Innholdsfortegnelse for 2-Oct-2025 i Horse & Hound

AS an industry, we're often frustrated as to why the wider public doesn't have greater interest in equestrianism. We understand the joy of horses and horse sport – how can we encourage others to develop the same strong feelings? One often-quoted challenge is the era of sport streaming services diluting interests and making it harder to find large potential audiences in one place. We look back on the “good old days” of showjumping on TV on a Sunday afternoon, at a time when people didn't have much choice in channels let alone myriad platforms to engage with. We accept those days are gone, and work to leverage what we have, raising interest in other ways and pointing to those services that exist. That said, it's always a nice positive to…

WOOTTON BASSETT One of the world's top Flat sires, whose progeny include Whirl and Henri Mattisse, has died aged 17 at Coolmore Australia after choke, which led to acute pneumonia. FRODON The 2020 King George VI winner visited Salisbury District Hospital to mark the launch of Horatio's Garden as Wincanton racecourse's charity partner this season. FOOLS IN LOVE Hayden Hankey and his 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse won the CCI4*-L at Ballindenisk, Ireland, with a double jumping clear. British riders filled the top six places in this class.…

▲ CATS To Wyoming, where a cat went missing – then was seen on camera returning, sitting on a horse. “I don't even own a horse,” the owner said. Looks like you do now. And fancy lending us the cat? ▲ OPTIMISM A rider bemoaned the fact one only realises the wheelbarrow tyre is flat when one has loaded it to the gunwales with poo. “At least it's only flat at the bottom!” a pal observed. Thanks. ▲ THE NHS Spotted in a US horse group: “Warm up well on these crisp mornings; ambulance rides start at $1,534.78.” Thank the lord for the NHS. But let's hope we don't need it.…

Edited by Bethan Simons bethan.simons@futurenet.com OPINION WITH the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) Summer Championships behind us, and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) just around the corner, it feels as if the season is almost at a close for most of us. I came away from the BSPS championships with mixed feelings and food for thought. The new class for young ponies, judged by Yogi Briesner, Jane Nixon and Richard Davison, was excellent. It was a great idea that was well supported and well judged, as were other new initiatives. I was saddened to see some more traditional classes were poorly supported. This was even the case in some of the Blue Riband leagues, which used to be the strongest sections, and in some 128cm show pony classes, which…

OVER the summer, British producers have been on the quest for qualification for the four prestigious young horse finals at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS). The senior newcomers championship and Events Through A Lens talent seekers inc. seven-year-old championship take place on Wednesday, 8 October, followed by the Redpost Equestrian senior Foxhunter championship (Thursday, 9 October) and grade C championship (Sunday, 12 October). Competing for one of these titles is the perfect showcase for the best young equine talent, as well as the skilled riders nurturing them through their early careers. BRITAIN can boast a raft of skilled young horse producers and two in particular are braced for a busy week at the Birmingham NEC. Joe Trunkfield admits his team will be “all hands on deck” as his tally…

WHILE equine half-siblings are not uncommon in a section, or even a class, it's more unusual to find full siblings. But Nipna Mighty Oak and Nipna Kitty O'Day will prepare to duel in the open Dales class, and their sister, Nipna Lavender Lady will represent parents Lowhouses Black Magic and Tarbarl Peggy Macdonald in the junior large breeds. “We have five full siblings from this mating and all have graced the HOYS arena in their careers so we are very fortunate. To have three siblings going in the same year is special,” says Anna Pennell, whose family bred all three. “We are grateful to their owners and riders for their hard work producing them.” It's less likely you'll find human siblings competing against each other. But sisters Natasha Taylor and…

FIONA OSBORNE netted two passes for Aintree at Golden Cross when she won the Equiyd 1.10m second round and finished runner-up in the 1.05m qualifier with Fridaynight Du Vlist. The Rye schoolteacher made the trip to the finals for the first time last year with the 15-year-old mare. “I work full-time in a secondary school so I am not meant to have time off during term time, but I asked my employer who was very supportive, although I didn't go for the whole week,” she said. “The kids watched my round in assembly last time. We use it to encourage them to aspire to their goals and do a sport.” Fiona has previously jumped up to 1.30m with the mare. “She's a really fun, competitive horse but we've had our…

