Innholdsfortegnelse for 8-Jan-2026 i Horse & Hound

“IF your horse finishes a training session thinking: ‘Well, that was all quite reasonable,’ you’ve probably done it right.” I enjoyed this quote from Anna Ross’s column (p14). The discussion about training methods continues, and we all want to be on the right side of reasonable. We look to do things right, wanting to correct and learn from past mistakes, taking wisdom from those who are at the top of their game but not winning at any cost. We might not have reached full agreement on what perfection looks like, but we can surely all agree that excessive use of whips or spurs, or strapping horses down, or depriving them of water, isn’t reasonable. Anna also points out that “most good training looks dull”. And we’d agree. Happily, Olympic event…

Showjumper Harry Charles and Casquo Blue won a CSI4* 1.55m grand prix in Doha, Qatar, on 3 January. Scott Brash and Hello Folie were runners-up. Irish jockey Billy Loughnane, 19, recorded his 222nd winner on 31 December, breaking Kieren Fallon’s record of 221 British Flat winners in a calendar year. Point-to-point’s most successful jockey of all time Will Biddick has retired. Will is an eight-time champion and rode 705 winners. Report, p56. Olympic champion showjumper Christian Kukuk has left Beerbaum Stables after 14 years to set up alone. The yard wished him “much success”. Dressage rider Jessica Dunn will represent Ireland after switching nationality. Jessica rode for Great Britain at the Kronenberg CDI in November.…

MORE than 700,000 people lined the streets of London for the 2026 New Year’s Day parade, celebrating the event’s 40th anniversary. Crowds cheered the dancers, performers and marching bands in the annual procession, which for decades has included the All The Queen’s Horses pageant, organised by Caroline Marsh. This year, 65 horses took part. “Travelling from all corners of the UK, these beautiful, everyday horses represent all walks of the equestrian world, accompanied by their wonderful riders,” said Claire Owen of Equipassion UK, the official photographer of All The Queen’s Horses since 2012. “From the crack of dawn, riders and horses prepare together, transforming themselves into a dazzling display of colour and sparkle for the All The Queen’s Horses section of the parade. “The horses are one of the most…

bethan.simons@futurenet.com THOUGH we’re toeing the starting line of a brand-new season it’s just a blink since the end of the last, London International, which was once again a festive triumph. For starters, watching younger competitors meeting Santa was heart-warming. The British Show Horse Association’s (BSHA) rising stars series and Senior Showing and Dressage Ltd (SSADL) championships at London completed a trio of amateur-only home-produced finals in a month, alongside the Showing Teams And Rising Stars (STARS) championships and the new The Showing Register (TSR) Amateur of the Year. All three held a joyous atmosphere. Competitors felt genuinely happy to be competing on stages with all the bright lights and ceremony that befit the graft, time and cash they put into their prep – regardless of their final placing. Some seasoned…

EXCISION AS long as the tumours are of a reasonable size and the margins are clear, excision is the treatment of choice, is usually curative and regrowth is unlikely. A laser is commonly used for removal which, in contrast to when a scalpel is used, has the advantage of simultaneously destroying any tumour cells inadvertently left behind in the area under and surrounding the tumour. Also, bleeding is controlled more easily with a laser. The surgery is done with the horse standing using a local or regional anaesthetic, or sometimes a short general anaesthetic is required. Very large tumours or smaller tumours that have joined together in the perineal area may be impossible to remove in this way due to the large space “deficits” left behind, which may not be…

BE fussy about how the horse lands. What you do after the grid affects the approach to future jumps. For example, if the horse lands and rushes off, it will rush on the approach next time. If it lands in a heap, it won’t go forward into the fence because it knows it can stop afterwards. They should go straight after landing, neither rushing nor falling into trot. Whatever is their default, ask them to do the opposite. So if they tank off, bring them back to a halt. If they collapse into trot, keep them in canter. It’s a classic mistake to get through the grid or over a fence and think “I’ve done it”, but what happens next matters, as it affects how the horse behaves into a…

BRITAIN’S equestrian education landscape extends throughout the UK. Here are just three more colleges around the country producing industry-leading graduates: ● Warwickshire College offers courses from diplomas to university-level degrees. Among its notable alumni is Russell MacKechnie-Guire, a BHSI coach and dressage rider who has transformed his equestrian expertise into multiple successful businesses. Russell founded Centaur Biomechanics, which uses specialist software to analyse equine gait and designs targeted exercises to minimise injury risk. ● Sparsholt College and University Centre, Winchester, Hampshire, deliver courses that provide its students with anything from certificates and diplomas right up to postgraduate degrees. The university centre offers equine science and welfare, and equestrian performance and business management degree courses – from undergraduate to postgraduate – combining professional coaching at their British Horse Society-approved Equine Centre…

