Bishop Burton is on the A1079 between Market Weighton and Hull, two miles west of Beverley and eight miles from the M62.
What the organisers say
Our main sponsor is Coopers Marquees.
The showjumping is on a surface and the dressage is on grass.
The cross-country courses run on parkland and through woodland, making the most of the natural undulating terrain. The tracks are bold and inviting. The ground will be aera-vated if necessary. Minor changes will be made to the
tracks from May 2015. The courses suit everyone as alternatives are provided at the more demanding fences.
There will be an additional £60 and prize in kind to the winner of each section in celebration of 2015 being Bishop Burton College’s Diamond Jubilee and 27th year of BE horse trials.
Jeroen Dubbeldam and SFN Zenith NOP claim the 2015 European Championship in Aachen. Picture by Peter Nixon
Jeroen Dubbeldam added European individual gold with SFN Zenith NOP to the world title they won last year this afternoon (23 August) at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany.
“Last year my horse was quite green, but we came home with two gold medals and you think how can I improve on that? You can’t, you just have to try to do the same thing,” said the Dutchman.
“Sometimes the year after such a great result is harder, but this horse is incredible, amazing, there are no other words for it.”
Jeroen Dubbeldam and SFN Zenith NOP claim the 2015 European Championship in Aachen. Picture by Peter Nixon
Jeroen lay second going into today’s Rolex final, but the overnight leader, Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya on Carlo 273, had a fence down in each round. He hit the difficult plank going into the combination at fence 7a in the first barrage and in the second, the back bar on the blue and white oxer at fence six came down. He finished sixth.
Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet jumped two clears today to move up from eighth to take the silver on Conrad De Hus.
“I knew I needed a double clear today and I said that if I did that I could get a medal, but you need to be a bit lucky too,” said Gregory.
Simon Delestre of France added just one time-fault to his tally today to rise from 14th to claim the bronze with Ryan Des Hayettes.
“The first round of an individual final is always the most difficult course of a championship and it was very big today, plus the horses are a little bit tired from the week,” he said.
Individual medallists at the 2015 European Showjumping Championships: the Netherlands’ Jeroen Dubbeldam (gold), Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet (silver) and France’s Simon Delestre (bronze). Picture by Peter Nixon
Disappointment for Brits
Britain’s championship ended on a slightly frustrating note.
Joe Clee and Ludwig Criel’s Utaramo D’Ecaussines, who were seventh going into today, made a mistake at the combination in each round. They finished 15th.
They hit the plank into the treble at fence 7 in the first round. Then in the second round, where the second two elements were over water trays, the horse tried to chip in a third stride when off the final element and was honest to even try to take it on.
“If you could built the most difficult combination in the world for him, that was it,” said Joe. “He jumps a bit to the left anyway and as we jumped in he was looking at the lake on the [right hand] side. He spooked and drifted left so the distances got longer. He really tried to get out, but he couldn’t make it.”
Joe Clee and Utamaro D’Ecaussines jump the individual final at the European Showjumping Championships 2015. Picture by Peter Nixon
Ben Maher had fence 7b down in the first round, plus an “uncharacteristic fault” at the following oxer and elected not to jump Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II in the second onslaught.
“I felt she’s done an amazing job this week and we were out of medal contention,” he said. “She’s only 10 and an exciting horse for the future, once she’s had a short rest. She has won big grands prix before, but she’ll come to the forefront even more now.”
One other rider, Spain’s Eduardo Alvarez Aznar on Rokfeller De Pleville Bois Margot, withdrew before the second round, while Germany’s Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour) was eliminated after his first performance for blood on the spur.
Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.
The mare’s owner, Kay Hill-Sayce, was on foot alongside them when they saw a skip lorry approaching.
Due to the speed at which the truck was travelling and how close it was, Mrs Hill-Sayce took hold of the reins and signalled for the driver to slow down.
“It is a journey we have done hundreds of times,” said Ms Macmanomy.
“There is an issue with speeding traffic through the village, which I have campaigned and petitioned on.”
The lorry tried to pass them on a narrow section of road and clipped Red with its wing mirror, cutting the horse’s head and hindquarters.
The horse reared up, throwing Ms Macmanomy into the side of the lorry before they both fell on to the road.
“As I was falling, I remember thinking I was going to die,” she told H&H.
“The air brakes went off and I heard the scrabble of hooves.”
A passenger in a passing car called an ambulance.
Red, an eight-year-old ex-trotter, suffered cuts to her face (pictured, above), dock and legs.
The lorry driver stopped further along the road but left before the police arrived. He was later found and fined £255, and had five points added to his licence after admitting to failing to report an accident.
Ms Macmanomy was taken to Russells Hall Hospital in nearby Dudley. She was X-rayed and was found to have broken three lumbar vertebrae.
She remained in hospital for a month and had to wear a back brace until mid-May 2014.
“I’m so passionate about road safety, and want to try and educate as many road users as possible about the dangers of approaching and overtaking horses on the road,” she said.
“I understand that some people will never respect other road users, but I’m not about to give up.”
However, Ms Macmanomy told H&H she is now “terrified to hack out”.
A solicitor’s letter claiming that the lorry driver had driven contrary to The Highway Code and, as a result, hit the horse, was sent to the defendant’s insurance company in May 2014.
The insurer did not accept liability at first, so the solicitor requested the driver’s tachograph logs.
Liability was accepted in October 2014.
An offer of £25,000 was put forward by the defendant’s insurer, which was not accepted.
The offer of £30,000 was accepted last month.
Hanna Campbell, of HorseSolictor, said: “On examining the evidence, we pushed for an admission of liability to avoid unnecessary and time-consuming litigation.”
She added that this enabled Ms Macmanomy to concentrate on her recovery.
“Ultimately, this case was about Claire getting her life back, and our role was to ensure that she was provided with the means to achieve this,” she said.
Moving house and divorce might be deemed the most stressful lifetime events, but surely the hunt for the perfect pony is a close runner-up... Kate Flynn takes us on her turbulent journey to find the ideal 13.2-14.2hh confidence-giver for her daughter
Our hunt for the perfect pony began with an air of sanguine, cheerful optimism. Our super 12hh loan pony had been sadly outgrown and the time had come to move on to number two. Daughter wanted to showjump and needed a safe, sensible sort to look after her and show her the ropes.
I admit the thought of browsing pony adverts left me cold and I took comfort in the pony-buying adage that “ the right one will come to you” and having put a few feelers out, one day, to my delight, I got a call.
“I’ve found your pony,” a horsey friend of mine declared. My ears pricked up. What could be better than the “word of mouth” pony?
“He’s done everything, totally bombproof, he’s just what you’re looking for… he’s 21,” she passed quickly over this little fact and moved onto the fact that he wouldn’t be more than £500.
Hmmm, I hesitated at the age, the last thing I wanted was to be landed with an aged pony that no one wanted to buy when the inevitable happened and Daughter was ready to move on again. Nevertheless, the draw of the recommendation was heady, the price was good and in the spirit of open-mindedness we set off.
Rarer than rubies, more valuable per ounce than gold, as sought after as truffles, the Pony Club gem is top More…
‘He’s an absolute darling’
On arrival, we were met at the gate by a Plummy Mummy in a Matalan jumper who proceeded to haul a muddy grey pony out of the field and presented us with Spirit.
“He’s an absolute darling,” she enthused. “Been everywhere, done everything, we’re only selling ‘cos Horatio wants to do more showjumping and 2’9” is really his limit.” Alarm bell number one.
Plummy Mummy suggested we tack him up and promptly disappeared off into one of the stables. Wondering whether to bother tackling the matted mass that was his mane, we pondered over the pile of numnahs and pads that sat beneath a somewhat battered saddle.
“Yes, we have some problems with finding a saddle that fits him,” she trilled behind us, and began wrestling with said saddle to find a perch atop his back. Alarm bell number two.
“Now, best you take him out for a hack,” Plummy continued, “ so I’ve tacked up Midnight for your Mum…” Gigantic alarm bell number three!
Midnight, a 17.2 Cleveland Bay was dragged away from his haynet, blinking in the sunlight, unaware of the consternation his appearance was creating with his stable mate’s potential purchaser.
It had been five years since I hung up my own spurs, but the prospect of sending Daughter out hacking on an unknown pony kickstarted the in-built motherly protection gland and against my better judgement I found myself clambering aboard. We set off through the forest. I looked behind. Daughter was sporting a big smile. I was rather enjoying myself too, despite my agonising self-limiting beliefs, and 45 minutes later we returned. It was looking good for Spirit.
‘I have a friend who’s desperate for him’
“Would you like to jump him?” Plummy enquired. Daughter nodded, rather gamely I thought.
As we proceeded into the “jump field” that doubled as Spirit’s grazing territory, Plummy revealed that she was looking for around £1,250 for the pony – I jolted. “Really…?” I murmured. “Oh yes, I have a friend who’s desperate for him,” she slipped in, just in case I thought I was paying over the odds for a pensioner pony.
Daughter popped a couple of fences. Things were going well. She decided to try the double.
One stride out, Spirit dropped his shoulder in a sneaky “see how you like this” action. Daughter was unceremoniously dumped on the wings. Plummy let out a horrified shriek. “Oh,” she wailed, running towards Daughter, “he’s never done that before.”