CATHERINE VALE and her 15.1hh mare Quiz IV are on track to take a title at Aintree for the second year running after winning the Equiyd 1.10m amateur second round at Dorset. The now seven-year-old mare, who partnered Catherine to a win in the 2024 1.10m minor veterans’ championship, edged to victory over Ellie May Payne and La Bamba IV. “I'm hoping if all goes well, we'll aim for the 1.20m major veterans as well as this one. She's only seven, so I've taken it a bit steady with her as we could have just flown up through the ranks,” said Catherine, who now also owns a half-sister to the daughter of Westpoint Quickfire. “Quiz is as sharp as anything but it's directed the right way now!” Catherine, who does…

HIGHLIGHTS 15–21 September 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 Solihull EC, West Mids “MAYBE he needed a gallop,” laughed Louise Bell, who scored a 70%-plus prix st georges win with Peaky Blinder II after taking him showing a fortnight ago. “I don't know what clicked in the show ring, but something did. “He's never had trouble doing anything, as he's so clever and trainable, but he was missing that little bit of ‘taking me’,” added Louise, who put her home-bred mare Working Girl to legendary stallion Uthopia to breed “Duggy”. “He's putting on his big-boy trousers at this level.…

KATE TARRANT returned to the dressage arena for the first time in more than five years to take two novice silver and outright wins with Love Sick, at Felbridge Showground, West Sussex. It's a new direction for the Irish-bred event gelding. “He's super-talented in all eventing phases but a bit hot in the head,” Kate said. “I knew when I bought him that he wouldn't be straightforward, as he was described as ‘has talent – needs direction’. “He has all the ingredients to be an event horse, and he's lovely to ride on the flat,” she added. “I'd like to get our qualifications together at novice and elementary.” ONES TO WATCH…

ROWENA BERTRAM'S 24-year-old Arabian stallion Marcus Aurelius is heading to LIHS for the first time, ridden by Rowena's daughter Katherine. The pair will compete in the senior final, having qualified at the Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd National Championships. Marcus, who was once placed at HOYS, has enjoyed a varied life since joining the Bertrams at 18 months old, winning FEI endurance races, showjumping and eventing. “He's successfully turned a hoof to everything we've ever asked of him, and it's a privilege to still compete him – he's still got it,” said Katherine. Interestingly, his son Avonbrook Odin has qualified for the British Show Horse Association (BSHA) rising star working show horse championship. Also making a LIHS debut in December is Kirby Fentiman's home-produced Welsh section A Withymead Honey Bear,…

Edited by Catherine Austen catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123…

ALEX POSTOLOWSKY is a five-star eventer based in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. She schools horses of all ages and abilities in the arena at her base. “The surface is a bit of an amalgam; over the years we've built it up and adapted,” she tells H&H. “It started as fibresand, then we had a bit of rubber, but we've settled with textile pieces from bales of chopped-up felt from about 2019.” It's a surface type Alex has first-hand experience of from riding at a local equestrian centre. She buys it directly from the venue, where it forms the warm-up arenas. “It gets a lot of hammering at the showjumping events held there, but it performs well,” she says. “I found it gives a more consistent footing than rubber, which can get…

JODIE REAY runs Reay Equestrian, a small livery yard and clinic venue with an indoor and outdoor school that has recently expanded into a new riding school. After taking over the site on the outskirts of Louth, Lincolnshire, in 2018, Jodie replaced the existing indoor surface with a lightly waxed silica sand and fibre surface from Sportrack Equestrian Surfaces in 2020. “It cost about £20,000 to take out the old surface and replace it with new,” she said. “It's used by at least three to four horses a day, but it's still going strong and I've not had to top it up yet. “If you have horses repeatedly making the same turn it does need levelling out, but we're really happy with it and it gets positive comments all the…

Edited by Eleanor Jones Share your news story Call 0330 390 6386 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ A RIDER who faced losing everything after a former friend “lied repeatedly” in legal action against her is sharing her story in hope of helping others. Sara Marsden was deemed the liable person after a horse she was trying to load, to help its loaner, kicked Samantha Catterall and broke her arm in September 2021. Ms Catterall, also known as Samantha Ward, tried to claim nearly £179,000 in December 2024. This included compensation for future losses, including over £122,000 for horse care – and £2,000 for hair care. The claim was dropped this summer. “At the end of it all, I did it all with truth and she got nowhere with all those lies,”…

LONDON'S JUMP MASTERCLASS LONDON International Horse Show will “shine a spotlight” on showjumping in a masterclass hosted by British Equestrian showjumping performance manager Di Lampard. Jumping Journeys, part of the show's LeMieux Masterclass series, will take place on 22 December, featuring young rider European champion Rachel Proudley and amateur eventer and influencer Megan Elphick. The session will focus on approaches, confidence building and show tips. “With Di coaching, Rachel and Megan will demonstrate exercises to build clear-round confidence. Audiences can expect practical insights and techniques to develop relaxed, responsive and successful jumping partnerships,” said a show spokesperson. • Visit: londonhorseshow.seetickets.com NEW CENTRE IN JACK'S MEMORY THE Jack de Bromhead Equine Centre, named after the late son of trainer Henry de Bromhead and his wife Heather, has opened in Dublin. The…