Share your news story Call 0330 390 6386 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ PRIDE, celebration and uniting to fight for the future – this was the message across the country as tens of thousands of people showed their support for legal hunting. This year’s Boxing Day meet crowds seemed even bigger than usual, days after the Government confirmed a consultation on how – not whether – to ban trail-hunting would come soon. “Boxing Day 2025 will live long in the memory of the hunting community, not merely for the large crowds and incredible scenes, but for the unmistakable sense that something profound may have shifted,” said Polly Portwin, head of the campaign for hunting at the Countryside Alliance. “It was pride. It was defiance. Above all, it was solidarity; outpouring of…

NEW BUSINESSES INVITED TO APPLY EQUESTRIAN start-ups are invited to apply for the chance to win up to £250,000 in funding. David Mitson, who owns HLM Investment Group and is behind the evoke and Science Supplements brands, is offering investment, mentoring and support to up-and-coming equestrian and pet businesses. “There are so many great entrepreneurs, with great products and vision, but a lack of funding or commercial and operational support to turn their dreams into reality,” Mr Mitson said. Companies should register interest by 15 January, by emailing investment@hlmgroup.com introducing their business and plans. Shortlisted businesses will be contacted by the end of this month and there will be panel interviews in March. STALLION EVENT ENTRIES ARE OPEN ENTRIES have opened for the 2026 British Breeding stallion event next month,…

RESOLUTIONS Not to show off, but our New Year’s resolution was not to buy any more horses. And it still hasn’t happened. So that’s one win for 2026… MAYHEM To Texas, US, where a horse made TV news for escaping and getting into a Walmart, where it caused havoc including “knocking over a Doritos display”. Three guesses as to its diminutive breed… HAY Own up, who left the haynet beneath the nose of the horse immortalised in bronze with Field Marshal Earl Haig in Whitehall? A nice touch but at this year’s prices, that’s about a tenner’s worth of hay… RELEVANCE An email sent to H&H Towers was entitled, “Where will golf take you in 2026?” Not very far, tbh. Unless it’s the 15-year-old battered but adored GTi in which…

Email to hhletters@futurenet.com Name and address must be included. Letters may be edited. JUST THE BASICS, PLEASE AT the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, I have been sorely disappointed by recent equestrian shopping attempts. I needed new clippers as my old ones had had their day, but found that the retailer I visited did not stock clippers or blades. OK, I thought, I’ll have a look at the bridles. I’m after a plain, brown, full-size bridle. But all I could see were crank nosebands, ash or grackle, fancy top stitching… “Why can’t I find a quality plain English bridle any more?” JEN WATSON I tried the clothing section, for a tweed hacking jacket, only to be equally disappointed to find so many lightweight showjumping jackets and leggings. I would have been…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald CHRISTMAS racing on both sides of the Irish Sea was brilliant this year. The King George VI Chase at Kempton was a real highlight – from the turn in, everyone who had an interest in one of the horses had a winning chance, it was that close. So many people were shouting for so many different horses. The result came down to a mere bob of the head, underlining just how important the whole race is – it’s vital not to miss a fence or get out of position early on when the margins are so tight. Cheltenham Festival and Grade One winner Gaelic Warrior (third) ran his race, Jango Baie (fourth) came out of the contest with credit and last year’s winner Banbridge showed his liking for…

Need to know SWANMORE DANTINA Age: 11 Breeding: by Dante Weltino out of Charatana (by Charatan W) Breeder: Ben St John-James Rider: Sadie Smith Owner: rider Greatest achievements: 2021, national six-year-old champion; 2022, fifth and highest-placed mare in the seven-year-old final at the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses; 2023, first prix st georges Winter Championships; 2024, first inter I Winter Championships and inter II National Championships; 2025, Nations Cup debut in Rotterdam, national champion, sixth London International grand prix and freestyle. RIDER SADIE SMITH “WHEN Dia [Swanmore Dantina] first arrived, I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed. She was straight-legged, always a bit too fat, and I just couldn’t keep the weight off her. She was kind, but when I sat on…

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HIGHLIGHTS 20–31 December Hartpury Winter Classic, Glos LEO LAMB continued his upward trajectory with Las Palmas VG by winning the final 1.40m winter grand prix of 2025, capturing a competitive jump-off by 0.27sec. “We did quite a few internationals towards the end of the year and went to Spain and Sentower, where we jumped some big grands prix and rankings classes, so it almost felt like a drop down,” said Leo, who took over the ride on the 10-year-old gelding following the loss of Chris Moyce last spring. “I’m very excited about him. I think he’ll do some very big classes and he jumps a lot of clear rounds. He’s so consistent, I think he has team potential.” Fourteen combinations left Krissy Spiller’s opening track intact and jump-off pathfinder Ryan…