Little did I know this was to become the catchphrase for the whole pony buying experience. Game over. We made our excuses. As we made our way back to the car, Plummy called across: “Would you be interested in a kitten?” Next!
Don’t miss the next installment of Kate Flynn’s hunt for the perfect pony on the Horse & Hound website this time next week (Monday 31 August)
All eyes have been watching the harvest come in amid anticipation of the first day of the new season.
Somehow though, no matter how many months there are between the last day’s hunting in the spring to the start of autumn hunting, the new season still manages to quietly creep up and it never gets any easier to be fully prepared.
The fat, unfit and long-maned hunters have been doing roadwork for weeks while you have been patiently watching the crops ripen and hounds have been building up their fitness, first with their hunt staff on bikes before mounted hound exercise took over.
Those with superstitious tendencies may have already got their lucky lightweight breeches out and their favourite hunting numnah washed and clean, however for those who aren’t quite so prepared, Horse & Hound offers a few tips on what to remember ahead of your first day autumn hunting so you don’t appear late, flustered and unkempt in front of masters and hunt staff — both new and old.
1. Track down your tweed hacking jacket and give it a thorough clean. The tweed may be adept at disguising the mud but it would be great to start the season with good intentions, even if they do slip slightly after weeks of early starts. Fish out any of last season’s mint humbugs that may have stuck to the lining and re-stock with fresh essentials.
2. Remember that autumn hunting mornings can be warm — especially if your horse gets lit up at the start of the season and you’re perhaps not as fit as you might be — so try to track down a short-sleeved shirt with a collar and leave your thermal stock shirt at home. You might want to check the top button is still on it too — nothing worse than stabbing yourself when trying to thread a needle at 4.30am on a hunting morning then blotting blood all over your clean shirt…
We’ve all been there — one minute you’re enjoying the ride of your life and the next you experience that More…
3. Find your hunting tie and get it cleaned if you need to — it is bound to still have either horse slobber on it or a bit of crusty egg-yolk from the last Hunt Supporters Club breakfast.
4. Makes sure you’ve visited your cobbler (or got yourself measured up for some new boots) if you find the soles have somehow come adrift from your hunting boots while sitting in the cupboard. Take a good look at the insides too to make sure they don’t need any holes patching up and track down the missing garter strap that had to double as a spur strap when one snapped on a gatepost last season. While on the subject of spurs, you had better find those too and give them a polish, and don’t forget your hunting whip.
5. Relocate your hunting cap, crash cap or headwear of choice and make sure it is comfortable — gentlemen should get a haircut if required and ladies should splash out on a new hairnet rather than wearing two with giant holes in the opposite way around to make sure errant hairs don’t poke out.
6. Make sure you have your horses’ travel wardrobe sorted out too. A lightweight cooler — most probably at the very bottom of the rug pile — will almost definitely be of most use before clipping during early autumn, while a tail bandage or tail guard is a must (unless you want to arrive with the proverbial bog-brush excuse of a tail). You might also want to clean your “hunting bridle” with a stronger bit and noseband combination to ensure you don’t spend the morning having your arms pulled out of their sockets.
7. The condition of horseboxes and other methods of transport should always be of paramount importance and safety checks to ensure that lights are working, the floor and walls are safe and the tyres are properly inflated go without saying. Just remember to take the wheelclamp off and check the handbrake on the trailer hasn’t been pulled up firmly over the summer though — there’s nothing worse than hitching up and pulling forward to find all wheels are locked tight and you’re digging grooves into the area where you’ve parked… laying underneath it before sunrise banging the brake drums with a large spanner to release them in your clean breeches is not ideal.
8. And finally… don’t forget to have a shorter girth ready for when your horse eventually loses that extra inch or two of summer flesh. Trying to make-do with the long one you’ve been using for weeks could cause embarrassment when you leap off to open a gate then slide ungraciously round when trying to re-mount.
Great Britain’s vaulters picked up a host of top 10 finishes at the FEI European Championships in Aachen (20-23 August).
The individual female vaulters performed their final freestyle routine yesterday (Sunday 23 August) and Team GBR’sHannah Eccles (pictured, above) and Lucy Phillips finished in eighth and ninth place respectively.
Hannah on WH Bentley, lunged by her father John, were first into the arena and scored 7.976, taking her final average from all four rounds to 7.577.
“It’s really scary in there,” said Hannah. “I really wanted to qualify for the final round so I held it back the other day [in the first freestyle round] and played it safe.”
She added her father was happy as his favourite move – a one legged stand side-on move called ‘the wineglass’ – worked in the final.
Vaulting team chef d’equipe Ann Rogerson said: “It’s just been great. The organisation here in Aachen has been amazing, the venue is outstanding and the team has done so well.
“For a lot of the squad this is their first senior championships and I’m so happy and so proud of them all, I’m really, really happy.”
This was the first European Championships since 2007 that British vaulters have come home without a medal.
In 2009, Great Britain won its first European vaulting medal when Joanne Eccles won individual gold in Malmö, Sweden.
She has won a senior championship medal every year since then.
Germany took silver and Italy picked up bronze in the women’s team event.
Reigning Olympic champion Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania won individual gold with France’s Elodie Clouvel in silver and Germany’s Lena Schoneborn in bronze.
In the men’s individual competition, Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe (pictured, below) became the first ever Irish pentathlete to win a European gold medal.
In silver was France’s Valentin Prades and Riccardo De Luca from Italy took bronze.
Arthur, who was in second place going into the riding section, has also now qualified for the Olympics.
He jumped a clear round with his drawn horse, Davis, and had just five points deducted for time.
“I was really lucky with the horse I got, he was really sweet,” Arthur added.
“[Winning] basically means the world to me, our whole season has been focused on peaking at this one moment and we peaked at it, so it gives me great confidence going into Rio.
“I’ve now qualified for the Olympics, I’m the European champion – it is pretty much up there with the top days of my life.”
In 2012, Natalya Coyle and Arthur were the first Irish modern pentathletes to qualify for an Olympics.
The men’s team competition was won by France with Russia in silver and the Czech Republic in bronze.
Great Britain’s men’s team finished in seventh place, with team member Joe Choong picking up a Rio qualification.
Joe was the highest-placed Brit, finishing in seventh place individually and is the first British male penathlete so far to qualify for next summer’s Olympics.
However, his Olympic place is not yet guarunteed. If more than two British men reach the qualifying standard, he will have to go through a selection process in June.
Bob, pictured during a recent cross-country schooling session, is currently recovering from colic surgery
The calendar was jam packed in a somewhat daunting fashion last week. I took some horses cross-country schooling and Bozzie (Cornacrew) swimming on Monday, then had a jumping day on Tuesday where I think I jumped 14 horses, most being prepped for events in the coming days. With four entered for Shelford on Wednesday, five on Thursday and three at Somerford on Friday, I called in reinforcements in the form of Mark Swan, freelance groom extraordinaire.
Having struggled to have a pole at Smiths Lawn the previous week, I had a serious case of four fault-itus at Shelford. Vinny (The Rutman) could have won but for a pole down (I also had a small case of ‘if only-itus’), and the others went well for lower placings. Shelford is an excellent use of limited space and I love taking the babies there.
We got home late and went straight to bed ready for a busy day with five, albeit with a later start which was quite appealing. Leaving at 8.30am was going to be a lie-in.
A worrying wake-up call
My phone rang at 6am with ‘Mary’ on the caller ID. Mary lives on my yard and is amazing at keeping an eye on everything through the night, despite not working for me. She’s a classic ‘old school’ horsewoman. A spade is a spade, and why waste energy with a conversation when one word will suffice. I was instantly on the alert as Mary would not be ringing for a chin wag.
“One of these has colic.” The phone went dead. I jumped into my trousers and ran down the road like a possessed idiot. Sure enough poor Bob (Wish He Was Yours, pictured top) was sweating profusely and far from comfortable. I rung Oakham Vets, who were incredibly efficient in getting to us. With no gut sounds and an inconclusive physical examination, it was decided to take him straight to the practice following some pain relief.
As I drove I could see him trying to lie down on the CCTV system, so my groom Amanda travelled in the back with him. Luckily she arrived for work just as I was leaving. He seemed to settle and Amanda did an excellent job, but the pain relief was wearing off as we arrived at the practice.
Once there, the team at Oakham sprung into action. They were absolutely brilliant, taking it in their stride and doing everything that was right for our special chap. Taking the decision making and control of the situation away allowed me time to think and breath for a second. There he was, my friend, surrounded by veterinary experts, in significant pain, looking lost and forlorn. He quietly whinnied. It took my breath away for a second, and a tear came to my eye. The decision was taken to operate and so I left him in their capable hands.
You have to carry on
We drove back home in silence. I didn’t want to go eventing anymore. We were ridiculously late, with a very special horse going into surgery. However, I was taking an extra horse for someone else to ride and a lot of work and effort, not to mention owners’ money, had gone into getting the other horses ready for this event, so we carried on. The team at home were amazing and had Bozzie ready for me to work and the other horses that were eventing dressed and waiting to be loaded on our return.