Vet Georgina Vaughan and Vlacq Journeyman won the advanced 160km class at the Endurance GB national championships. Eventer Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley won the Lignières Nations Cup leg, France, competing as individuals. The British team was third. Former champion jockey Jim Crowley, 47, hopes to return “as soon as I can” after he sustained multiple broken bones in a fall on 7 September. Jockey Frankie Dettori rode the Charlie Appleby-trained Rebel's Romance to the gelding's 20th victory, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes in New York. German Olympic eventer Dorothee Schneider is opening a dressage training centre at Maik Kanitzky's Famos Stud on 1 January 2026.…

▼ SCAMMERS No award this week, as the top contender had a picture of a horse in an ad clearly created by AI. No points for effort – and if that leg really did look like that, we're not sure a vetting would end well. ▼ KIDS Overheard from a harassed mum trying to ride while keeping an eye on her offspring: “Can you lunge children?” Good way to use up energy, possibly frowned upon in polite society we feel. ▼ HEARING On a windy day, a rider was confused by her trainer shouting “go, go, go!” to a line of fences, but responded with alacrity. “It was actually ‘whoa, whoa, whoa’,” he explained patiently. Ah. Makes sense now.…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. @ horseandhound instagram.com/horseandhound facebook.com/horseandhound THANK YOU! HAVING just returned from a really enjoyable week camping at Blenheim Palace for the Eventing Europeans, I would like to thank the hundreds of very capable volunteers who staffed the event. It was lovely to see them acknowledged by name in the programme as well as the officials and VIPs. They worked long hours but were invariably cheerful and helpful right to the end of the last day, doing everything they could to make our visit a pleasure. The buggy service to and from the campsite in particular was a treat, especially for those of us whose legs have seen better days. Heartfelt thanks to them all. “Heartfelt thanks to all…

IF your eventing radar is picking up a new signal, there's a good chance the reading is Katie Magee. It's been a landmark season for the 43-year-old rider, who not only scooped two British champion titles at Hartpury in August, but also ticked off the two titanic British five-stars, finishing top-20 in both with the head of her string, Treworra (Wilf). “Hartpury was great for Burghley prep because the terrain is undulating; the topography changes all the time,” says Katie of the open track she and Angela Hislop's 11-year-old breezed round in the summer. “But to get national champion was never on the cards or in my thoughts; it was a huge bonus.” Mirroring her success with Wilf, Katie and eight-year-old Cushlas Indigo (Indy) also finished on their dressage score…

THROUGHOUT the five days of action at HOYS, H&H will be bringing you non-stop reports, images, interviews, insight and breaking news from the showing, dressage and showjumping rings. WEBSITE HORSE & HOUND will be creating extensive online coverage from the Birmingham NEC in addition to what will be included in the magazine report. Our coverage will include: breaking news and numerous reports on all the action interviews with leading contenders, first-timers, comeback stars, equine and human heroes, grooms and more to keep reading after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription either to the website or to the magazine To buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription, visit horseandhound.co.uk/join. Or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com/XHH-brandsite for a magazine subscription that includes unlimited website access plus the digital…

FEI WBFSH WORLD BREEDING CHAMPIONSHIP FOR YOUNG HORSES 24–28 September Edited by Jennifer Donald jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, Zangersheide, Lanaken, Belgium IRELAND proved once again why its breeders and producers are admired the world over, with the nation's young horse jumping squad dominating much of these championships. Lifting the seven-year-old title was Eoin Brennan riding Augustus Z, a son of the great Zangersheide stallion Aganix Du Seigneur out of Vigo D'Arsouillies mare GCS Athena. The gelding is owned and bred by Eoin's veterinarian father Tim Brennan. Eoin and the athletic and huge-striding Augustus Z triumphed after an electric 10-way jump-off, taking out an early stride between fences one and two on Bernard Mathy's 1.45m course. They maintained their pace to the finish line,…

HIGHLIGHTS 20–21 September 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 Allerton Park, N Yorks THE rain came down in droves, forcing the abandonment of the second day of competition, but before the weather had a chance to wreak total havoc Eloise Briggs and Touch Too Much splashed their way to a win in the BE100open. The 18-year-old Touch Too Much (Possum) belongs to Caroline Clarke, who campaigned him to five-star before handing over the reins to her friend last year. “When Caroline rang me and asked me whether I'd like to ride Possum because she wanted him to enjoy a quieter life I…