A SURPRISE WIN BELGIUM’S Gilles Thomas (pictured) won the Longines World Cup of Mechelen on nine-year-old Qalista DN, despite a fence down in the jump-off. In a highly unusual outcome to the 1.60m class, not one of five contenders went clear in the jump-off, and Gilles claimed the top prize as the fastest four-faulter. “Until I knew I had won, I was disappointed because I know my horse is quick and maybe I took a bit too much risk to the double,” he reflected. Britain’s Robert Murphy and Hulde G were runners-up to Petronella Andersson (Odina Van Klapscheut) in the Sport Vlaanderen grand prix.…

IT is usually around this time of year, in the aftermath of Christmas, that a sacrilegious thought comes to mind. The shortest day has come and gone and we are enjoying a creeping extension in daylight hours. But it is still winter and will be for a good while yet. To assuage any doubts, the temperature has dropped, snow is in the forecast and mud in all its many forms – ranging from wet and dilute to thick and sticky – is all around. I was trading photos this week with an old school friend who emigrated to Australia when we were in our 20s. Lucy shared a photo of her early morning ride, which involved a sandy track through a forest (no mud), the neck and ears of a…

IN THE NEWS CHAMPAGNE FEVER The two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, trained by Willie Mullins before he went on to enjoy a second career in eventing and dressage, has died at the age of 18. DJEMBE DE HUS OLD The 11-year-old made an impressive World Cup debut at Mechelen with European champion Justin Verboomen. The pair came second in the grand prix and the freestyle. BOTTICELLI The 20-year-old stallion, whom Belgian dressage rider Charlotte Defalque rode from junior squads to the 2022 world championships and two Europeans, has retired.…

oscar.williams@futurenet.com @oscnwilliams AS the horse world moves through the darkest, shortest days of the year and starts to seriously question its life choices, the perfectly timed glitz and glamour of the London International (LIHS) thankfully comes along to remind us why it’s all worth it. Glamourdale and Lottie Fry appeared to have taken their fluency, power, and movie-star quality to a new level. “Glammy” has always been special, having won the dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses en route to grand prix greatness. But not all grand prix horses start out like that. By their riders’ admissions, neither Swanmore Danitina nor Jagerbomb – the rides of Sadie Smith and Becky Moody – stood out as young horses. But with three solid paces and superb training, both have become megastars,…

Exercise 1 Wide parallels grid The set-up: the final grid will be a crosspole, with a placing pole, followed by at least two parallels with ground lines, three for experienced horses. But you should build up gradually, fence by fence. You’ll need a helper on the ground to put up poles and move wings forward. The aim: to develop the horse’s shape over a fence and build strength, as well as rider balance. How to do this exercise: 1 Jump the cross-pole a few times until the horse is jumping calmly. 2 Add in the subsequent elements of the grid one at a time, with ground lines at each fence. Initially, the distances between each element should be about 7m. 3 Each time the horse jumps through well, pull the…

FIVE-STAR event rider Louise Harwood had a far from straightforward 2024. A fall from a muck trailer in June left her with multiple fractures and in need of surgery on damaged vertebrae. She bounced back quickly in August that year, amassing top-10 finishes at Wellington and Cornbury, but sustained a serious fall in the eight- and nine-year-old class at Blenheim the following month, breaking her femur, humerus and pelvis. Louise knew she had to take a step back from the demands of eventing, particularly the cross-country phase. But she’s competitive by nature, so another sport – showjumping – rose to fill the space. “I love winning,” she says. “I’ve always enjoyed showjumping and have done it in the winter to stay amused and competitive, so from there I got more…

HIGHLIGHTS 26 December-4 January jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald Unibet Veterans’ Chase Day, Sandown Park, Surrey AN oasis of Surrey turf escaped the worst of this week’s sub-zero temperatures, allowing some beloved equine veterans to take centre stage. The biggest prize of the afternoon went to the Tom Lacey-trained 11-year-old, Nocte Volatus, matching all the spark of horses half his age when landing the Unibet Veterans’ Chase Series Final under Stan Sheppard. The pair stayed on up the Sandown hill, drawing 1¼ lengths clear of a handful of pursuers, including 2022 Coral Gold Cup winner and former Grand National contender Le Milos (Harry Skelton) in second, with the Nick Scholfield-trained Gabbys Cross – who came from Henry de Bromhead earlier in the season – a neck behind in third. Nocte Volatus, a son…