrust the microphone into my hand and that was that. I've been doing it ever since. I learned to ride on the beach at Saltburn-by-the-Sea. My brother Howard and I were best friends with Bob Champion. His father was huntsman with the Cleveland. We used to follow him, rather than the field master, to make sure we got the best jumps. One day we were racing at Redcar and John Rickman interviewed the three of us on ITV. He asked us what we…

Team medals 1 2 3 4 mares on the British squad Team analysis “WHAT amazing attitude, fight and spirit” – Scott Brash was referring to his superstar mare Hello Folie, but this summed up the British team as they dug deep to secure a superb silver after a rollercoaster week. Britain's quartet of Scott and Folie, Ben Maher (Dallas Vegas Batilly) and senior team debutants Donald Whitaker (Millfield Colette) and Matt Sampson (Medoc De Toxandria), were just pipped to gold by Belgium, having led from the start, but showed their class to hold silver, ahead of Germany. “It's been an unbelievable week,” said British Equestrian showjumping performance manager Di Lampard. “I felt the pressure, being in front, it's almost worse! Holding on to that takes its toll. “The team is…

TARA MURPHY and Luck Of Orestus clocked up an incredible 20th consecutive showjumping clear round en route to winning the intermediate novice at Aspen Cooling Ltd Swalcliffe Park (1). “That must be some sort of record,” said Tara, 22, who teamed up with the seven-year-old gelding two years ago. Suffolk-based Tara, who was a member of the Irish team at last year's young rider Europeans, works for racehorse trainer Charlie Appleby. She said: “I ride out the racehorses first thing, work ‘Billy’ in the middle of the day and go back to Charlie's in the afternoon. Last winter I rode the yearlings for the first time and that definitely improved my stickability!” ONE TO WATCH…

TOP event and dressage rider Ruth Edge took her talented gelding Fidermeyer to Field House, Staffordshire, to practise for their upcoming regional. His personal best score of 76.45% was his fifth win in a row. ONE TO WATCH “Matty” was bought as a justbacked threeyear-old from the Verden auction 20 months ago. “I started competing with him last November, and he's been very straightforward,” explained Ruth, who has qualified him for both novice and elementary regionals. “His balance has come on, and he is very supple in his 10-metre circles. We've been concentrating on elementary tests, so I brought him here to give him a nice run at novice.”…

Sheepgate Regional Championship, Lincs THE SJL prefix is well-known in dressage, and owner Sara Lucas celebrated her horses’ nationals qualifications at levels from prelim to inter I. Antonia Brown opened up the account with a 75% win in the prelim gold on SJL Poseidon, whom she owns with Sara, beating Imogen Swann and SJL Zebedee. “I bought Poseidon unbroken, and Sara loved him when he arrived, so bought him so we could keep him,” explained Antonia. “He's a lovely-moving horse with three solid paces.” Imogen, who works for Antonia, triumphed in the novice silver with Podrick Van Der Overwinning and also qualified SJL Bueno in the elementary silver. Continuing the qualification haul, Nikki Barker claimed the spoils in the prix st georges (PSG) and inter I on Sara's Iwan, a…

CASEY ORMROD'S Connemara gelding Emlaughmore Lightening (Cian) secured his HOYS ticket in the open breed qualifier piloted by her close friend, equine physiotherapist Ailsa Vines. Casey bought Contepomi Cashel son as a two-year-old from Bartley Conroy. Casey and Cian had built a strong bond before a tough incident in February left her temporarily unable to ride. “I was out hacking my Fell pony, Fred, when a van drove into us,” explained Casey. “I needed surgery and a nerve graft. I still don't have full movement in my foot, and have lost some feeling. Happily, Fred only needed some time off and physio with Ailsa.” Determined not to let the season slip away, Casey and Ailsa made a plan for Cian while Casey was recovering. “While I was on holiday, we…

OPINION WITH July having run away at an alarming pace, the time had come to head east to Peterborough's Festival of Hounds. But first, here at the Dartmoor we were to get going with our mounted hound exercise. Our season starts in early August, so there was no time like the present to begin trotting up and down the leafy lanes under the moor wall. My kennel-huntsman is away, stealing a last opportunity to have a week off before autumn arrives in earnest. So I headed out with the stud groom and second whipper-in. Our expedition round the lanes was thankfully uneventful, with the young hounds seeming to have taken to the horses like old hands. There is always a slight moment of the unknown, with a few of the…

MEDALLISTS and senior championship first-timers have been named on the British squad for the para dressage Europeans in Ermelo, the Netherlands (3–7 September). The British riders on the team, in partnership with Agria, are Gabriella Blake, Mari Durward-Akhurst, Jemima Green and Nicola Naylor. British Equestrian para dressage performance manager Georgina Sharples said that the squad is “an exciting group of athletes with a real blend of experience”. “We have Mari and Gabby, who have both previously won championship medals for their country with Athene Lindebjerg and Strong Beau, and are eager to do so again,” she said. “Nicola has been on superb form and delivered a consistently impressive campaign with Humberto L for her long-awaited championship debut, while newcomer Jemima has forged a strong partnership with her quality young horse,…

