Innholdsfortegnelse for 01-Jun-2017 i Horse & Hound

OWNERS of older horses have been urged to carry out routine tests for PPID (pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction), previously known as Cushing’s. The recommendation follows analysis of data gathered via the Talk About Laminitis (TAL) awareness initiative, which has seen more than 47,000 horses tested for PPID since TAL was launched in 2012. The data revealed that a horse aged between 15 and 20 is three times more likely to have PPID than a horse under 10 and the risk increases with age. One sign of PPID is laminitis and two-thirds of laminitic horses tested through TAL were found to have PPID. Other signs of the disease include lethargy, increased thirst or urination, recurring infections such as foot abscesses and sinusitis, muscle wastage, coat changes, abnormal sweating and visible fat…

ABBEYLARA PRINCE The Nations Cup-winning eventer has been put down aged 11 after suffering a severe injury at Tweseldown. “Abs”, owned by Margaret Peet, was ridden by Nana Dalton, who described him as a “horse of a lifetime”. FIXDESIGN CHABLIS Valentina Truppa’s grand prix horse is to be retired from competition. The 20-year-old dressage gelding won the 2010 and 2014 Italian grand prix championships with Valentina. He is due to be officially retired at a ceremony this autumn. VOLTA The four-year-old racehorse suffered a heart attack on the gallops on 27 May and died. “Volta brought us so much joy and through her we shared some fantastic wins,” said trainer Francis Graffard of the Group Two winner who was third in the French Oaks. CLIFTON SIGNATURE William Fox-Pitt will campaign…

Eventer Emily Gilruth , who had a serious fall at Badminton, left hospital for a weekend with her family. Emily will have rehabilitation at the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Oaksey House. Sweden’s Daniel Zetterman has joined the Poden Farms team. Daniel will help fellow showjumpers Ben Maher and Emily Moffitt in the development and progress of their horses. Dressage rider Emile Faurie became the first Brit to win the Hamburg Dressage Derby. The three finalists must ride a test on each other’s horses and Emile recorded three scores over 70%. The Animal Health Trust’s Dr Richard Newton was given the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association dominion bronze for his work improving the health and wellbeing of horses in racing. ctures by US rider Reed Kessler has received the Longines ladies’ award. Reed, who…

BLENHEIM OFFERS FREE TICKETS GRASSROOTS riders will be able to compete at Blenheim International (13-17 September) and get free tickets to the event. Anyone who competes at British Eventing (BE) 80, 90 or 100 level is entitled to free entry on 13 September, when eventers’ challenges take place, as well as the international dressage Blenheim is also hosting a new 90cm eventers’ challenge, to run with its 100cm, riding club and Pony Club challenges. To qualify, riders must achieve at least six BE foundation points between 1 August 2016 and 31 July 2017. SURVEY TO EXPLORE TRAVEL ACCIDENTS A NEW survey aims to shed light on key factors associated with accidents while transporting horses. Nottingham Trent University and the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association (BARTA) are working together…

CLEAN BREECHES Feel for the showjumper who always ensures he has a spare pair of breeches at a show, except the time he bought his girlfriend a creamy hot chocolate, and sat in the remains. There being no spares available, he had to make do. “It was sitting trot only in the warm-up,” his girlfriend confided. UNICORNS Overheard, while watching show ponies, an upset little girl asking: “But where are their horns?” Explanations of “they’re real ponies, darling, not unicorns” followed, no doubt leaving a child’s dreams in tatters. DRESSAGE On a sheet, the comment: “Slight disobedience after C”. This is what happens when a showjumper coming back into work after injury is taken out. It was due to the fact as no jumps were present — the mare decided…

AS Horse & Hound went to press on Monday, the fi rst H&H Grassroots Eventing Championships at Keysoe were wrapping up. Our magazine report will run next week (8 June), but following the event over the weekend via horseandhound.co.uk, I was intrigued by the wonderful stories that presented themselves. There was a young rider who finished the cross-country in tears because this was her horse’s final event, a former British high jump champion who only took up riding three years ago and a teenager competing nine months after fracturing two vertebrae in a rotational fall. I was impressed, too, by the lengths people had gone to in order to compete — a schoolgirl flew down from Scotland after an exam, while another jockey made a 15-hour journey from Jersey. Clearly…