If I’m honest the rest of the morning is a bit of a blur (I wish I was a bit tougher sometimes!) but despite having to withdraw Bob (due to his colic) and Charlie (Trewardale) because we were running so late, the rest of the horses went well. Chunky (Up And Over), who is owned by show jumper Holly Gillott, went really well and took to cross-county like a pro, as did Karin Bergvill’s Hector IV. Merna Merrett’s Lilly (Gallifords Orchid) was amazing despite having never been to a show and skipped round the four-year-old class.
At lunch time I got the call I had been waiting for. Bob was up and out of surgery, which had gone according to plan. What a relief, things were looking up! My last cross-country was at 5.30pm, so then it was full steam ahead to get back home to make the turn around in order to leave for Somerford at 4am the following morning with Rocky (Generoso), Hugo (Woodland Rock) and Bozzie.
Rocky contested the intermediate where once again he nailed it with a super double clear round a tough enough track. He’s such fun. Hugo was in the CIC*. He went rather green and if I’m honest I don’t think I rode to my best in the showjumping so we had three down, which was disappointing. However we both redeemed ourselves with a super duper clear round across country in his first one-star enduring very wet and rather slippery conditions. Good Boy Hugo!
Bozzie had a wonderful day, with a smile on his face the whole time, especially in the dressage (the little tinker). He jumped the most super double clear, which has set us up for Burghley in a couple of weeks. We are drawn number 17, after the great Michael Jung, so I’m dressage schooling intensively like the next Carl Hester! Seriously though, I just hope there are no last-minute hiccups in our final preparations, fingers crossed.
Grievesy
PS: In the past few days Bob has started eating again and with any luck will be back home towards the end of this week. Please keep your fingers crossed for him in the meantime.
If you've been inspired by the vaulting at the FEI European Championships in Aachen and are keen to give it a go, then take a look at these top tips
It may have been the thick end of 20 years since Horse & Hound’s Pippa Roome wore leggings in public, and her lack of flexibility may have been the despair of her gym teacher — but she was still game to take up the challenge of giving vaulting a go.
If you’re considering donning the Lycra too, take a look at Pippa’s top tips for making the most out of your first session.
Pippa’s 9 tips for first-time vaulters
1. A basic level of fitness will help you get the most out of your session — there is likely to be a physical warm-up including a short run and stretches and you don’t want to be exhausted before you get near the horse.
2. Wear tight-fitting, stretchy clothing so that you can move around easily, but nothing which is loose and could get caught. Leggings are ideal, with perhaps a long-sleeved T-shirt as your base on top. Dress in layers as you are likely to be cold initially, depending on the weather, but you will warm up quickly and want to strip off.
3. Hair should also be neatly tied up to avoid anything becoming tangled.
Great Britain's vaulters picked up a host of top 10 finishes at the FEI European Championships in Aachen (20-23 August)
4. Ballet shoes or light pumps are ideal footwear — remember, it’s highly possible you will catch another vaulter in the face with your foot, so you don’t want anything clumpy. If you think your shoes might fall off, tie or sew two lengths of elastic into loops and slip them on over your shoes.
5. Take another pair of shoes or boots to wear on the yard before and after your session.
6. Leave your hang-ups about personal space at home. You’ll need to get close to other vaulters — and you’ll be happy if they grab you if you get a bit wobbly. Similarly, you’ll need to be comfortable hanging onto other people.
7. Be brave. Letting go with both hands while kneeling or standing on a moving horse sounds daunting, but your confidence will grow quickly and you will get more out of the experience if you take the plunge.
8. Remember, you’re not riding the horse. Controlling his speed and pace is the lunger’s job, not the vaulter’s. Try to refrain from kicking him on or clicking if he gets a little lazy.
9. Point your toes! The only real difference between a standard riding position and the vaulting basic seat is that the toes point downwards rather than the heels being the lowest point.
Keen to give vaulting a go?
Contact Julie Newell on 07976 421789 or email julievaulting@gmail.com to book a two-hour session for £15.
Eden Valley is a great starter and concluding event for the season in the northern region and for all newcomers to the sport. With a compact layout, friendly organising team and straightforward courses, this event welcomes some 450-500 competitors at each running. There are three class levels from BE80(T) to BE100.
The showjumping will once again be sited on the outdoor surface over flowing courses built by John Collier.
A main sponsor is being sought for Eden Valley’s two fixtures and the organisers would like to hear from any business prepared to support them.
What the riders say
Dressage & showjumping — “The ground can get deep quite quickly. The arenas for the BE90 classes are better in terms of the ground, but there is very little warm-up there and my Connemara pony could hear the showjumping bell from those arenas!” “The area given to warm up was very good with lots of flat sections and places where you can distance yourself from the other horses.” “The arenas are situated close to the cross-country and road.” “The showjumping is on a surface. The arena can ride quite tight on big horses (especially at BE100 level), but I have never found this to be a problem. The course looks straightforward enough, but it requires riders to use the space available and keep their focus.” “The showjumping is always a great course and is on a surface.” “It also has a large warm-up arena that is well managed and is based away from the wagons and cross-country which makes it easier for the horses to concentrate.”
Cross-country — “The BE80(T) course is a great introduction to eventing for horses. However, I have been caught out by the double on top of the hill on green horses in this class!” “The BE90 course flowed well and asked just enough questions, and the BE100 course requires accurate riding, but the time is tight in the BE100 so you can’t hang around too much!” “The ground can vary from firm to quite deep depending on the weather.” “The courses were very similar the two times I rode them and are very inviting, but do have tricky combinations and the BE90 has a large amount of the BE100 jumps such as a ditch and rail four strides to a very skinny hedge.”
“It’s a great course set in great
land and scenery.”
A woman is suing New York Police after her fingertip was bitten off by a police horse.
Swedish-born Pernilla Ekberg was petting the police horse when it bit off the top of her right finger.
She is now suing the city for negligence and launched a legal case last Thursday (20 August).
The 28-year-old was out a night out in Lower East Side in Manhattan with friends at around 2.30am on 15 November 2014 when they approached the police horse.
She reportedly asked to pet the horse and she claims the mounted officer said yes.
Her lawyer Eliot Bickoff told US press: “The horse immediately chomped down on the right ring finger of her right hand, took a chunk off her finger tip and spat it on the floor.”
The lawyer continues that the police officer “rode off without filing any sort of incident report or asking her if she needed medical help.”
Miss Ekberg’s boyfriend put the fingertip on ice and took her to hospital, but doctors were unable to save her finger.
Picture: Asta & Associates, P.C.
She had a partial amputation and says she has difficulty typing and little sensation in the finger due to the bite.
“She has a significant disfigurement,” Mr Bickoff added.
“The NYPD are meant to protect the citizens of New York,’’ he told the New York Post.
“And when their actions and the actions of their police horses injure those citizens, the NYPD must be held responsible for that negligent conduct.”
Miss Ekberg said she spent months in intensive rehab working to restore her fine motor skills. However, they are still impaired and her lawyer said this “affects her ability to type in the office”.
Myerscough College in Lancashire was the venue for the Baileys/BEF Futurity on 13 August where a colt sports pony showjumping foal, Thursden Vallye Leonardo (Rotherwood Signature x Aimbry Chester) took an elite premium of 9.00 for his delighted owner and breeder, Catherine Billington from Burnley.
Thursden Vallye Leonardo’s dam, Thursden Vallye Monet is full sister to the hugely successful sports pony stallion, Thursden Vallye Raphael who Catherine also bred.
Catherine said: “Leonardo is an absolute carbon copy of Raphael. I am looking to sell Leonardo to a showing producing home where he can preferably also stand as a stallion.”
Thursden Vallye Leonardo is the first foal of Thursden Vallye Monet. Catherine added: “Monet is hopefully back in foal to Rotherwood Signature for 2016.”
Thursden Vallye Leonardo
Scoring a second elite premium in as many Futurity visits was Fortunatus (see video top) (Floriscount x Der Lord) for Sandra Tinker of Fosshey Stables in Antrobus.
Two-year-old gelding dressage prospect, Fortunatus scored an elite premium of 9.00 at Myerscough. As a yearling in 2014 he scored 9.02 in the dressage section at the Southview Futurity.
Fortunatus
Sandra said: “Fortunatus is such an exciting prospect, I don’t normally keep the boys but I am really looking forward to producing him and seeing how far we can get. I am so pleased he has got the second elite premium, you never know until the day, he really is consistent and so uphill. We will aim for equine bridge selection next year.”
LG Sport Horses’ stud manager, Zoe Allen bred and owns dressage colt foal, Axel Rose (Denver LG x Leendert) who scored a higher first premium of 8.85.
Zoe said: “I am really pleased. While I work with the youngsters and am involved with the breeding full time, Axel Rose is the first one I have bred myself.”
Axel Rose
Axel Rose is out of Zoe’s mare, Lonnie. Zoe continued: “Lonnie was bought by my boss Mike Battersby as a two-year-old. She was competed by Neil Fox in BE classes and did the five-year-old PAVO Eventing final at Tweseldown in 2006. She was then sold to a dressage home and ended up competing in the National Dressage championships twice. Lonnie was then given back to LG Sporthorses and I bought her to compete on. She unfortunately did a leg in the field so I decided to breed from her.”
Lonnie is back in foal to Denver LG for 2016. Zoe added: “Axel Rose is for sale, but I may keep him with the aim of competing in dressage. I expect he will also have a good jump as his sire has plenty of jumping ability in his bloodlines.”