MAI BAUM The 2023 Defender Kentucky five-star winner retired from competition, aged 19, after winning his final start, the CCI4*-S at Rebecca Farm, with longterm rider Tamie Smith. POWYS SPRITE The Welsh section A stallion, owned by India Latter-Sears, has died aged 20. He won major titles, including at HOYS and Royal Welsh, and sired successful offspring. CARAMBOLE Willem Greve's retired showjumper has died, aged 21. The stallion won multiple grands prix and helped the Dutch team to victory in the 2021 Nations Cup final.…

▲ RHINOS Video shared by Sydney Zoo shows a two-tonne rhino cantering lightly along – and performing a perfect flying change. “There's no excuse for me and my 500kg warmblood now, is there?” a rider was heard to murmur. Indeed. ▲ PEDANTRY A post on Facebook about odd horse-related laws states that in Illinois, US, “It is illegal for women weighing more than 200lb to ride a horse wearing shorts.” What if the horse is wearing a skirt though? ▲ SMILING Overheard, a rider telling a pal about her dressage test. “I gave the judge a big smile; I hope it pays off,” she said. Ah, if only it were that easy……

Edited by Bethan Simons bethan.simons@futurenet.com OPINION THE season is now well under way and, as usual, it's great to see established and new faces out showing. With several area association and county shows now under our belts, it's been interesting that, as ever, the numbers of horses and ponies forward vary greatly. This is obviously very frustrating and worrying for some show organisers, but I don't think it's down to one thing with one answer. Nowadays there is so much choice. When I was growing up, there were the county shows and the agricultural shows. On top of those now, there are area association or society shows, club shows and specific qualifying shows. This means that competitors are inevitably all very spread out. There's also a lot more choice in…

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HIGHLIGHTS 8–13 July Edited by Pippa Roome pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle DO YOU WANT TO BE ON THIS PAGE? HAVE YOU WON A SECTION? Email eventinghighlights@gmail.com within 24 hours of your event and please include a contact telephone number CCI3* European Cup, Minderhout, Belgium “THIS means the absolute world to me,” said Jasmine Holmes, after leading the British team to team gold and an almost clean sweep of the medals at this prestigious championship for riders at three-star level. Jasmine's own performance with her own plucky little mare, Aren't I Lucky, earned her individual silver – with just a single rolled pole on the final day denying them gold. “This is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me, and I hope it's a stepping stone to even bigger and better things…

PARALYMPIAN Sophie Wells had wins with three young horses at Arena UK, Lincolnshire. Coastal Glow (pictured), her novice winner, is “a bit of a character”. He is owned by Diane Gallen and Jackie Walker, and Sophie is getting him out and about to boost his confidence. Alastair Gibb's and Rachel Grundy's Magnifique CL and Sophie's Ontario LC won an elementary each, both of them trying the level for the first time. Sophie bought Ontario just before Christmas from Amy Woodhead and believes he will be a future championship horse. “They are all three very different types and very talented,” commented Sophie. “It's good to have them so young.”…

HIGHLIGHTS 7–13 July Edited by Bethan Simons bethan.simons@futurenet.com The Scottish Horse Show, Champfleurie EC, W Lothian NINE-YEAR-OLD Jemima Makin-Jones stole the spotlight in the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) mountain and moorland (M&M) working hunter pony section, producing a polished round to win the junior class and stand overall M&M working hunter champion with Nantfforchog Blue Moonstar (Moonie). The six-year-old mare, kindly leased to the family in January by Tracey Cassapi, is produced at home by Jemima's mother, Annabel. “Jemima has worked so hard with him this season,” said Annabel. “It's her first year in HOYS workers and they've really come together. After several placings, it was finally their turn. They've focused on perfecting their show and making the jumping as seamless as possible.” The pair had already taken…

FESTIVAL OF HOUNDS 16 July Edited by Catherine Austen catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123 Festival of Hounds, East of England Showground, Cambs FOXHOUNDS IT was a day of milestones for this year's show, with the exultant HH taking their maiden doghound championship and first championship in 90 years with Function 23. Brimming with an almost speechless sense of achievement, Simon Dunn – the Hampshire's huntsman and breeder – was typically humble. “As a younger man, I used to watch the foxhounds being shown at Peterborough. The men showing them were legends at the top of their game. In my wildest dreams I never thought that I would be in the ring, let alone walk out of it having done what we have today,” he said. Meanwhile in the afternoon, the Duke of Beaufort's…