Horse & Hound

WHATEVER the grumbles about a sport, its class structures, an event or judging, there’s no denying what it means to those who have their moment in the spotlight at an event like Horse of the Year Show. You see under that light the sheer elation and c

Juddmonte’s Ralph Beckett-trained double Group One winner and runner-up in the 2023 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe has been retired aged four, owing to an injury. Anne Vestey’s 14-year-old heavyweight show cob has retired after finishing second at HOYS wi

The 15hh advanced event-winning mare, who was also a grade A showjumper and had top placings in the show ring – all with Laura Johnson – has died aged 24. The Friesian dressage stallion, who competed with Belgium’s Marc-Peter Spahn at the 2022 London

Showjumper Joe Stockdale was crowned HOYS leading athlete, and leading under-25 rider. He had multiple placings, including a win with Ebanking. Report, p52. Showjumper Tabitha Kyle is recovering from a fractured neck sustained in a hit-and-run car ac

Visitors to HOYS will have seen ads for events there including Jurassic Park in concert. Featuring T. Rex, one assumes, or maybe some rap(tor). Weak, Ed. Overheard at HOYS, on the last national class on Sunday morning. “The only one who gets to see t

SMALL ponies are not uncommonly adept at escaping and getting themselves into tight spots, but this one in Malta was in a tighter spot than most. The Maltese Civil Protection Department was called out on 25 September about a pony in distress. A spoke

EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jenkins Magazine Editor/Eventing/Pony Club Pippa Roome (07815 442555) Website Editor Carol Phillips (0330 390 6598) News Editor Eleanor Jones (0330 390 6386) Features Editor/Polo/Riding Clubs Martha Terry (0330 390 632

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 HOW can we make sure Carl Hester gets the knighthood he surely deserves? He is a genius and the person behind almost all Britain’s current dressage success, including the recent European team gold medal. His tra

NORMAL donkey blood test reference values differ from those for horses, as do heart and respiratory rates. ● A donkey’s heart rate may range from 35 to 55 beats per minute, depending on degree of fitness and anxiety (as compared with 28 to 44 for a h

AT the end of a dressage test, judges award a “general impression” score, based upon the performance of both horse and rider. This may seem to be subjective, so scientists have recently tried to determine what gives a good general impression. They to

VISIT HORSE & HOUND’S VIRTUAL SHOPPING VILLAGE horseandhound.co.uk/directory/shopping With a faux duck down filling, this windproof jacket offers a flattering silhouette. £114.99 coldstreamequestrian.co.uk Jacket made with ethical down insulation and

A STUNNING performance sealed 19-year-old Georgina Kirby-Moore and Jemma Ellison’s 10-year-old SCT Master Of The Hounds (Paddy) the Enablelink Ltd intermediate show hunter title. “I would have loved to take him for a day’s hunting; he was mannerly bu

A FORMER driving pony shone over fences to win the junior 122cm worker title with his 10-year-old jockey. Millie Mortimer steered her mother Bianca Mortimer’s 13-year-old gelding Templedruid Carob (Admiral) to victory on their debut at the NEC. Admir

THE NEC roof must have been tugging at its moorings as John Whitaker and Shane Breen cleared 1.85m to win the Thistledown Investments six-bar. After 16 starters had been whittled down to Shane (Cato Boy) and John (Sharid; pictured, below) in the fina

WHEN a prospective buyer came to view Gmail, his rider and owner were in tears. But despite the interest, and a £5m offer, the super seven-year-old and Leo Lamb are still together. They qualified for three finals at HOYS – newcomers, Foxhunter and Ta

LAUREN WILKINS’ family took a gamble in buying Eloclea Ro.Del Colle San Marco (pictured) – and it certainly paid off. Lauren earned her first HOYS ticket, and her first HOYS win, with the nine-year-old mare in the Enablelink pony Foxhunter championsh

BETH STARKEY celebrated a first win in only her fourth event riding Heather Owen’s schoolmaster, Monbeg Horizon (Louie), at Kelsall Hill (2) in the BE100open. The nine-year-old gelding previously competed to advanced level with Michael Owen, but he s

AGED just 13, Violet Hawkins claimed the medium 73 bronze with 69.61% riding her 12-year-old 14hh Welsh part-bred gelding DZL Royal Sunrise. Violet trotted down the centre line for the first time only two years ago. “They continue to exceed my expect

GILLIAN PORTUS scored a solid medium double at Bluegate Hall Farm, Essex, with Sandro Son RHF, the warmblood she bought two years ago from trainer Jason Webb. “He’s a quirky horse and disliked travelling, but with a change of feed he seems to have se

Arley Moss, Cheshire “HIS age and mine, together, almost added up to our score,” laughed Toby Blake-Frost after a 72.65% PSG win with evergreen gelding Wessel II – the former grand prix ride of Alicia Dickinson. Now 20 and a schoolmaster at Alicia’s

Onley Grounds EC, Warks TOM GRAHAM headed the grand prix with Frascati 72. Shirley Rixon’s 16-year-old First Grade gelding is once again proving consistent at the level after a two-year absence with injury. “We’re consolidating the work and the aim i

LORD LUCAN II scored his sixth outright win in a blossoming dressage career, heading the elementary 40 at Solihull EC, West Midlands, with 71.29%. William Scott explained that Lucan had been backed in the past but re-started aged eight once he was wi

Port Royal EC, N Yorks A MATURE performance by her five-year-old Nelson Van De Gathe earned Natalie Widdowson two novice wins. When Natalie was looking for a “smart but sane” youngster after a confidence knock, agent Rebecca Dudley came up with the g

BILLERICAY & DISTRICT RC took a commanding victory in the quadrille competition. Their performance of The Mermaids Quest put them 11 marks ahead of runners-up Vale of Arrow RC and their Ride For Life routine, which was inspired by Cancer Research’s R