“IT’S because he’s had no sex this year!” shouts Lynne Crowden to her rider Carsten Sandrock as the young stallion he’s trying to get on cavorts across the arena. “And he won’t get any if he keeps doing that,” retorts Carsten. The 6ft4in German has worked for Lynne’s Woodlander Stud for 11 years; the pair of them talk in half sentences, flitting between the dozens of discussions they have on the go. While Lynne is Woodlander’s public face, Carsten’s the man present at every foaling, monitoring each mare, handling the youngstock, presenting them at shows and open days, and riding the breeding stallions. What staggering versatility. His face is etched with the evidence of a career outdoors and of copious laughter. His heavily accented English is thickly peppered — charmingly,…

Bis for babyface. Bramham is home to the national under-25 eventing championship, sponsored by Bishop Burton. Last year Tom McEwen became the first person to take this title twice, but this time he is too old for the class and will ride in the regular CCI, on Joyride and Strike Smartly. Favourites for the under-25 title this time include Emily King (Dargun), David Doel (Chap) and Will Furlong (Collien P 2). R is for records. William Fox-Pitt is the big Bramham record-holder, having won the CCI3* seven times — in 1995 (Cosmopolitan II), 2003 (Wallow), 2005 (Mr Dumbledore), 2007 (Macchiato), 2008 (Navigator) and 2012/2013 (Chilli Morning). This year, William isn’t competing, so someone else will make their mark in the Equi-Trek CCI3*. A is for attacking riding. Ian Stark is…

IT’S 7.30am at Tweseldown Racecourse in Hampshire, and Francis Whittington’s groom of 14 years, Sharon Mepham, has already been here an hour. Her day started at 2am when she got up and headed to the yard to start the process of feeding, rugging, booting up, and loading four horses onto the lorry. At 4.30am, the fully customised, 26-ton Whittaker horsebox pulls out of the East Sussex yard with Francis behind the wheel, and Sharon promptly settles down for a nap. “I get in a certain position in the chair and I’m asleep within seconds,” she says. Sharon packed the lorry with all the equipment, water and feed the night before, before heading to bed at 10.30pm, so it’s simply a matter of loading the horses in the morning. “We keep…

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TEMPERATURES in the mid-30s, even in France, are rare in late spring. But after Friday’s dressage played out in 33°C, and with even higher temperatures forecast on cross-country day, special measures were put in place — which the riders much appreciated. Two and a half tonnes of ice were provided for cross-country day. At the finish, horses were taken straight into the shade, where ice and water were available, to be seen by vets. There were also three “cooling zones” on the course, should any horse need to be cooled urgently. A galloping loop — uphill on sandy terrain — was removed, decreasing the course length from 5,900m to 5,430m. As it happened, an overcast Saturday morning meant the temperature peaked at only 29°C.…

ALTHOUGH most of the event took place in hot sunshine, Saturday’s weather posed a few challenges. At 11.30am, during the CCI* cross-country, the heavens opened with very little warning and a rainstorm akin to a tropical deluge soaked everyone to the skin and ground the competition to a halt for 20 minutes as well over an inch of rain fell and visibility was zero. The sun briskly took over again, but a strong wind got up at the start of the CIC3* showjumping and jumps started blowing over. A plank fence clonked organiser Alec Lochore on the head and hand as he was trying to put it back up again, and he called for family reinforcements. His son Rafe, 12, did a sterling job for the entire three hours of…

Bishop Burton (1), sponsored by Coopers Marquees, East Yorks JAMES SOMMERVILLE scorched round the cross-country on his own and his mother Jennifer’s Talent to win the open intermediate (OI) five penalties ahead of his nearest rival, adding nothing to his dressage score. Time was a crucial factor, with the undulating ground making it notoriously difficult to get, but Ben Hobday proved it could be done with Ciletto H, stopping the clock inside the time to finish fourth. James was the only other rider to make the target in the intermediate sections. The dressage leader, Wills Oakden and Ballbreaker SD, had a rail down and added a handful of time-faults to finish second. “I had a moment on the cross-country when he didn’t quite have the stride, but he put himself…

