Innholdsfortegnelse for 02-Feb-2017 i Horse & Hound

‘Docile, trusting horses are being tortured day after day, many crippled for life’Keith Dane US legislation that would have stamped out the endemic “torture” of Tennessee walking horses was put on hold last week, days before it was scheduled to come into force. Campaigners had been celebrating the progress of the 1970 Horse Protection Act amendment — a tightening of regulations that could have stopped the barbaric practice of “soring” for good. The measure was approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the final throes of the Obama administration, but was caught in a review of all pending legislation ordered by Trump’s incoming regime. “The rule was finalised by USDA on 13 January, so there were several days in which it should have been published [into law],” said…

‘It is a great venue and I am gutted for them’Dane Rawlins MEMBERS of the dressage and showjumping world have expressed their disappointment at the cancellation of the “much needed” 2017 London Spring International Horse Show, writes Lucy Elder. The show was due to be held at the ExCel Arena in London on 12-17 April, featuring three-star dressage and showjumping, and national jumping . Dressage rider and organiser Daniel Watson said he is “absolutely gutted” and all tickets sold will be refunded. “Unfortunately due to financial restraints the ExCel executive board made the decision on 26 January to at least postpone the show until 2018,” he said. He told H&H the show is one “the industry clearly needed”. “We’ve been working seriously hard for the past two years and I…

The Countryside Alliance is the latest body to call for a rethink on huge hikes in business rates due to come into effect in April. • www.horseandhound.co.uk/ busines-rates Rio gold medallists Nick Skelton and Charlotte Dujardin have been included in the Debrett’s 500 list, of the most influential Brits. • www.horseandhound.co.uk/ debretts-500 A horse, two stags, corgi coats and a bag of salt were among presents given to The Queen in her 90th birthday year. • www.horseandhound.co.uk/ queen-birthday-gifts A mother of two who has survived cancer twice and whose spine has been rebuilt is taking on the Ride of Their Lives race in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support at York. • www.horseandhound.co.uk/ ride-of-their-lives H&H blogger and para dressage rider Suzanna Hext (pictured) had an emotional meeting with the men who saved her life after a fall. • www.horseandhound.co.uk/ hext-meets-rescuers A…

CLAIRE LOMAS The former event rider has given birth to her second child - a baby girl. Claire and her husband Dan welcomed 5lb 7oz Chloe to the world on 24 January. KITTY KING Eventer Kitty was “so excited” to feature on BBC’s Question of Sport and “even more excited that Katy Marchant knew who I was and she got the answer right!” LUKE HARVEY Luke won December’s Dodson & Horrell owner trainer award. “I am loving every minute of my run of good form,” the former jockey said. ROB WALKER The hunting and showing enthusiast was in a critical but stable condition in hospital as H&H went to press after being injured in a rotational fall. REBECCA BELL The British junior dressage rider, who won team gold at the…

THE TopSpec Arena will move into a dedicated hall at this year’s Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), to allow increased audience capacity. The change is one of a number planned for the 2017 event, which takes place on 4-8 October. The shopping area will have its own dedicated hall allowing for a “larger and more immersive” experience. A new addition to this area includes the HOYS Live Zone, featuring expert talks which previously took place in the forum as well as demonstrations by experts. There will also be a new internal walkway linking the retail village to the international arena.…

JACQUES-HENRY MéNARD FORMER French dressage team rider and trainer Mr Ménard (pictured) died on 5 January aged 72. Mr Ménard competed in eventing and showjumping before switching to dressage. He was also an international four-star dressage judge. He was based in Normandy for 33 years, and his pupils included Olympic dressage rider Ludovic Henry. “His legendary humour, his strength, his immense knowledge will remain etched for ever,” Mr Henry said. JANE ROWELL A stalwart of equestrianism, Ms Rowell died aged 79. Living in the Tyne Valley, she hunted with the Tynedale and showed quality cobs. She taught many riders at the South Northumberland branch of the Pony Club in the 1950s and 1960s. She was chairman of the British Horse Society Northumberland area and the north and was a champion…

HUMILITY mixed with pride and appreciation fills me at this point in time. In April of 1989, The Queen introduced me to Michael Clayton, at that time editor of H&H. The Queen encouraged Mr Clayton not only to run an article with her photograph included, but also to have H&H take up the challenge of conducting demonstration tours around the UK so my concepts could reach the maximum number of people. Mr Clayton himself produced a young warmblood for me to work with at Stoneleigh, where I was able to get the youngster to accept his first saddle and rider. Mr Clayton decided to name him Monty. For many years subsequently, H&H included a column by Mr Clayton titled “Ask Monty”. This began a prideful relationship between myself and H&H…