Following on from a successful time at the Richmond Futurity, Steve Pullan from Knaresborough had just the one youngster entered at Myerscough. His three-year-old gelding, Je T’aime Aredis (Je T’aime Flamenco x Dollar de la Pierre) scored a higher first premium of 8.71 in the jumping section to be the highest scoring three-year-old at Myerscough. Je T’aime Aredis was bred by Steve although he has always lived at the Millfield Stud.
Je Taime Aredis
Steve said: “I bought Je T’aim Aredis’ dam, Touchstone Z from Millfield as a foal. She is a lovely young mare and also has a two-year-old Cooper van de Heffinck youngster. We are very pleased with Je T’aime Aredis and I will find out more about the possibility of taking him to the equine bridge selection next year.”
Several other horses bred by LG Sport Horses excelled at Myerscough. Yearling filly, Jersey LG (Denver LG x Albaster) scored a higher first premium of 8.70 in the dressage section for her owner Jennifer Whittaker.
Jersey LG
Mike Battersby of LG Sport Horses said: “Jersey is a really nice filly, we took her to the Futurity as a foal and she scored a higher first premium and then went on to come third in the KWPN later on in the year. Jennifer will probably take her home after Christmas and she will hopefully combine competing in dressage with breeding.”
Montana LG (Denver LG x Coronado) a colt foal, scored a higher first premium of 8.54 at Myerscough for his joint owners LG Sport Horses and Liz Johnson. He was the top eventer at Myerscough.
Montana LG
Mike Battersby said: “We will keep Montana he is a really exciting young colt. Ideally we will licence him as a two-year-old as we are keen to get some real quality in our stallion stock.”
Montana’s dam, Wright Again jumped to 1.20m classes. Mike continued: “Our stallion Denver is doing so well. He is a true stamp of a modern dressage horse and he also has the added bonus of having some jumping blood further back in his breeding. We have had lots of support from both Twemlows and Stallion AI Services with him. He is now six rising seven and we are planning to really start getting him out competing this winter. He is working at advanced medium level at home. We were so pleased with all our youngsters at Myerscough and I feel that the linear scoring is really useful, it does seem to have resulted in fewer elite and higher first premiums.”
1st August – Catherston Stud, Hampshire
2nd August – Chelwood Equestrian, East Sussex
3rd August – Writtle College, Essex
4th August – The College, Keysoe, Bedfordshire
7th August – Tall Trees Arena, Cornwall
9th August – Hartpury College, Gloucestershire
11th August – Arena UK, Lincolnshire
12th August – Richmond Equestrian Centre, North Yorkshire
13th August – Myerscough College, Lancashire
14th August – Southview Equestrian Centre, Cheshire
17th August – Solihull Riding Club, West Midlands
18th August – Solihull Riding Club, West Midlands
British riders have won gold and silver medals at the European CIC2* Eventing Championships.
Francesca Reid-Warrilow (pictured, above, at Belton Horse Trials) finished on her dressage score to take individual gold at the event, which was held in Helvoirt, the Netherlands, from 20-23 August.
Francesca and her own Dolley Whisper added nothing to their leading dressage score of 40.4 to win.
“It was the first time we had won the individual gold title,” chef de mission Peter Buist told H&H.
“It was quite poignant in a way because the trophy for the individual winner is the Warren Wofford Memorial Trophy.”
The trophy was donated by Warren’s wife, the late Dawn Wofford, who died in July.
“This is the first time a Brit has won it – she would be thrilled,” he added.
In second place was Germany’s Frank Feldmann on Florenz 64 with a score of 47.1.
Bart Hermans on Gorki van de Pertjeshoeve took Bronze for Belgium on 48.4 penalties.
The British team of six also claimed individual silver on a score of 309.55.
Germany won team gold on 285.35 and Belgium picked up bronze on 315.95.
All competitors at the championships have to be members of a riding club.
The competition is unique as the team dressage involves all six riders performing a team test in the same arena together.
This is followed by the individual dressage, which all team and individual riders then perform.
Tyler Cassells on Grandslam, Danielle Dunn on Zocarla BLH, Sarah Holmes on Lowhill Clover, Emily Prangnell on DHI Beaunesse, Zoe Wilkinson on GHS Calvaruise and Francesca on Whisper made up the British team.
Anthony Clark on Crambamboli and Stephanie O’Neil on Millridge Auroras Diamond competed as individuals.
As well as Francesca’s individual gold, two other British team members also finished in the individual top 10.
A clear showjumping round by Tyler pulled him up from eighth to fourth place.
Zoe went into the final phase in fourth position following the cross-country, but three poles down dropped them to sixth.
Peter said the results were “fantastic”.
“I am very, very pleased – I think they did extremely well,” he told H&H.
“We were in the lead after the team dressage and that is the first time I can remember doing that.”
He added it was also the first time he could remember having a leader after the individual dressage too.
A couple of “blips” on the cross-country saw the team drop to bronze medal position.
Sarah pulled up at the water and they found her horse Lowhill Clover had banged a splint, and Emily and DHI Beaunesse fell at a skinny at fence 17b.
Both horse and rider were uninjured.
Peter added the others had some great cross-country rounds.
“They pulled themselves back up into silver medal position with some really impressive showjumping,” he said.
Sitting by the ring, watching one young rider after another misinterpret a steward’s instructions on performing a set show, got me thinking. When a set show is required, why can’t it be posted at the collecting ring or available in the show secretary’s office beforehand?
In showjumping, the jump-off course is pinned up in the collecting ring. Showing could follow suit and make life easier and simpler for everyone.
Look what happens in our sport: a judge pulls in an initial line-up and the first rider is immediately under pressure. So many times, the first one to go makes a mistake and other competitors — who have been watching rather than listening — follow suit. Being able to study and learn a set show beforehand would allow riders to prepare and show off their ponies or horses to their best advantage, and help classes run smoothly and to time.
I always enjoy hearing other competitors’ suggestions, and someone approached me recently with what I think is an excellent idea. The rider suggested that when there is a change of judge for a class, there should automatically be a window of at least 24 hours for competitors to substitute for another horse, if necessary.
Sometimes, judge changes mean that you can no longer ride the horse you intended because the judge has a connection with it. There are also times when you know it isn’t worth competing under a particular judge as he or she doesn’t like the horse you’ve entered.
That’s not a criticism of judges: showing is subjective, which means some judges will always prefer a particular type or way of going. You get to know judges’ tastes and when you make your entries, there’s no point in setting yourself up for failure when past experience tells you that someone has reservations about a particular horse.
Masterpieces of design
I’ve just come back from Royal Dublin Show, one of my favourite horsey breaks. I look forward to seeing some of the purchases that are heading over here come out on our showing circuit.
Huge congratulations to the British Connemara Pony Society’s international Connemara performance hunter team, who came a close second to the Irish team. Talk about taking coals to Newcastle — there were only one-and-a-half marks between the two.
Chef d’equipe Debbie Nickson tells me that the course was big and bold with a bogey fence that caught out every rider save one. That was Britain’s Victoria Jones on Garry Knight, with the only clear round of the competition. What an achievement.
Pats on the back, too, for Amy Smith on Laburnum Richard, second-highest placed individual; Claire Somerset, British team trailblazer on Golden Island Star and Henrietta Horsley-Gubbins on the five-year-old Hazelrock Rebellion. And let’s not forget the helpers and supporters, who gave the team such support.
All the workers’ courses were masterpieces of design. There were enough questions and they rewarded bold horses and riders, but also encouraged a forward, flowing style. Classes were a pleasure to watch, and in the four-year-old class every horse had its ears pricked with enjoyment — just how it should be.
You know the feeling; your horse starts to drop behind your leg, he is not quite giving his fences enough clearance and his breathing rate increases. The chances are he is fatigued. His ability to continue performing is compromised because a protective mechanism has kicked in to prevent him exercising to a point where he may cause himself actual damage.
As a fight or flight animal, the horse may be willing to go further than a human athlete in terms of combating fatigue. This is because during hard exercise a horse’s adrenalin level is around 10 times higher than our own. Adrenaline can help mask pain and allow a horse to push itself harder than may be beneficial to its welfare. For this reason, it is important that we recognise the signs of fatigue and know how to delay its onset through appropriate riding.
As Paul Farrington, a vet for the FEI (horsesport’s international governing body) says: “Riders must take the lead in recognising the signs of over-fatigue and stop to save their horse from potentially serious injury before it occurs.”
What is fatigue?
Fatigue may manifest itself in different ways depending on what it is we are asking of the horse (see panel, far right). It is different from exhaustion, which can result in an inability for a horse even to take another step.
In general terms, the harder a horse works, the earlier it will fatigue: horses at the end of a five-furlong Flat race that lasts less than a minute will be fatiguing, as will endurance horses at the end of a 160km race lasting 10 hours. But the underlying causes will be very different.
Damage limitation
If a horse is struggling to maintain the level of intensity of exercise a rider is asking, a warning mechanism will be triggered and the horse will start to tire.
Fatigue is not an all or nothing event — it tends to creep up. It is important that the rider takes the pressure off at this point because continuing to press a tired horse will increase the risk of injury.