FREE TICKETS TO BLENHEIM BLENHEIM (right) is giving free tickets to its first day (Wednesday, 13 September) to riders who compete at BE80(T), BE90 and BE100. Spectators that day will be able to watch the CCI3* dressage, as well as the Dodson & Horrell eventer challenge. Offer ends 7 August, visit blenheimhorse.ticketsrv.co.uk and use voucher code BECHALLENGE NO ASKE IN SEPTEMBER ASKE (2), due to run 23-24 September, will not take place this year. “Due to the working parameters set by Aske Hall Estate and the short period of time between events, providing acceptable footing on the established park lands is not possible,” said organiser Peter Hurley. TOP MONEY AT NUNNEY THE winner of the Tarmac-sponsored CIC2* at the YMCA Mendip Nunney (16-18 June) will take home £1,200, with maximum…

 Sparsholt was the second ever competition for Ada Bjordahl’s eight-year-old 18hh chestnut mare (Blue Hors Zack x Weltmeyer), who is ridden and trained by Hannah Biggs. ‘Her conformation is such that her engine is always on; it’s taken time for her to cope with the power’ HANNAH BIGGS ON THE EIGHT-YEAR-OLD WILLA FOLHOJ “We call her Her Royal Hotness as she is so sharp and sensitive,” commented Hannah. “Her conformation is such that her engine is always on and it’s taken her time to cope with all her power.” Zoe Leishman and Virtue V were at their first show together and scored 81.6% in a prelim at Quob. The Vitalis five-year-old is owned by Zoe’s mother Mandy Towle and was bought from breeder Dane Rawlins. “I was very careful…

THE competition season is in full swing and dressage sport seems ever more popular, with affiliated shows at my base at Cholderton so full we have had to ballot entries. Somerford Park Premier League has had to do the same. Balloting is never popular and, as an organiser, never undertaken lightly. It is great, however, that the sport is growing in popularity. Bolesworth, Hartpury and Hickstead internationals should be well supported by riders, with Hickstead still seeking members for their £1,000 Club initiative to raise money to run the show, which was cancelled last year due to lack of funding. Each member of the £1,000 Club can nominate a rider to contest the invitational class. Some of my sponsors, who are supporting the show, are holding competitions to choose a…

HEAR hear to Carl Hester’s excellent comment in the 11 May issue of H&H (Where have all the sponsors gone?). The contribution that companies such as Land Rover provide across equestrianism is crucial, so the news that we’ve lost the support of some of our key sponsors is a travesty. But it’s not only these vital backers the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) have let slip through their fingers — the same can be said for some of the sport’s backroom talent. Why wasn’t Dickie Waygood — a brilliant man with a wealth of equestrian knowledge — promoted to the top job to work across the disciplines, instead of being lost from dressage to eventing? Similarly, when the BEF’s former performance director Will Connell’s departed to the United States Equestrian Federation…

I DON’T usually write about my own horses in this column, but must say that winning the overall supreme title at Royal Windsor (see report , 18 May), in front of The Queen and riding one of Her Majesty’s horses, was out of this world. Special congratulations must go to the pony riders forward for staying cool. The supreme final judging came after the retirement of Nick Skelton and Big Star — and let’s face it, how do you follow that? The atmosphere was electric as Nick came out and stayed that way as we went in. It felt as special as winning the supreme at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS), and I never thought I’d say that. TIME IS TIGHT THERE has been much discussion recently on the…

THE Milan 10-year-old justified the seven-hour round trip from owner/trainer Caroline Robinson’s Telford yard by making it four wins from seven starts this year. He scored in the ladies’ open in the hands of Caroline’s daughter, Immy. Oh Toodles was left clear when the pace-setting Oaklands Bobby (Charlotte Crane) blundered badly three out, causing the saddle to slip and Charlotte was unable to defy the laws of gravity after the fence. Immy said: “He doesn’t mind long days in the horsebox, having already scored at Horseheath, Sandon and Bredwardine in 2017. I’m confident he would have won in any case as I hadn’t asked him a question and he always finishes strongly. “It’s proving to be a lucky track as I won a hunter chase on my mother’s Shales Rock…