My money-saving secret… Employ good staff, which is easier said than done these days. They will be competent in what they do, making the whole process work more efficiently. Looking back… I was competing at a local show a few years ago and was last to go in the jump-off. I didn’t walk the course properly and went flying past the last fence thinking I’d smashed the time and won the class. Everyone thought it was hilarious. Getting away from it all... I love skiing when I have time. Chamonix in France is one of my favourite places. Listening to... I’m a bit boring and listen to talkSPORT a lot, but when it comes to music, I enjoy Adele. My biggest indulgence... National Hunt racing. My brother Richard used to…

TEAM GB vet Andre Buthe uses acupuncture as part of sports medicine examinations. “These preventative check-ups always consist of a veterinary clinical exam combined with acupuncture and chiropractic exams,” he says. “This combination provides a more complete picture of the horse’s physical status, allowing us to recognise mild problems sooner. “Likewise for treatments, our approach would commonly be a combination of all three modalities to ensure a higher success rate. A horse with hock pain, as a simple example, often develops compensatory pain in the lumbar area. The hock would usually be treated with intra-articular [into the joint] medication, but we would also use acupuncture to support the hock treatment and to relax the lumbar muscles, followed by chiropractic manipulation to ensure normal mobility of the spine. “Acupuncture is also…

“IT’S busy like the M25 here sometimes,” says veterinary nurse Ruth Gravenell as she dodges a horse being trotted up outside the treatment rooms at Bell Equine. It’s 9.15am and the Kent equine hospital, where H&H’s veterinary consultant Karen Coumbe has worked since it was set up in 1989, has been in full swing for over an hour. Vet David Sinclair assesses the grey gelding (pictured) in for lameness diagnostics on a straight line on concrete before watching him being lunged in the outdoor arena. “He’s generally reluctant to trot,” he tells the owner. “I can see forelimb and hindlimb lameness.” The grey is taken into a treatment room for nerve blocking. As sacroiliac pain is suspected, that area is clipped and cleaned thoroughly with Hibiscrub. Local anaesthetic is put…

‘Molasses is blamed for a myriad of problems’Saracen’s Lizzie Drury MYTH: adding oats to my horse’s feed ahead of a competition will give him an energy boost. ONE of the golden rules of feeding is to be consistent, so making any sudden changes to your horse’s diet, particularly ahead of a competition when you are wanting him to perform at his best, is never a good idea. “An abrupt dietary change can increase the risk of colic, plus during exercise horses, like humans, use stored energy sources not energy directly from their previous meal,” says Spillers competition nutritionist Yvonne Judith. “This ‘instant’ energy may also cause behavioural issues in some horses — the last thing you want before a competition.” For a horse to safely receive the full energy benefits…

Escape Z THE double clears just keep coming for Escape Z (pictured), a stallion by Emerald NOP x Heartbreaker. The stunning five-year-old, who is co-owned by his rider Danielle Ryder and Dutch breeder Willem van Hoof, never lowered a rail last year and he finished on a high note by winning the national four-year-old championship at Stoneleigh. Following that win he was approved under saddle at the World Breeding Championships at Lanaken. More recently, Escape Z has been approved by Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain, Breeders Elite and the Anglo European Studbook. This year in his three shows, he has racked up four double clears in his only classes, including his first 1.20m start in the Blue Chip Karma Performance at Aintree. “I have six of his relations at…

BILLY TWOMEY and Ardcolum Duke returned home with a tremendous winning double. The first victory came in the opening 1.45m speed class, in which he and Joe Flynn’s 13-year-old Irish sport horse secured a 1.5-second winning margin. The pair returned the following day for another triumph against the clock, collecting the CHF10,000 (£8,000) top prize in the LGT Private Banking Challenge. This helped Billy to be runner-up in the show’s leading rider award, where Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer's phenomenal treble on Electric Z secured him the title. Newlywed Denis Lynch added to Ireland’s winning tally in Switzerland when he grabbed top honours in Sunday’s 1.45m jump-off class riding the 13-year-old stallion Echo De Laubry. The Mercedes Benz Longines FEI World Cup went to Spaniard Eduardo Álvarez Aznar (Rokfeller De Pleville Bois…