A fatigued horse is more likely to stumble and suffer tendon damage, while a horse that has been pushed beyond the point of fatigue in training or competition runs the risk of developing other conditions after exercise, such as colic, tying-up, laminitis or heat exhaustion.
There are some jumping questions that seem too obvious to ask — so we've asked them for you...
What causes fatigue?
Fatigue can occur either in the brain, the peripheral nervous system, or more commonly in the muscles themselves. In the latter case, the brain sends the correct signals for what it wants to happen, but the muscles cannot deliver.
It is important to remember that as well as locomotion — running and jumping — muscles, other muscles are also important for exercise. Fatigue of muscles in the upper airway, for example, may also result in reduced capacity for exercise.
Precisely what causes muscle fatigue is still not fully understood, but it can involve the depletion of energy stores, the accumulation of metabolic end-products such as lactic acid and the failure of contractile machinery, which may be the result of calcium imbalance. Electrolyte loss through disturbances to the internal environment of the muscle cells is also thought to be a contributing factor.
When the brain takes over
Central fatigue is different. This refers to processes in the brain where the muscles may have the capacity to exercise, but the brain overrides this and makes the horse slow down.
Central fatigue can be due to a variety of factors, such as low blood-sugar levels, hormones in the blood and pain. Sensations of breathlessness can also trigger central fatigue; horses with an upper airway obstruction such as roaring or a lower airway problem such as recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), may also be more susceptible.
Think fitness
Many different factors influence how quickly a horse fatigues. These include: speed, duration of exercise, the going, terrain, athletic ability, age, fitness and overall health, plus environmental conditions such as heat and humidity.
Of these factors, the one we can most heavily influence is fitness. As we train our horses and make them fitter, they become less prone to tiredness. It will still occur, but the horse will be able to exercise for longer without tiring.
So how can we reduce the chances of early fatigue?
Aside from training and fitness work, appropriate warm-up is also important. This should involve a period of exercise incorporating similar movements at a similar intensity to those that will be performed in competition. For example, a showjumper’s warm-up should include some work over small fences as well as the size of those to be jumped in the ring, while an event horse needs both faster canter work and jumping included in his prep.
Too little, or too much, warm-up could compromise your horse’s health — and your chances of success. Aim to finish warming-up five to 10 minutes before you compete.
The signs to look out for
Fatigue can manifest itself in a variety of ways according to discipline, but signs to watch out for are:
➤ A slowing of pace
➤ Decreased responsiveness to the aids
➤ An unwillingness or inability to increase speed or change gait
➤ Loss of motivation
➤ Reduced coordination (for example, stumbling/losing balance/wandering)
➤ Increased frequency of brushing or overreaching
➤ Increased frequency of changes in lead in canter and gallop
➤ Increased head and neck movement
➤ Increased breathing effort
➤ Hitting obstacles
This article was published in Horse & Hound Ask The Vet (Spring 2012)
H&H reports the passing of individuals who have made a significant contribution to the horse world. Funerals and memorial details will be included where possible
A keen equestrian and dedicated riding instructor has died aged 85.
Joan Harris died on 13 August at St Nicholas House Care Home in Dereham, Norfolk.
Mrs Harris was born in Sussex and her passion for horses began at an early age.
By the time she was 20 her equestrian experience included training racehorses, point-to-point racing, showing, hunting, assisting an equine vet and backing and training.
She was sponsored by the Pony Club to take an intensive training course at the Fulmer School of Equitation, where she worked towards getting her British Horse Society (BHS) certificates.
Mrs Harris married her husband Kenneth in 1951 and established herself as a racehorse trainer. She took in boarders for lessons and training, while also competing in dressage and eventing.
With this experience she was invited to give clinics and conduct examinations for the British Horse Society.
In 1983 Mrs Harris moved to the USA to become dressage and eventing coach for Lake Erie College in Ohio. The following year she became the director of the college’s equestrian centre.
She held this post for four years until she had to resign due to her husband’s ill heath.
In 1988 she accepted an appointment to serve on a national committee to develop an American certification programme for dressage instructors for the United States Dressage Federation.
“Joan will be sadly missed, especially in the horse world,” said her son David.
“She had a unique way of reaching out to people while she was teaching, giving them confidence and making them feel they could conquer the world. She touched so many hearts in England and the USA.”
Mrs Harris’ funeral will take place at 3.15pm on Thursday (27 August) at Mintlyn Crematorium, Kings Lynn, PE32 1HB, and afterwards at the Sandboy, Gayton Road, Kings Lynn.
Karen Stives
Olympic eventer Karen Stives has died at the age of 64.
Karen died on 14 August from lung cancer.
In 1984, Ginny Elliot and Karen made history at the Los Angeles Olympics by becoming the first women to win individual Olympic eventing medals.
Karen won silver on her mother Lillian Mahoney’s Ben Arthur and Ginny took bronze.
She rode for the US in numerous internationals on her thoroughbred eventer, The Saint, including the 1982 World Championships in Lumühlen.
After retiring from international competition, Karen became an FEI judge and chairman of the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation’s selectors.
Last year, she gave $1million to the USET which was used to set up a competition grants fund for high performance eventing.
Karen is survived by her partner, Bob Hutchison, sister Linda McCabe and three nieces and nephews.
Patricia Leitch
Patricia Leitch, author of some of the best-loved pony books, has died aged 82 (July 28).
The children’s novelist wrote the popular 12-book Jinny series from 1976 to 1988.
The stories were set in the Highlands and centered on Jinny, an adventurous girl who rescues Arab mare Shantih.
Ms Leitch wrote many other stories and her last work, The Mystery Horse, was released in 1997.
She had a great love for horses and enjoyed trekking in the Highlands.
Before her writing career, she had also been a librarian at the University of Glasgow and then trained as a primary school teacher.
Catnip publishing began reprinting the Jinny series in July 2010.
Richard Kinsley
Richard Kinsey, who ran Tetton Hall Horse Trials with his late wife Frances, has died aged 90.
He died peacefully on Monday (10 August) following a short illness.
Frances died on 12 March 2013 aged 88. The pair last ran the event in Middleton, Cheshire, in 2009 when they were both 82.
“It is with great sadness that I have to pass on the news that Richard (Dick) Kinsey of Tetton Hall in Middlewich has passed away,” said a spokesman for British Eventing.
“He will be sadly missed and remembered fondly by all who knew him,” added the spokesman.
Mr Kinsey’s funeral will be for family only but a memorial service will be held on Thursday 20 August at 12 noon in St Leonard’s Church, Warmingham, Cheshire.
Donations in his memory can be made towards St Leonard’s Church.
Chris White
A former British Horse Society (BHS) bridleways officer has died.
Chris White died on 3 July aged 79.
She was responsible for creating many circular riding routes in the South East.
One of her triumphs was preventing an existing bridleway from being diverted by several miles.
She pressured the Department for Transport to build a bridge over the M25 near Sevenoaks in Kent to stop the diversion.
An active member of Endurance GB, Chris used to ride long distances to visit her family and also took part in the Golden Horseshoe Ride in Exmoor.
Chris was an accomplished musician and played both violin and piano.
She also volunteered with Riding for the Disabled.
Chris leaves behind her husband Alan and children Maggie, Helen and Neville.
Gerry Tribe
The Horse Rangers Association (Hampton Court) has paid tribute to one of its longest serving members.
Colonel in chief Gerry Tribe died on 3 July at the age of 92.
He became involved with the group in 1968 when his nine-year-old daughter Tina started riding there.
He was made commanding officer in 1977, retiring after 26 years in the role. In 2004, he became colonel in chief.
A statement from the Horse Rangers Association read: “Everyone recalls what a kind, helpful and caring man he was — rarely raising his voice and always willing to give a hand or show how things should be done.”
In 2009, the board of trustees made Gerry an honorary life member.
He continued to support the group and attended their Riding for the Disabled Association open day a week before he died.
His funeral was due to be held at South West Middlesex Crematorium, Hanworth, today (Wednesday, 22 July).
Dawn Wofford
Former leading showjumper Dawn Wofford, née Palethorpe (pictured, credit Kit Houghton), has died at the age of 79.
Her showjumping career highlights include winning the Queen Elizabeth II cup twice and representing Great Britain at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Dawn met her American husband, Warren Wofford, at the Stockholm Olympics, where they were both reserve riders.
After becoming a mother to Valerie, John and Bruce, Dawn became re-involved with the Pony Club.
She became the organisation’s first lady chairman in 1991 and in 1997 she co-ordinated the rewriting of the Manual of Horsemanship.
“Dawn touched many lives, influenced many and was a dynamic and enthusiastic motivator,” said her daughter Valerie Cockburn.
“She was passionate about ‘putting back’ the fun she had had from horses and helping young people reach the best of their potential, whether they were riding hairy ponies or world class horses.”
Dawn died on 12 July. Her funeral is on Monday (27 July) at St Peter’s Church, Coughton.
Donations to Warwickshire and Northampton Air Ambulance.
Charles Hood
Charles Hood, Lincoln Horse Trials organiser, former show director and chief equine steward at the Lincolnshire Show and Burton Hunt chairman, has died age 64.
Charles, known to many in the eventing community as Charlie, was joint organiser of the event for 20 years and stepped down only a few months before his death on Sunday 12 July.