Horslyx BRC Festival of the Horse Championships, Aston le Walls, Northants AN established line-up from Darlington & District claimed both the team and individual sashes in the senior 100 challenge, finishing with a comfortable 10.8 penalties in hand over runners-up Berkley and District. Team manager Penny Thompson and her coloured gelding Miracle Pie led by example, taking the individual win with a clear within one second of the optimum time. Penny originally backed the 11-year-old gelding, who is out of a point-to-point mare, as a four-year-old and later bought him for herself. “I backed him for a friend’s daughter but he was too quirky for her — he’s cold-backed and can still put a buck in. Even now I have to be a bit careful when I get on him,”…

YOU know when you’ve just been for a run, and you’re a bit knackered, and you really fancy a piece of cake? Well, feel for Rosamaria, a four-year-old who’d run a good race to finish fourth at Redcar, then decided she’d pop into the lads’ canteen. The filly was caught on video wandering into the kitchen, behind the counter, and quite calmly surveying the menu. But not only had Rosamaria earned her snack on the racecourse, trainer Julie Camacho revealed she is also in foal. “It must have been her cravings!” she said, adding that the filly apparently didn’t fancy any of the treats on offer. “There were some lovely cakes, too,” Julie added. Rosamaria’s next race was due to be Hamilton this week. “She’s not allowed in the canteen,”…

I read with interest the proposed “new” format of only three horses and riders in the teams for showjumping (news, 18 May). But this is not new, as only three were allowed in the Olympic showjumping team event up to and including Mexico in 1968. I remember Mexico well, as I was a member of the four-strong squad there. Probably on account of his chequered history before I had him, the selectors decided The Maverick was to be the reserve. And of course I was disappointed, as “Monty” was in terrific form leading up to the Games. Marion Coakes (Mould) and Stroller were magnificent in the individual, winning a silver medal; David Broome on Mister Softee gained the bronze, and Harvey Smith and Madison Time had only eight faults, so…

‘It is excellent for reinforcing dexterity as the horse explodes over the final oxer’ AIM I LEARNED this versatile and useful exercise from [former eventing performance manager] Yogi Breisner. I find it a great exercise to use between events for the older horses as it allows them to use all their muscles without overdoing the jumping. It is important that the three elements of your obstacle line are built down the long centre of the school. This gives the horse and rider time to get straight and to assess the test. Create your line by placing a trot pole to mark the start then, approximately 2.5m away, build a cross-pole, followed, roughly on a 6.5m distance, by an oxer. The size of the fences depends on the horse’s experience. As…

1 Stroller A 14.2hh bouncing ball of a pony who astounded the showjumping world — and the public — by scoring Hickstead and Hamburg Derby wins, victories in Nations and Queen Elizabeth II Cups, plus an individual silver in the 1968 Mexico Olympics. He even cleared a 6ft 8in puissance wall. 2 Seabiscuit The career of this crooked-legged, barely 15.2hh thoroughbred started slowly, but he became a US racing giant. An historic one-to-one with his great rival War Admiral in 1938 saw Seabiscuit become a cult hero, before he scored a blistering Santa Anita Handicap win two years later. 3 Seldom Seen So named because he kept disappearing behind tall grass as a foal, this 14.2hh Pony Club mount rose to US dressage fame in the 80s with numerous grand…

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I’VE just come back from the CCI3* at Saumur, where Kiltubrid Rhapsody went very well to finish third. I hadn’t been to Saumur for five years, even though it is a lovely place, and one of the reasons for that is the going has been inconsistent. There were very few entries from British-based riders, and I think that’s because it had developed a reputation for not being great for horses’ soundness. But the French riders had assured me that the organisers were going to do a lot more work on the ground this year, and I was pleasantly surprised. They had made a real effort, particularly on the racecourse for the first four minutes of the track, and the going was good all round the track. The cross-country was also…