‘The Grand National winner serving it up to the young pretender’ MANY CLOUDS’ tragic win at Cheltenham dominated the past weekend. We all know it’s part of the sport, but you don’t expect to see such a gut-wrenching display of bravery and then for that to happen to a Grand National hero. Nothing prepares you for that. The horse tried unbelievably hard, he always has, to the extent that he put his life on the line, and it was taken when winning the Cotswold Chase. Racing has rallied around trainer Oliver Sherwood and his team. Many Clouds was a horse of a lifetime and it would have been wonderful for him to have retired to the field at his owner Trevor Hemmings’. But he spent the final day of his…

‘He is a bit of a Jack-the-lad and broke my husband’s leg being naughty’Julie Wadland on Golden Tobouggan TAKING time out of studying to attend Thorpe Lodge paid off for veterinary student Tom Chatfeild-Roberts, who rode two cracking races to score a double. Starting the day as he meant to go on, Tom won the opening race — the Midlands Area Club Members’ — riding his father John’s 12-year-old gelding L’Eldorado. His second win came in the men’s open aboard nine-year-old gelding Warden Hill. A five-time winner under Rules when trained by Mick Channon, Warden Hill was bought out of Ascot sales last summer. “He has plenty of ability and jumped better the more he warmed up,” said Tom. “I could feel he had plenty left and he cruised home.…

THE arrival of Jack Frost is rarely good news for the horseracing fraternity. When you flick on the weather midweek and the forecast for the next few days comprises a blue map of the UK and lots of negative numbers, it is hard not to feel a twinge of uncertainty and frustration. So, will we be racing on the weekend, or not? Organising a successful point-to-point takes the best part of 12 months to prepare and often costs in excess of £20k. With so much at stake, organisers want to give a meeting every chance of taking place by calling one or more inspections on the morning of racing in the hope that bright winter sunshine draws any frost out of the ground. As a jockey, abandoned or postponed racing…

JACKIE MCCONNELL, a former Tennessee walking horse hall of fame member, was one of only two horse sorers ever to be handed a federal conviction. In May 2012, he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act, followed by a 2013 guilty plea to state animal cruelty charges related to soring horses at his barn. He was sentenced to a year’s house arrest, a $25,000 fine and a 20-year ban on owning and training horses. “I want to apologise to my whole family and to all the horses I’ve ever trained,” he said in an interview with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. “I think my conviction has probably done more [to help] than anything that’s been done.” Spotted saddle horse trainer Barney…

BRITISH-based riders will not be allowed to accept all-expenses-paid invitations to the President’s Cup later this month, the UAE’s most valuable endurance ride, as the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) takes a stronger than usual stance. Britain had been a notable absentee among national federations speaking out about the attrition rates in Middle East endurance. But a BEF spokesman confirmed its decision to H&H, amid worldwide controversy over six recorded horse fatalities at Dubai International Endurance City in January. The Belgian federation has asked riders not to compete in Dubai; or their international permits will be withdrawn. Belgians may continue to ride in Abu Dhabi, where reforms are now being adopted. Swedish endurance chef d’equipe Anneli Ohlén has resigned following outcry over her participation in the Sheikh Mohammed Cup in Dubai…

THE prize pot for the 2017 Grand National Festival has hit £3m. Prize money for the feature race remains unchanged at £1m, but a further £100,000 has been split across other races at the meeting. Friday’s (7 April) Grade One top novices’ hurdle and Saturday’s Grade One novices’ hurdle have been given £25,000 more each. The Grade Three handicap hurdles on the Friday and Saturday both receive £20,000 extra. Andrew Tulloch, clerk of the course at Aintree and Jockey Club Racecourses’ regional head of racing for the north-west, said this year’s Grand National festival will be the “richest ever”.…

ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS A shopper in the nappy aisle of Tesco was stumped by the range on offer. “What size do I need for a 17hh middleweight?” she asked a pal on the phone. “I got some very strange looks,” she confided afterwards. CROSS-DRESSING It’s not all larks creating the Wocket Woy videos, you know. At BETA International, Marc (the Pwoducer) said he dressed up as Maid Marian as he thought one video was not funny enough. “I hated it,” he said, to which Batch murmured: “Now he always asks which dress he can wear — but we’ve got to move away from that.” THE POSTMAN A missive winged its way to H&H Towers for the letters page. Which is excellent, but the writer appears to have got his methods of…