“Charles was renowned for being the most polite and charming man with a good word to say for everyone,” said long-time friend and colleague, commentator Robert Heneage. “Anyone who ever met him would have received a ‘thank you so much’ from Charles.”
In addition to organising at Lincoln, Charles was also a BE cross-country course designer and long-standing steward.
Charles leaves his wife Tessa and their two sons Thomas and James.
Thomas Capstick
Murthwaite Cloud was bred by Thomas Capstick
The founder of Murthwaite Fell Pony Stud has died.
He set up the stud in 1962, and its horses remained one of the few semi-feral fell pony herds running on the Howgills.
Murthwaite ponies have achieved a great many accolades —including wins at Horse of the Year Show and with ponies being ridden by The Queen.
The last pony to be registered under the Murthwaite prefix was born on the 8 June.
“Thomas will be missed not only for his wonderful ponies but for his generous spirit. Always quick to smile, he introduced a great many people to the fell pony world,” said friend Samantha McDermott.
“Friends will miss most his wicked sense of humour, his cheerful singing and of course his passion for his beloved ponies.
“Thomas gave many people fantastic opportunities — myself included. A true gentleman, he will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”
Geoff Charley
The founder of Townfields Saddlers died on 21 June at the age of 75.
Geoff was known to many in the equestrian and shooting worlds through the family business, which he set up with his wife Gill in 1963.
He leaves behind his wife, their children Adrian and Sarah and four grandchildren.
Sarah told H&H: “He built Townfields to what it is today because he loved horse sport and adored working alongside his family.”
A minute’s silence was held at Hickstead on Sunday (28 June) to remember him.
Dr Peter Lamont
The well-known eventing starter and owner Dr Peter Lamont has died.
Alongside Bill Allen, who died in April, Peter was a familiar face at horse trials, and as a starter officiated at hundreds of events including the Hong Kong Olympics and the 2006 Asian Games.
He was also involved in the sport as an organiser for Purston Manor Horse Trials and volunteered as a cross-country starter at a huge number of British Eventing (BE) fixtures including Tweseldown.
Peter also owned Beanie Sturgis’ four-star horse Lebowski.
The retired doctor died last week (2 June) and leaves his wife, Jill, a welll-known entries secretary.
BE’s David Holmes said: “This is deeply saddening news which will affect everyone in the sport. I know he was an extremely friendly and much-loved man in the community.”
Gerrit-Jan Swinkels
Gerrit-Jan Swinkels the president of Indoor Brabant, the famous show in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, has died while riding.
The 67-year-old died suddenly on Monday 25 April while riding on the Belgian coast at Knokke-Heist in West Flanders. The exact circumstances of his death have not been released.
Mr Swinkels became president of Indoor Brabant in 2002 and planned to hand over to his successor in 2017 during the event’s 50th anniversary.
He was also president of the board of directors of Springpaarden Fonds Nederland, which is dedicated to developing jumping horses.
“Gerrit-Jan was a wonderful person, and thanks to him the profile of equestrian sport has grown tremendously”, said John Roche, FEI jumping director.
“The sport has lost one of its greatest friends, enthusiasts and supporters, and an immeasurable void has been left. We will all miss him greatly.”
Allan Middleton
One of dressage’s most valued supporters, Allan Middleton, died on 7 May after a long illness. He was 62 years old.
Through his wife, Anita, an event rider and List One dressage judge, Allan used his technical skills to improve early dressage technology.
“Allan with his technical know-how maintained and looked after the innovative headphones which provided commentary at all the big dressage championships for members of the British Dressage Supporters Club [BDSC],” said Anita.
The BDSC commentary sets were regularly serviced and looked after by Allan, who worked in the telecommunications industry.
Other shows could apply to use the headsets and Allan was in charge of sending them out to show organisers.
“Nobody had seen anything like this before. It helped open up dressage to so many more people,” Anita told H&H.
“The current commentary system evolved from this original idea.
“He was totally non-horsey when we met, but supported me throughout my riding career and was a great BDSC supporter and enjoyed going to the dressage championships abroad.”
Daphne Lakin
The Hon Mrs Daphne Lakin who started Iping Horse Trials over forty years ago died peacefully at home after a short illness on 29 April aged 96.
She had been involved with horses all her life, firstly on the polo field where she was encouraged by her husband John and his brother, who are both international players. Daphne was also involved with the Pony Club and used to run ‘pony parties’ to entertain her son Michael and his friends.
Daphne ran Iping Horse Trials with a committee of friends for many years. More recently she dedicated her time to the design and the building of the cross-country fences and course.
She was to be seen out on the course as recently as last year with her hammer and nails.
Bill Allen
Eventing stalwart Bill Allen died on 4 April. He had been suffering from cancer.
Alongside his wife Ann, a British Eventing scorer and event secretary, Bill was well-known on the eventing circuit. The pair officiated at the 2008 and at 2012 Olympics.
“Bill was involved in the sport for many years as an organiser however he was also very well known for his work as a starter and volunteer at a great number of British Eventing (BE) events,” said a BE spokesman.
“Bill was one of the great personalities within the sport and a friend to many, he will be very sadly missed by all those in the eventing community.”
Tony Cavendish Cooper BHSI
The showjumping trainer and owner has died aged 68.
He passed away on 28 February.
Tony was “horse mad” from an early age and owned and trained showjumpers.
“His family have had some wonderful responses from hisfriends and he will be greatly missed by all those who knew him,” said a spokesman for the family.
Norah Machattie
The breeder and organiser has died aged 85.
Born in Glasgow in 1929, Norah lived for all things equestrian and was there at the beginning of Aberdeenshire’s North East Riding Club in the 1940s.
During her life, she bred many sport horses with her business partner Liz Davidson — the most famous being the horse that launched Ian Stark’s career Oxford Blue, a team silver medal winner at the LA Olympics.
Norah was pivotal in the organising of Royal Deeside Horse Trials for many years and then, along with her great friend Joan Weir, set up the Dietsmann Dressage Festival in Scotland.
Together, Norah and Joan set up Gordon Dressage Group, which still continues and carries on their legacy of bringing top judges to the area for its monthly competitions.
Following the onset of Alzheimer’s in 2007, Norah and her husband Keith moved to New Zealand to be near their daughter Clare.
Norah is survived by her husband, her daughter, her two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Maureen Walton
The keen eventing supporter died on 2 March, aged 82. She had been suffering from cancer.
Maureen was instrumental in devising the scoring system for three-day events, her written notes being used for many events, until technology came in.
She was joint chairman of Windsor Horse Trials with Peggy Maxwell of when it was a two-day event on Smiths Lawn and she was joint chairman with Col. Frank Beale of Windsor Park Equestrian Club in its early days, and subsequently scored dressage on Club days for many years. She also, until very recently, did the dressage scoring for Bookham Riding Club.
Lord Waterford (11 February, 2015)
Polo stalwart John Hubert de la Poer Beresford, the 8th Marquess of Waterford, died earlier this month (11 February). He was 81 years old.
Lord Waterford’s love for equestrianism started at Eton where he rode the first of many point-to-point winners and went on to be the youngest ever member of the Irish Turf Club.
He later turned to polo and was a member of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Windsor Park team, winning the Gold Cup at Cowdray Park on two occasions — in 1966 and 1969. He was also captain of the All Ireland Polo Club from 1960 to 1985 and its highest handicapped player.
His love of polo has been passed on to his grandson — Richard Le Poer — who is a six-goal professional.
Janet Elliott (21 February 2015)
Former showjumper and hunting stalwart Janet Elliott (nee Smith) died last month (21 February). She was 70 years old.
Janet had a successful showjumping career and trained with Hans Günter Winkler in Germany. She rode on the British team for thirteen years and won the U21 class at the Hickstead Derby Meeting consecutively for three years.
“Laterally, Janet has enjoyed seeing two generations of her family excel in the hunting field,” a family spokesman said.
Hugh Condry (27 February 2015)
Hugh Condry and Brian Lee. Credit: Brian Armstrong
He was a key member of staff at H&H for 32, and spent 14 years as deputy editor. He was also point-to-point correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, and latterly for the Racing Post and Racing Post Weekender.
Hugh leaves behind his wife Sue, two daughters and ten grandchildren.
A thanksgiving service will be held at Dulverton All Saints Church, Somerset at 2pm on Wednesday 18 March.
Brigadier Peter Marzetti
A great huntsman and sportsman, Brigadier Peter Marzetti, has died aged 82.
His hunting career started at the age of 14 years, a young boy on a rough pony with the Enfield Chase, and continued throughout his 82 years.
As an army officer, he always ensured his postings were in the UK, giving him the opportunity to hunt both harriers and foxhounds across England and Ireland.
He was the field master of the Staff College Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Drag Hounds in the early 1970s, and for the last 25 years of his life hunted with and supported the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale where he was a Joint-Master of Foxhounds (1990-1995) and hunt secretary (1996-2000). In the later years he enjoyed attending the meet, supporting the Countryside Alliance and socialising with his many friends and fellow huntsmen.
He died at home after a fall from one of his horses in November. He leaves a wife, four daughters and seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at St Peter’s Church, West Lydford, Somerset on Friday 27th February at 2.00pm, no flowers donations to the Hunt Staff Benefit Society.