SOPHIE PLATT’S intermediate winner Caesar II was a late substitution because her Bramham-bound mare Be Be III had a cut. She made the most of the opportunity with a first victory at the level. The eight-year-old is the result of an unplanned mating between two hunt horses: Oberon, who was an uncut three-year-old at the time, but went on to hunt with the Middleton, and a mare in the next field. Caesar was sent to Sophie, who runs a hunting and eventing yard near Doncaster with her mother Mary, as a three-year-old to back, and stayed on. “I’ve done everything with him myself. He has a good jump and the dressage is improving,” said Sophie, 24, who trains with her friend Richard Thompson. “We did our first advanced at Chatsworth,…

LEADERS AS OF 25 MAY WORLD RANKINGS Michael Jung (GER) BRITISH EVENTING LEADING RIDER Oliver Townend LEADING HORSE Xavier Faer, owned by Trisha Rickards, Nigella Hall and rider Tim Price GOLDMAN CUP (under-21) Felicity Collins and Sam Ecroyd BRITANNIA LEAGUE Emma Forsyth and her own Soltair Justice CALVER WEALTH MANAGEMENT TWO-STAR LEAGUE Vendredi Biats, ridden by Kitty King and owned by Diana Bown, Sally Lloyd-Baker, Samantha Wilson and Sally Eyre GATEHOUSE ONE-STAR LEAGUE Adam Harvey and his own Picasso V FOUNDATION POINTS RIDER Nicola Wilson FOUNDATION POINTS HORSE All We Need, owned by Lady Milnes Coates and Penny Marriner; ridden by Nicola Wilson MITSUBISHI MOTORS CUP RIDER LEAGUE Alyson Parker MITSUBISHI MOTORS CUP HORSE LEAGUE Think Tank Think, owned and ridden by Sophia Icke…

FITNESS FIRST DAVID SHEERIN, chief coach at Wellington, chairman of the British Horse Society (BHS), eventer and former combined training competitor, is in a good position to comment on the latest incarnation of BD combined training. “Riders wanting to give this a try should think about their horse’s fitness; whether they’re able to do two disciplines in one day. They also need to practise jumping lots of fillers. Often dressage horses and riders lack confidence. As always, the key is making sure the horse is on the aids. “Modern dressage riders do far more with their horses and jumping is a part of their routine. It gets them to use their backs and gives their life variety,” he added. “Showjumping is really flatwork with obstacles. The top jumping horses are…

Joanne and her five-year-old British-bred Flammengold mare posted a day-high of 75.35% at Houghton Hall, on just the horse's sixth British Dressage (BD) show. “Earlier this year, ‘Elf ’ spooked at some workmen on a hack, went up and span round, twisting her leg,” said Jo. “The next time I rode her, I knew something was up when she pinned her normally happy ears back and threw her head in the air when I asked for trot. X-rays revealed she’d sheared a fragment of bone in her pastern. I was devastated, but my trainer Jo Gummer was an absolute rock and insisted she’d come right, and even drove us to Rossdales for the scans. “I only got back on four weeks ago, and again Jo was fantastic — helping me…

CSI3* Eindhoven, The Netherlands WILLIAM FUNNELL and the talented nine-year-old Billy Buckingham made a winning Derby debut in Eindhoven. The Surrey rider cruised round clear over the mix of natural and coloured obstacles with his home-bred Billy Congo x Clover Hill gelding, just adding two time-faults, but this was enough to claim the €13,200 (£11,500) top prize. “He’s one for Hickstead and I’ve always had that in mind, but it’s nice to know he’s got it in him now,” said William, whose nearest challenger finished in a faster time but with four faults. “He reminds me of [treble Hickstead Derby winner] Mondriaan, who also won Eindoven — he’s a big, scopey jumper who can do everything from Nations Cups to grands prix.” ‘He reminds me of Mondriaan’ WILLIAM FUNNELL…

Devon County Show, Westpoint Arena, Exeter A LOCALLY bred Dartmoor pony clinched a strong line up of contenders to land the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) Cuddy breeders’ supreme in-hand ticket. Having stood reserve last year, Diane and John Jordan’s stallion Moortown Crusader went one better to win the prestigious title ahead of the riding horse breeding champion. The Jordans’ son, David, led Crusader, putting the stallion through to the final the previous day after winning the Dartmoor championship. Judge Liz Mansfield-Parnell pulled six of the 13 champions forward for consideration, including the Welsh section D champion Llanarth Fiery Jack, but she was taken with the nine-year-old dark bay Crusader for her final decision. “This is his first time out this year so we are really pleased,” said David,…