THE FEI has pledged to move forward and work together with Global Champions League (GCL) organisers after reaching a “full agreement”. The GCL and FEI have signed a memorandum of understanding, marking the end of a long-running legal battle (news, 2 June 2016). The agreement, between the FEI, GCL and Global Champions Tour (GCT), includes FEI approval of the GCL rules. An FEI spokesman told H&H the GCT has helped introduce the sporting world to the “excitement” of showjumping at the “very highest level”. “We are pleased to be working now also with the GCL, with a mutual understanding of the respect and values of the welfare of horses and athletes, to achieve the common goal of further developing equestrian sport globally,” she said. “As the governing body, the FEI…

JOURNALISTS try to avoid describing deaths as tragic, in part because it’s such an obvious thing to say. But the demise of Many Clouds after a heroic effort to beat Thistlecrack last Saturday (report, p68) is heart-breaking. Inevitably, such a high-profile death stirs up various animal rights groups, and the British Horseracing Authority has explained that there is no veterinary evidence connecting the slight staggering Many Clouds had displayed previously after racing (which is linked to increased body temperature and treated by providing the horse with water) to fatalities. It is a fact — uncomfortable perhaps, but an unavoidable one — that from time to time horses die on the racecourse. They also sometimes suffer heart attacks and die while grazing in the field. They also die horrible, slow, painful…

TOPSPEC COMPREHENSIVE FEED BALANCER Promotes muscle development and topline, plus it contains specialised supplements. £38.25 for 20kg www.topspec.com EQUILIBRIUM VITAMUNCH These compressed 1kg blocks of timothy grass have added vitamins, minerals and herbs. From £2.95 for 1kg packs www.equilibrium  products.com ALLEN & PAGE POWER & PERFORMANCE High-energy competition feed, ideal for horses in harder work who tend to be fizzy or sharp. From £11.20 for 20kg www.allenandpage.com NEW SARACEN COMPETITION-FIT-MIX A fortified, high-energy mix using a variety of cereals to provide power and speed. £14 for 20kg www. saracenhorsefeeds.com FIVE STAR OPTIMUM FEED BALANCER Helps restore and maintain condition and health, and maximise the nutritional value of the daily feed ration. From £27.50 for 3.7kg www.naf-equine.eu/uk PURE PERFORMANCE…

‘I need to stay one step ahead of him or he gets a bit lost’Dean Skeates on his winning advanced ride Zilver DEAN SKEATES and Zilver climbed another rung of the dressage ladder with a winning advanced debut at Summerhouse EC, Glos (20 January), reports Andrea Oakes . “We’re now in territory that is new to both of us,” said Dean, who has ridden the 13-year-old gelding — owned by his mother’s partner, Les Saunders — for three years. “He was a little bit naughty in the warm-up, but I’m pleased with the test for a first attempt.” Dean, who trains with Charlie Hutton and Sarah Cheetham, added: “Zilver has natural talent, but I need to stay one step ahead of him or he gets a bit lost. We’ll continue…

• Cool to be clean WILTSHIRE-based Gayle King has an ingenious use for British Dressage plastic bags (pictured, top). “I have a good way of keeping my horses lovely and clean,” she told H&H . Her novice horse Kingthistle Darcy is modelling the look on his ever-clean tail. • Grandioso’s last dance POPULAR stallion Grandioso (pictured, bottom) has retired from sport. Under Spain’s Jose Daniel Martin Dockx he went to two Olympics, a World Equestrian Games and two European Championships. Ahead of the 18-year-old bay PRE stallion’s retirement, Jose wrote: “We are going for the last dance. You don’t have to prove anything else, no one is going to judge you, it’s just to thank you, not just for what you’ve done for me, but for the country and the…

WE’RE just getting going again after our horses’ winter break. This is our first major outing and as first ventures go, this meeting has given us a brilliant start to 2017. Aintree is a popular venue and always attracts good entries, and plenty of horses and riders here have enjoyed an ideal warm-up for the Sunshine tours. The centre is well situated on the motorway networks and has good facilities: nice bright rings, excellent stabling and ringside heating — which proved very welcome. Courses have been great, with quick changeovers and both the arena and warm-up surfaces were well looked after. There were some good new fences, and the Jockey Club combination looked extremely smart in the grand prix. With classes for newcomers horses up to 1.40m, I like the…

‘It was very daunting, beating the man I admire so much, and a moment I won’t forget’ WHEN I was 16, I embarked on a four-year apprenticeship with Dr Reiner Klimke, which initiated a relationship that spanned a lifetime. Although I was more jumping and cross-country orientated when I started, I was confronted with pure dressage for the first time, and quickly realised the connection that dressage has with every other discipline. Having a strong eventing background himself [Reiner was European champion in 1959 and 18th individually at the Rome Olympics in 1960], Dr Klimke was a firm believer in giving all young horses a varied education, despite the discipline they were destined for. Young dressage horses were trained the same as young eventers and were jumped and taken cross-country…