Lucy Diamond (17 February 2015)
The former four-star eventer turned dressage rider lost her battle with cancer at the age of 43. Having successfully ridden around Badminton in 2006 on Carousel VI, Lucy later turned her attention to pure dressage.
Lucy won the elementary regional championship last summer at Keysoe riding Argentus (pictured, top), just 48 hours after coming out of hospital for treatment. This determined lady continued competing alongside her treatment, and said it was “a myth” that people couldn’t keep fit while having chemotherapy.
Our thoughts are with her husband, champion farrier Billy Crothers, and her two daughters, Emily and Olivia. The date of her funeral is still to be set.
Belle Leggat (29 December 2014)
Equestrian stalwart Belle Leggat died on 29 December 2014. She was 97 years old.
Her equestrian portfolio included showjumping, pointing, hunting, showing and, alongside her husband, Tannny, breeding more than 35 racehorses.
“One of Belle’s great passions was hunting,” said a spokesman for the family. “She was a bold and fearless follower of the Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire in the early days and the Lauderdale.
“She was once asked to showjump for Britain in Paris but did not go as it was going to interfere with the cubbing season.”
Belle’s riding career continued until she was 80 and she passed her passion onto future generations including her daughter Jane Fitzgerald who died in 2002.
Joan Gray (29 January 2015)
Riding instructor, showjumping owner and all round horsewoman Joan Gray died on 29 January aged 84.
She was the proprietor of Greatstone Riding Stables from 1950 – 1979.
Following her early years of winters spent working with hunters and summers spent with her own horses, Joan had a promising showjumping career. However, competitive career was ended by lupus in 1980. Through determination she did ride again and even drove her horsebox, enabling Joan to give a younger generation trips to the shows and allowing her to pass on her skills.
Her funeral takes place on Friday 20 February 11am at The Romney Marsh Community Church, North Street, New Romney.
June Darby Nuttall (12 June 1921 – 20 December 2014)
The honorary vice president of British Showjumping (BS), June Darby Nuttall, died on 20 December aged 93.
Born at Colshaw Hall in Knutsford, Cheshire, June was riding her Shetland pony before she could walk.
She started course building in the 1960s and became involved with the All England Jumping Course where she designed courses in the Foxhunter ring.
June became BS regional representative for the south west for almost two decades. She was also a registered BS judge and showjumping runs in the family, with her granddaughter Harriet competing on Nations Cup teams last year.
“She knew the sport from every angle and was extremely passionate in the way that it progressed, giving her time freely and never missing a meeting unless it absolutely unavoidable,” said a spokesman for BS.
She had been honorary vice president since 2000.
David Lloyd-Thomas (3 January 2015)
Leading pony judge David Lloyd-Thomas died at his home in Northamptonshire on Saturday 3 January. He was 85 years old.
David was a leading judge for the British Show Pony and National Pony Society for many years, judging at all major shows, including the Royal International Horse Show and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
David’s initial interest in judging started when he won the gold medal for stock judging at Smithfield at an early age.
A farmer, but with always a keen enthusiasm for breeding, showing and eventing; David bred and owned the successful eventers Milton Tyson, General and Tin Man, the former two being ridden by Mark Todd and latterly David’s son Roland.
Among others David also bred Milton Pageboy who won the 128cm Show Pony Class at last year’s HOYS.
Our sympathies go to David’s wife Estelle and children, Roland and Harriett.
Johnny O’Shea (12 January 2015)
Johnny O’Shea, former huntsman of the Cheshire Hunt from 1966-1991, died on 12 January, aged 77.
An exemplary horse and hound man, Johnny was married to Anne and the father of James and the late Maureen.
Following his retirement to Moss Cottage on the Cholmondeley Estate, Johnny inspired great confidence in the young to keep hunting and continued to follow hounds regularly.
A man of great character, he also achieved success as a greyhound trainer, including victory in the Waterloo Cup.
The funeral will take place at St Wenefrede’s Church, Bickley Cheshire on 26 January at 1pm.
Virginia Anne Pritchard (29 May 1932 — 24 December 2014)
Showing judge Virginia Anne Pritchard has died aged 82, on 24 December 2014.
Anne, as she was affectionately known, was a respected horsewoman and produced many winning show horses from her home Ryalls Stud in Dorset ridden and produced by both her children.
She was a highly-regarded judge and officiated on many panels including the British Show Pony Society, the National Pony Society, and the British Show Horse Association. She also judged the Search for a Star series many years along side Robert Oliver.
Her funeral will be held on 20 January 2015 at 12 noon at Bishops Caundle Church, Sherborne, Dorset.
The 8th Duke of Wellington Brigadier Arthur Wellesley (31 December 2014)
Guards Polo Club vice president, the 8th Duke of Wellington Brigadier Arthur Wellesley, died on 31 December. He was 99 years old.
The Duke was one of the founding members of the club and was its first chairman in 1955.
A spokesman from the club said: “Despite retiring from the game some years ago, he continued to take a keen interest in the sport at Smith’s Lawn, regularly attending matches including presenting his own Duke of Wellington Trophy every August.
“Guards Polo Club sends its heartfelt condolences to the Wellesley family.”
The Duke’s wife Diana Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington, died in 2010. The heir to the peerages is the eldest of his four sons, Charles, Marquess of Douro, a former MEP.
Jane Edwards (21 December 2014)
Showing rider Jane Edwards of Sarnau Stud passed away on 21 December. Before her marriage to Hugh in 1955, Jane worked at various stables, including the Lee-Smiths’. It was there that she rode two of the most famous ponies of all time in Pretty Polly and My Pretty Maid.
They soon established a leading Welsh pony stud at Sarnau, with their ponies having a big influence worldwide.
One of their homebred stallions, Sarnau Rheolwr (foaled in 1985), sired Cwrtycadno Cadfridog, whom they bought. They won major awards with him before selling him to Cottrell Stud, for whom he was Royal Welsh champion and HOYS qualifier in 1996.
The stud specialised in palominos and captured many Royal Welsh championships. They bought Sarnau Venus (daughter of My Pretty Maid) as a foal and bred some of the country’s top riding ponies, such as Sarnau Miss Mink, Sarnau Squirrel and Sarnau Royal Shrimp, who all won at Horse of the Year Show.
Horace Batten (7 December 2014)
The chairman of his family’s bespoke bootmaking business died on 7 December aged 102.
The fifth generation of his family to run the company, Horace took control in his mid-20s and oversaw a switch to making deck boots for submariners during World War II. After the war, the business concentrated on the custom-made hunting boot. It moved to Ravensthorpe, Northants, in the 1960s.
The Batten family has provided handmade boots to generations of hunt staff and masters as well as famous showjumpers, including Nick Skelton and Ted Edgar. Their boots are also reputed to have been worn by servicemen and women during many conflicts.
Horace is survived by his son Timothy, who has been running the operation since Horace reduced his involvement as he got closer to 100 years old. He made his last pair of boots aged 99.
Enid Whitaker (3 January 2015)
Enid Whitaker, mother of John, Michael, Ian and Steven and the matriach of the Whitaker dynasty, passed away on Saturday 3 January aged 85, after a short illness.
It was Enid, wife of Donald, who died in 2005, who passed on her love of horses to her four sons — and thus began one of the greatest equestrian families in the world.
“From the very beginning it was her that encouraged us all to ride – we owe her a lot,” Michael told H&H. “She was extremely proud of all her family and would come and watch us right until she was too ill to get about.
“She and my dad couldn’t get enough of it — she must have gone to every show in England. She’ll be a huge loss to the family.”
Her funeral will be held on 20 January.
Wojtek Markowski (1947 – 5 January 2015)
Five-star dressage judge and technical delegate Wojtek Markowski died from cancer on 5 January. He was 67 years old.
Mr Markowski, who was from Poland, judged at his first Olympics in Athens in 2004. He was a technical delegate at London 2012 and was due to perform the same role in Rio next year.
In 2012, he was appointed board member of the European Equestrian Federation (EEF), where he proposed the creation of the EEF Dressage Working Group — which he then chaired. He was also the Eastern and Central Europe representative for the International Dressage Officials Club.
“Wojtek played a central role in judging and developing international dressage in a career spanning over 30 years”, Trond Asmyr, FEI director of dressage and para-dressage said.
“He was one of our most active judges and had a brilliant statistician’s mind. Thanks to his sought-after expertise, he was due to head to his second consecutive Olympics as technical delegate in Rio in 2016.
“He has left a valuable legacy for international dressage, and his dedication and passion for our sport will be very sorely missed.”
Isn’t life busy?! I can’t believe I am more than half way through month one of living in my new home and yard!
It has been a fabulous one of moving, BD summer regionals, Pony Club area dressage and then the Championships, a great friend’s 40th and day to day teaching….ooh and starting workouts with a personal trainer!
The move went very well and friend and client, Ben Ambrose, gave up his day to help, which was invaluable! Poppy has settled into Gainfield Farm and had a friend stay for a couple of weeks. Betsy, one of my client’s horses, came to me for training while her owner was on holiday. Sadly the other horse who was meant to join me went lame and so that is on hold for the moment.
Excitedly, though, I may soon be having another full time friend for Poppy! 2Gallop and I are getting together a syndicate to buy me a horse to train and compete. If any of you are interested and would like to be a part of this, do get in touch! As part or full owner of any horse you have with me, I promise to have Prosecco at every competition you come to watch!