Lancashire Championship Show, Merseyside THE Georgakis family’s journey north from their Oxfordshire base didn’t begin well as they spent much of it stuck on the M6, which was closed due to an accident. However, their luck changed significantly the next day when Ella Georgakis galloped away with the show hunter pony (SHP) championship in fine style riding her on-form 122cm victor Gryngallt Primrose — beating Holly Hobson’s 2014 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) champion Lindeth Talisman. “My champion won by a country mile,” said judge Amanda Jones. “She may have come from the smallest division but she was the most workmanlike — a real show hunter pony who covers the ground and would happily take a child out hunting.” “People have been so complimentary about how fresh the pony…

IN the mid-1980s I was lodging with the Farquhar family at Twyford Mill in the Bicester and Warden Hill country and was coming back late one night from earth-stopping. As the headlights of my battered old car swung across the driveway, a fox came speeding out of the gates with his brush stuck straight up in the air and his pads doing wheel spins on the gravel. He was hotly pursued by a doghound puppy that the Farquhars were walking, called Merryman, who was shouting his mouth off with glee at every stride. Thirty years later, with far busier roads, it is a rarity to find places where puppies can have the same sort of freedom, but Ian Farquhar remembers one of his favourite hounds, Bicester and Warden Hill Farmer…

OLIVIA WRIGHT (pictured, right) took an arena win in the junior combined training two years after she was told her 13.2hh pony, Bailey’s Irish Dream, would “never be ridden again”. The 16-year-old Connemara damaged a collateral ligament shortly after they bought him, but after a year in the field came sound. Besides their victory here, the pair were also on the winning dressage team at the 2016 riding club national championships at Lincoln. “I do a bit of everything with him — mounted games, dressage, showing and showjumping. I just don’t event him any more in case he injures himself,” she said.…

MASTERS were told to “lead by example” at the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) AGM at Cheltenham Racecourse last week (23 May). “We cannot give our enemies any reason to denigrate us or our sport,” said Lord Mancroft, chairman of the MFHA. “It is crucial that masters lead by example. Do not risk the chance of repeal by bringing hunting into disrepute.” He touched on the forthcoming general election, saying that a Conservative win with a large majority offered “the best opportunity for a positive change in the law we are likely to get in the foreseeable future. “What we want, very simply, is to be able to hunt without fear of prosecution.” Lord Mancroft discussed the importance of better training opportunities for hunt staff, and certification for that training.…

SARCASM A rider finishing a jumping round was surprised to hear the horn. Turning, she heard the judge say she had been eliminated for failing to jump fence five. “That’s the one after fence four, and before fence six,” the judge added drily. Well said, that woman. WALKING THE COURSE Wolfie Breen looks set to follow in his dad’s footsteps, in a video of him walking his course, clambering over cross-poles in knee-length tweed. A photo taken afterwards reveals his secret weapon too — Lego stashed in his pockets. Does Shane do the same, we wonder? WORLD HORSE WELFARE Congratulations to H&H’s charity of the year, whose garden won gold at Chelsea. It featured poisonous plants, which meant star rescue pony Clippy caused alarm when he tried to tuck in.…

CRIBBING TRIGGER ISOLATION and boredom can contribute to stereotypical behaviour such as cribbing, or crib-biting, in which a horse fixes his upper incisor teeth on a solid object, arches his neck and gulps air into his oesophagus. While we have known for some time that feed influences this behaviour in established cribbers, we have not really understood why. Researchers in the USA have shed more light on this. They took mature, established cribbers and fed them different diets of varying sweetness, then analysed cribbing behaviour after feeding. As expected, sweeter feed, especially whole grain and sugar beet-based feeds, elicited most cribbing. When these feeds were diluted with water to make them less sweet, the interval between finishing eating and the first crib-bite was increased and the number of crib-bites in…