DESPITE existing anti-soring legislation, the technique has continued among big lick practitioners, who implement a number of methods to avoid being pulled up at inspections. Evidence of soring is combated by an equally barbaric practice known as “stewarding”, where a horse is trained by physical force — such as beating and use of an electric prod — not to react to palpation of painful areas. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), documented techniques have also included distraction devices, where pain is inflicted on an area other than the hoof during an inspection. Examples include burrs under the saddle, surgical staples under the mane and alligator clips applied to sensitive tissues such as the genitals. Numbing agents and switching horses have also been used. While detection partly relies on…

ANNIE POWER The legendary racing mare will miss the Cheltenham Festival after picking up a leg injury, according to trainer Willie Mullins. The popular nine-year-old was the first mare in 22 years to win the Champion Hurdle at the 2016 Festival. HAMPTON PRINCE OF THIEVES The Blundells’ 148cm show pony, who was ridden by Charlotte Dujardin to win at the Horse of the Year Show and was RIHS champion in 1996, has died aged 26. He competed at top level for 11 years. HELLO SANCTOS The star showjumper is competing again after sustaining an injury at the beginning of the 2016 season. The gelding and Scott Brash competed at a CSI* show in Kronenberg, the Netherlands, on 27 and 29 January. ROCKY IV Louise Bell’s showing star has died aged…

A report recommending measures aimed at improving equine welfare in Europe has been backed by MEPs. The European Parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee approved initiatives proposed by MEP Julie Girling, at a meeting on 25 January. The recommendations include circulating guidelines for good practice, a shorter maximum journey time to slaughter and a pilot project funding farms committed to good welfare. The report is expected to be considered by the European Parliament in March. If approved, it will be passed to the European Commission with a recommendation for action.…

‘If you help working animals, you help their owners too’Geoffrey Dennis INTERNATIONAL aid needs a “complete overhaul”, the new chief executive of charity SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) believes, writes Eleanor Jones. Geoffrey Dennis (pictured), who has years of experience in the area having worked for the British Red Cross and Care International, says response to crises needs to change. Mr Dennis says he is “passionate” about animals and wants to keep them from harm, but by doing so, SPANA can also support communities to become self-sufficient. “Across the world, one billion people rely on working animals for their livelihood,” Mr Dennis told H&H. “I’ve been in situations like the aftermath of the tsunami, or the drought in Ethiopia, and seen animals suffering. We need to help…

SCANTILY-CLAD LOVELIES A showjumper took to Facebook to bemoan the number of friend requests he receives from scantily-clad ladies. “Can I just declare I am gay and these provocative photos have zero effect on me,” he wrote, adding as an afterthought: “If your brother is as good-looking, tell him to send a request, preferably with as little on as you…” THE RAIN IN SPAIN Any riders feeling smug at escaping wintry Britain for the balmy airs of the Med were disappointed when the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour was hit by rain and the area’s first snow in 30 years. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the showjumpers... IT’S TOUGH AT THE TOP Everyone knows how much jockeys endure. On a chilly day, one arrived for his race complaining the heating…

AN INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT Sir — While I agree wholeheartedly with Mark Phillips’ criticism (comment, 12 January) of the changes proposed to the eventing criteria at Olympic and championship level (lowering the difficulty rating from four-star to three-star) and the ludicrous notion of substitutes, I am less worried than he is about the future of the classic three-day events. Readers may remember a comment piece I wrote (12 November, 2015) questioning the desirability of teams in the sport. I won’t rehash that line again except to say that for 99.9% of event riders it will forever be an individual pursuit. Now there is to be no pretence that the championships are the pinnacle of our sport, the classics will shine alone. I’m sure a straw poll of Pony Club, Riding Club…

FAMILY AFFAIR • Interview with Lucinda Green and her daughter Lissa • ‘What I’ve learnt…’ great riders on top tips from the family • The Whitaker dynasty SHOWJUMPING International action at Glock’s, plus report from Addington Pony Premier, and David Broome reveals his Inspirations VET CLINIC Does roadwork harm or help? HUNTING Pack of the week with the Tynedale, plus on the tail of David Redvers at the Ledbury DRESSAGE Best of My Fun with Phoebe Peters and regional reports COLUMNISTS Anna Ross, Graham Fletcher and Stuart Buntine…