IT was third time lucky for Hope Ghost Little Boy (Bernie; pictured) and his 10-year-old rider Daisy Wallace, LIHS junior performance winners at the UK Ponies & Horses Autumn Show. “This is the first big show she's qualified for off the lead,” said her proud older sister Tiffany Smith, who bought Bernie for Daisy last year. “She begged to do the last qualifier and we had a bet on that if she won she'd get a new show bridle. When they called her number out she was in shock and took a minute to realise.” Bernie, 17, missed the first half of the season due to illness and Tiffany was unsure if they would manage to get him back into the ring, making the win all the sweeter. It was…

THE early morning alarm clock yesterday – 5.15am if you're a details person – was worse than usual. Interrupting a pleasant dream that involved working in the Downton Abbey kitchens alongside Daisy, the chirpy protégée and successor to Mrs Patmore, in the latest and last film of the franchise. Mid rolling out some pastry for my exacting but cheerful boss, the air vibrated with the metallic shimmer of an Apple ringtone. My beloved stirred beside me, muttering something indiscernible while I reached for the phone and reluctantly turned to the job at hand. It was still dark outside but morning was definitely here. A slightly different one to usual as it involved getting two teenagers – freshly back from school – out of bed and onto horses at a farm…

Edited by Pippa Roome pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle OPINION EUROPEAN Championships course-designer Mark Phillips should be very pleased with what he did. I thought it was a good track when I walked it, and it was very enjoyable to watch the riders tackle it. It must be an unbelievable feeling for Laura Collett to have beaten Michael Jung – especially as she won it on speed across country. The right three riders got the individual medals. The form was there to be studied beforehand; hardened championship partnerships and five-star winners were going to come out on top. My role as cross-country coach for the Swiss meant that I didn't watch everything that happened to each competitor on cross-country day, but from what I see, it was a very good day for the…

I started riding alongside my younger brother when I was about 10, and we both got the bug. We did Pony Club, hunted, and tried all the disciplines, then I settled on eventing while my brother played polo. My competition record was unremarkable. As we didn't have much money, I produced horses for other people, up to advanced level. I'd consider myself a horseman rather than a true competition rider. I studied business and finance at university but quickly realised an office job wasn't for me. I've always been good at DIY and built fences for the Pony Club and hunt. I saw an advert for the Bill Thomson bursary in the early 1990s, which enabled me to work at Burghley for a few weeks – I'm still there more than…

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Dorset County AGRICULTURAL contractor Oliver Cossey headed the 1.05m second round after jumping the sole double clear with his mother Carol's 13-year-old mare Quintero Candillo. Olli has owned the mare for five years and keeps her with Alexandra Coates. “Her nickname is Psycho Sally!” said Olli, who will be heading to Aintree for the first time since 2020. “She's one of a kind and not the easiest of rides. I was looking for something a bit fun to have a go on and someone said they had a horse for sale that wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Alex said she probably had a rider to suit her. “She's fizzy and can get very excited in the warm-up but I like her, she's forward, keen, quick against the clock and…

“SHE'S exceeding all expectations,” said Katie Peckham of her event mare Nenaboera, a novice bronze and overall winner at Prestige Equestrian. “Dressage is our weak point, so we aim to keep going through winter.” Known as Luna, the Jenssen VDL daughter impressed Katie when she bought her last year. “I fell in love with her when I saw her being schooled at a yard,” said Katie. “She's so lush and easy-going, and she wants to please. We're planning to event at two-star, so it would be great to come out next year with a good standard of dressage.”…

HIGHLIGHTS 15–21 September Edited by Bethan Simons bethan.simons@futurenet.com NEDZ Working Hunter Show, Aintree International Equestrian Centre, Merseyside OVER 300 competitors took a turn here, with several Horse of the Year Show (HOYS)-bound combinations turning out for practice indoors. The first “pony” day's eventual champion was Clonfert Melody's Boy (Dave) ridden by Amy Canavan-Smith. Seven-year-old Dave is in his second season under saddle, and has qualified for HOYS both as a worker and in the open flat class with Amy. “My husband John bought Dave for me as a Valentine's present when he was a yearling and I've produced him ever since,” said Amy. He is now owned by Amy's clients Hayley and Mark Driver, though, and is intended to be their daughter Charlotte's future ride. “He was a Valentine's present”…