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NAF Five Star Saumur, France SWITZERLAND’S Felix Vogg staged a huge upset to win the Loire event, coming from behind to beat two double Olympic champions, his mentor Michael Jung and Mark Todd. Felix surprised even himself; achieving a personal best on a 15-year-old gelding, Onfire, whom he had intended to drop down to two-star this year. “The selectors asked me to give him one more chance, so I only came here to qualify for the Europeans,” said Felix, 26, who failed to complete at both the worlds and the Olympics with Onfire. “Now I expect we will go.” MULTI-NATIONAL FIELD THE dressage brought international stars to the fore, with four nations represented in the top five. Mark conjured a personal best from Kiltubrid Rhapsody, who was sixth on his…

 Wychanger Barton Saddlery Pontispool (1), Somerset ‘I didn’t set out fast, but he’s a clean jumper’ CARLOS PARRO A FORMER hunter scored his first ever British Eventing win under Carlos Parro. The Shrewsbury-based Brazilian rider said Maesmawr Fox, owned by Phil and Sue Jones , felt on “good form” after clinching the open intermediate (OI). The pair added 4.4 time-faults to their dressage score of 28.9 — the fastest round in this section, but it hadn’t been Carlos’ intention to push him on the cross-country. “I didn’t set out for a fast time so I can’t say I pushed him to go super fast,” said Carlos, who has partnered the chestnut gelding for the past two seasons. “He’s a good clean jumper and a straightforward horse who tries really…

• WAITINGS — WIND, WATER, WASTE WARWICK HALL (1) ON. — 1, Delaia (M Davidson) 32.5,0,0=32.5; 2, Harbour Lights (L Botterell) 32.3,0,1.2=33.5; 3, Limited Edition V (E Hammersley) 38.3,0,0=38.3. nov sec A. — 1, Gonzalez (J Atkinson) 30,0,0=30; 2, Falco III (PJ Holden) 28.3,0,4=32.3; 3, Tiger Balm (P Stockton) 34.5,0,0=34.5. sec B. — 1, Elite Jaguar (N Wilson) 20.8,0,0=20.8; 2, Youve Got The Lux (H Hankey) 22.8,0,0=22.8; 3, Shadow Walker (J Atkinson) 25.8,0,0=25.8. sec C. — 1, Darkwood Peri (E Galbraith) 26.8,4,0=30.8; 2, Whisperwood Overdraft (G Campbell) 27.5,4,0=31.5; 3, Fernhill Inspector (L Harley) 27.3,0,4.4=31.7. BE100open. — 1, Springtime Jazz (S Arthur-Magennis) 32.5,0,0=32.5; 2, Number Twelve (C Cotton) 35.3,0,0=35.3; 3, Rehy Major (S Rankin) 37.3,0,0=37.3. BE100 sec E. — 1, Cooley Conker (N Wilson) 22.8,0,0=22.8; 2, Zuccheros Deff Leppard (W Oakden)…

NICKY RONCORONI has moved to Ireland after buying a property 15 minutes drive from Kilkenny. “We’ve always thought we’d go anywhere if the right place came up, but it had to be right as the facilities we rented at Kemble were very good,” said the British four-star rider. A chance conversation with Ireland-based horse agent and journalist Sally Parkyn led to Nicky and her mother Janey viewing the property last August. “We couldn’t have wished for a more compact, perfect equestrian smallholding,” said Nicky. “What we were getting for our money would have been simply unaffordable in England. “I was based in Scotland for five or six years, but I found it difficult to entice people there to view horses for sale. Everyone is happy to get on a plane…

The six-year-old stallion, by Bodyguard Moorland, has been with Sophie for only three months, but has already qualified for the summer regionals at elementary. He has now added the six-year-old young horse qualification and most of his medium qualifying points. He is owned by Sophie’s long-time supporters Jackie and Neil Walker and her grandmother Valerie Woolford. “I saw him advertised last November but had my reservations as he was a stallion, and I thought he’d be too expensive,” said Sophie. “But then he was readvertised this spring. I tried him in three different locations, and found he had a very laid-back, easy personality and he learns quickly. “Normally I wouldn’t be out competing a new horse so quickly, but he thrives on it, although by the time he came out…