AIM THIS is an exercise that can be done at walk, trot or canter. You can change the size of the circles depending on your horse. It is designed to help you maintain a rhythm, suppleness, contact and impulsion, while also checking your straightness. EXERCISE STEP 1. Make your circles about 10m to 15m. Start by riding a straight line with an even contact in both reins. Halfway down your arena or paddock, look to the centre of your arena and aim to make a half-circle with a change of rein. It must remain with an even tempo and suppleness in the direction in which you are about to go. Make the half-circle smooth, not too rushed and don’t let your horse drop behind your leg. STEP 2 . When…

• Diana Mason needed shedloads of patience to win over the quirky Tramella, but once she had, the pair went on to incredible successes, the mare becoming the only horse to win European Championship gold medals in eventing (1954) and dressage (1963). • Legendary German showjumper Hans Günter Winkler enjoyed an wonderful partnership with the former racehorse Halla. They won three gold Olympic showjumping medals in 1956 and 1960 and two individual World Championship titles (1954 and 1955). • Margaret Hough clearly had the right temperament to ride a mare, becoming the first woman to coax a winning performance out of one — Bambi — at Badminton (in 1954). • Fiona Bigwood built up such a strong bond with Atterupgaards Orthilia, with whom she was a member of Britain’s Rio…

“MY 18-year-old mare, Honey, is an angel with people but won’t take any rubbish from any horse in her field. Her fieldmate Chloe started this by raising a leg, but Honey proceeded to handstand six times in a row.” Bianca Tella “I’ve owned my eventing mare for six years now. Normally she’s a cross-country machine, but when she’s feeling extra-mareish she just says ‘NOPE!’ In our last event of 2016 she refused the ditch part of a combination, then got in such a tizzy that she refused another couple of jumps. We were then eliminated for the first time ever. Embarrassing!” Mirelle Radley “While everyone else had lovely show day photos of their horses at the Appaloosa nationals, my mare Lavender decided to get down and roll on the rubber…

MINUTE markers are measured by taking the required metres per minute speed and then measuring that distance while walking the course. For example, if you are required to ride at 435mpm, each 435m you measure will count for one minute. Minute markers are usually measured using either a wheel or a mobile app. “Technology is great,” says Paul Tapner, who is an advocate of using a specially designed app that buzzes in his pocket while he is walking a course, to let him know that he has reached another minute marker. Nicola Wilson says: “I use both a wheel and an app, which is great as it enables you to use it in as much detail as you wish, including course pictures, comments and for minute markers.”…

‘Returning to fitness feels like resurrection’ THE Fellows and instructors course at Addington with eminent trainers Christopher Bartle and Christoph Hess was a fantastic two-day refresher of training ideas. “No pain, no gain” I told myself. It’s so essential to push oneself and stay current. The atmosphere was relaxed, the chats numerous, the debate outspoken — especially when bottles of wine were produced. I wonder how we can transport this formula to our judges’ training days? It was good to see all top British Horse Society (BHS) personnel present — networking, listening and discussing ways ahead — for this course packed with positive discussion. Hauling oneself back to full competition fitness is never easy. For me, it has felt like the resurrection of the dead; hurting bones, floppy muscles and…

‘This was one of those rounds where every risk paid off’James Whitaker on Mersley Chakotay JAMES WHITAKER won his first-ever grand prix in fine style, conjuring an unforgettable round from Mersley Chakotay. A high-class field of 19 came through to the jump-off for the Evans Halshaw grand prix, and fifth-drawn James put the class beyond reach, thanks to a combination of gallops, turns and angled fences, and his winning partner living up to his stable name of Cracker. “It’s always the plan to produce the fastest double clear, but this was one of those rounds where every risk paid off. I had a good look at the turns, not all of them on our best rein, and I knew if we pulled them off, we would be in with a…

‘It was the best but worst scenario. He died doing what he loved; jumping and racing’Oliver Sherwood on Many Clouds THISTLECRACK lost his cloak of invincibility at Cheltenham on Saturday when he was beaten for the first time over fences. However, a thrilling finish to the Betbright Trial Cotswold Chase was marred when the horse that beat him by the gamest of heads, the 2015 Grand National winner Many Clouds, collapsed and died moments after the line. Cheltenham’s nine-race trials day was in part predictable with the three odds-on shots, Defi De Seuil, Unowhatimeanharry and Un De Sceaux all winning impressively. But for the Cotswold Chase it veered wildly off script, not so much because Thistlecrack suffered his first defeat in 10 outings — that happens — but because of…