A few days after the move, Poppy and I were off to Mount Ballan for the summer regionals. It was a great
On the way to regionals
couple of days and I was very happy with how Poppy relaxed into the environment. Being a very spooky horse, I worked her there the day before our test and did two arena walks with her —one the evening before and the other first thing in the morning.
It was a big class of 49 competitors in the medium open. The top three hit the early 70%’s and the rest all between 69% and 59%, so it was very tight judging. We got 64.1% and although I was hoping for a higher mark, I was pleased with how Poppy went when I look at where she was in her training a few months ago. Everything in perspective! She got a bit strong in the test and then lost self-carriage at times which lowered the scores.
This reminds me of how important those half halts are and really it is what dressage is all about! It is the heart of training the horse and it is what strengthens the amount of collection and balance. The half halt is also what we should be doing to prepare and execute every movement. When riding dressage, there is nothing we do that does not require a succession of half halts.
For the half halts to have the right effect, your horse must be light and reactive to your signals and must not be against your hand. You ask your horse forward and then catch the energy with a slightly restraining hand. At the same time, you are tall in the upper body and tightening your tummy muscles, before relaxing, giving and riding forward again into another half halt until you have the desired reaction. This is engaging the hind leg more and therefore getting more collection.
As we are asking more from the hind legs through the half halts, horses will often try to evade this by
With the Old Berks Pony Club
lifting their heads and lowering their backs. Start your half halts on a circle where you can be on a curved track with the horse bent through his body and flexed at the poll. This way it is harder for the horse to be against your hand. The inside leg is placed just behind the girth, creating the bend and lateral movement, with the outside leg by the girth to ride forward. It can also be moved back to control the quarters from swinging. The outside rein is restraining and supporting and so the horses inside hind leg can move further under his body. The inside rein is just asking for flexion.
When your horse gives in at the poll and steps more underneath himself, the half halts are working. Reward by sitting still until you feel he is losing self-carriage or becoming to elongated. When you have achieved this you can start on the straight lines, but still keep the horse flexed to the inside (see inside eye and nostril) when executing half halts.
Remember if your horse is losing forwardness from the leg aids, you must concentrate on riding him forward for a while and relax on the restraining signals or if your horse is too forward (like Poppy!) you must get him to stop from the rein signal in the half halt.
I had a great day out with all my Old Berks Pony Club teams for the area dressage at Malvern, Three Counties Showground a couple of weeks ago. It was full on and I started warming up my first rider at 8am and did not stop until 5pm! It resulted in one of my teams going through to the championships.
The championships took place at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire on Saturday and my intermedieate team that got through were second so a great day for the OBH Pony Club and everyone involved!
I was recently been interviewed by Style Reins and will now be conducting interviews with riders on the
At Castle Coombe
fashion front! Variety is the spice of life as someone once said.
Talking of spice makes me think of flavour. I can highly recommend the cream tea at Castle Coombe Manor! It was my dear friend, Sarah Boon’s birthday and we celebrated there. The cakes were phenomenal. It was so funny, though, as we could not finish all of them, so we asked our waiter if he would kindly box the rest for us to take home. We were waiting at the front of the hotel and a few minutes later were handed a couple of beautiful white cake boxes which we proceeded to carry around with us as we walked the grounds. Later that evening after we had had dinner, we decided it would be a good time to finish the cakes, only to find the boxes were empty! Bit of mis-communication I think!
Until soon xx
Body Mind Mastery quote: If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln (quite fitting a feel with the half halt theme!)
Number of British Eventing (BE) fixtures: six (West Wilts (2), Shelford Manor (2), Somerford Park, Solihull (2), Cumwhinton and Bicton Arena (3)) Number of BE sections run this week: 98 Number of FEI sections run in Britain this week: four Event with most sections: Shelford Manor — 23 sections Number of BE sections run so far this year: 1884 Number of combined BE and FEI sections run so far this year: 1939 Number of BE fixtures run so far this year: 125
Best dressage scores
West Wilts: 20.5, for Alana Sparrow and Fashion Rocks, who won BE100 section B despite two showjumping time-faults Shelford Manor: 22.5, scored by Alex Postolowsky and All Or Nothing II, who won novice section B with 5.6 time faults across country Somerford Park: 15.5, for Willa Newton and Lauries Laudatio 2, winning novice section P on their dressage score Solihull: 20, for Minna Eadie and Howen Loganberry, who finished first in novice section P on this score Cumwhinton: 18.8, scored by Mark Jackson and Charismatic Corner, who won BE90 section B despite four showjumping faults Bicton Arena: 22, for Jo Clarke and Frankly who won open novice section H with 3.2 cross-country time-faults
Speedy gonzales
1: number of pairs who beat the 4min 58sec optimum time over the novice course at Solihull. They were Tom Searle and TS Casimiro, who finished second 1: number of pairs who were inside the 4min 43sec optimum time over the novice course at Cumwhinton. The speedy ones were Matthew Wright and Sorastro TW, who won section L on their dressage score 4: number of pairs who beat the 5min 35sec optimum time over the intermediate course at Bicton Arena. They fastest were Louise Harwood (Balladeer Miller Man), Tim Rogers (Victor VI), Padraig Mccarthy (Fireberry) and Tim Cheffings (Philanderer II) 1: number of pairs who beat the 6min 30sec optimum time over the CIC2* course at Bicton Arena. They were Lucy Wiegersma and Mr Chunky 2: number of pairs inside the 4min 41sec optimum time over the novice course at Bicton Arena. They were Padraig McCarthy and Hoodunit, who won novice section I and Tom Grant and Zoe, who won intermediate novice section G
And also…
5: number of horses Vicky Tuffs competed at West Wilts 2: number of top two placings James Avery (NZL) took in CIC* section B at Somerford Park 2: number of top two placings Dan Jocelyn (NZL) took in novice section N at Solihull 100: percentage of women in the BE100 section E and J and BE100open section O at Shelford Manor 67: percentage of starters who did not finish BE90 section W at Shelford Manor 2: number of sections won by both Mark Jackson (BE90 section A and B) and Matthew Wright (novice section L and open novice section M) at Cumwhinton 8: number of starters to finish open intermediate section L at Bicton Arena 100: percentage of starters who finished BE100 section N and I at Shelford Manor
Surrey Police were called to an area land in Smallfield on the morning of 7 March following reports that a woman was seen not moving in a stream near the road.
Paramedics were also called and tried to revive the 50-year-old.
She was then taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, and was pronounced dead a short time later.
Assistant coroner for Surrey Dr Karin Englehart recorded an open verdict. The cause of death was found to be drowning.
Mrs Underhill had managed stables at Brickhouse Farm in Godstone since 2009.
She also used to judge and commentate at Oldencraig Equestrian Centre in Lingfield as well as doing the entries for showjumping and children’s shows.
Oldencraig’s owner Ian Winfield told H&H at the time of Mrs Underhill’s death that she was “one of the loveliest ladies” he had ever met.
“She couldn’t do enough for people and was absolutely brilliant,” he said. “Sandra was always extremely supportive to all our clients and competitors.”
A statement on the equestrian centre’s website added that they were “devastated” to hear of the sad and tragic loss of Mrs Underhill.
“She was always very well respected and liked and will be remembered at Oldencraig with fondness. Our condolences go to her family,” it said.
Mrs Underhill was married and had a teenage daughter.
A 37-year-old pony has proved age is no obstacle — by winning a dressage competition.
Scrumpy, an 11.2hh Exmoor pony cross, won first place in a novice unaffiliated class at Aintree Equestrian Centre on Sunday (23 August).
Despite being almost four decades old the grey gelding, who is kept in Warrington, Cheshire, still loves his work and is showing no signs of his age.
“He’s the most amazing pony,” his 15-year-old owner Jade Abbott told H&H.
“When I told the judge his age on Sunday del-she said she thought he was about four.
“We did a prelim a couple of weeks ago and won with a score of 81.67%.”
Jade added that Scrumpy is still a lively character and often bucks her off.
“He is not like a 37-year-old pony whatsoever,” Jade’s mother Melanie said.
“He doesn’t like being stood in the stable — he gets quite cross. As soon as we get the bridle out his ears are up.
“Jade does showing and dressage with him. He still loves his jumping but has had to slow down a little bit.
“Jade and Scrumpy are a great partnership, they love each other to pieces.”
Srumpy was given to Jade two-and-a-half years ago by Jacky Jenkins who had owned him since he was six months old.
Jacky teaches Jade and used to compete Scrumpy in dressage, endurance, one-day events and showjumping.
“Scrumpy is so amazing,” Jacky told H&H. “I used to take him all over the country and went up to elementary level dressage — he’s a pretty wicked dressage pony.
“Jade has given him a whole new life and I am very grateful.”
Jacky bought Scrumpy and his mother from the Exmoor Pony Sales and had hired a trailer to take him home.
“I was with my boyfriend at the time and we had bought all this Scrumpy cider to give to our friends, but it was a boiling hot day so we had to pour all the cider away so we could take water to the ponies — that’s why he was called Scumpy.”
In silver was France’s Valentin Prades and Riccardo De Luca from Italy took bronze.