FROM carriage horse to dressage supremo, Leonie Smith’s 11-year-old Friesian gelding Rommert HW is stamping his mark. At Solihull, he won both advanced mediums, one with his best score to date at that level — 69.26%. Leonie bought the gelding three years ago. “He had a bad accident in a carriage so was re-trained to be ridden and than sadly had another bad experience when someone tried getting on him,” explained Leonie. “He was nearly put to sleep as he was so dangerous, so I was his last chance. I took my time and re-backed him, and he’s gone from strength to strength.” The gelding has qualified for the advanced medium regionals. “I train with Richard Davidson who has helped with his changes, and at Solihull we got seven and…

AMANDA GILLETT and Earl Winston’s novice win at Brook Farm was poignant. Amanda was told she had broken her back in a fall five weeks ago and spent weeks in a brace until an orthopaedic surgeon consulted for a second opinion revealed the injury was actually old. “Asked whether I could remember breaking my back, I replied ‘no idea’ — it could have been any one of several falls from over 40 years riding. As it wasn’t a fresh break, I was back in the saddle the next day,” said Amanda. But there’s more to the story: “We bought ‘Win’, aka ‘The Special (Needs) One’, at two years old and despite the best upbringing he was scared to the point of being unrideable,” explained Amanda. “He wouldn’t let anyone get…

The 15-year-old rode her 14.1hh gelding Sheepcote Romeo to a 73% elementary win and a 68% victory in the medium 63, before stepping up onto the 16.2hh Hunros Tuscany to head the medium 71. “It was hard work for her, riding four tests in an hour and a half,” said Emma’s “mum and groom” Lisa. “But she’s thrilled. We’ve exceeded our expectations.” Hunros Tuscany has returned to winning form after sinus problems last year. “He also has a new saddle,” added Lisa, explaining that both horses are now in WOW saddles. “He’s much freer and softer, so Emma is finding it easier to sit to his trot.” A winter of training is paying off for Stephanie Sweet and Dolle Jung, who won both mediums at Hunters. “He has come out…

Nottinghamshire County show Newark, Notts IN a battle of the ladies in the feature Mattie Brown Stakes, worth £3,500 to the winner, Kerry Brennan emerged triumphant with the 14-year-old Wellington M over Louise Saywell by just 0.2 of a second with a chancey, exhilarating gallop to the last. Eight of 22 jumped clear over course-designer David Cole’s 13-fence track with Louise claiming two of the rides, including her previous day’s area trial winner Peiter VI. She set a fast target on new ride Eindhoven GH, relegating her partner Graham Lovegrove on Cento Love. But Kerry and the amazing “Welly” — second in 2016 — set off determinedly, risking a full-stretch gallop to the final substantial vertical to wrest the lead by just over a second. “This was a big, strong…

CSI4*/LGCT 5* HAMBURG, GERMANY IN a perfectly scripted finale to the great career of the 18-year-old stallion Casall ASK, he and long-time partner Rolf-Göran Bengtsson triumphed in the Longines Global Champions Tour of Hamburg. “I’d carry on if I could, but it can’t end any better,” said the Swedish rider. “Today the feeling was the same as if he was 11 years old.” Nigel Coupe and the 14-year-old Irish sport horse Golvers Hill and last year’s Hamburg Derby victors Billy Twomey and Diaghilev each secured victory in the Derby trials and went on to finish fifth and fourth respectively in the main event, both with one fence down. Billy also enjoyed a good run on the eight-year-old Eindhoven GH, winning a two-phase on day two, where he just nudged out…

South Durham Hunt, Sedgefield JACK ANDREWS clinched the Yorkshire area men’s novice riders’ championship with his first double on Seeyouincourt and The Mobile Man. Seeyouincourt, trained by his mother, Joanna, set the ball rolling when following up a recent Easingwold victory in the men’s open. Sent straight into the lead, the 10-year-old jumped more fluently than the odds-on favourite, Six A Side (Will Milburn), and steadily increased his advantage from two out to score by 12 lengths. Jack, 18 last Monday, said: ‘’I’ve tried to hold him up in the past, but discovered he’s much better dictating the pace and he loves quick ground. He settled into a good rhythm from the off and still had plenty left in the tank when we crossed the line.’’ Few horses have been…