Innholdsfortegnelse for 15-Sep-2022 i Horse & Hound

AS the nation has mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II since last Thursday and continues to do so, the horse world has felt a particularly keen sense of loss. As Pippa Cuckson writes, (obituary, p4) we were so used to seeing The Queen smiling her widest smile when watching her horses, be that Flat sensation Estimate or home-bred Highland Balmoral Leia, who won the mountain and moorland in-hand supreme at Royal Windsor in May. We felt a particular privilege and slight sense of pride, even, to share a passion with such a loved, admired and respected leader, who mastered such a resolute and dignified life of public service. Two particularly moving sights over the weekend included witnessing horses take part in two minutes’ silence at those events that took…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 THERE was much excitement and enthusiasm for the Premier Performance CZ Midway Championships that were held at Hartpury in August. They are organised by Alisa Hunter-Gordon, a high-flying project manager and former organiser of Nunney Horse Trials, who herself has ridden up to prix st georges and currently competes at advanced medium. The championships are designed for riders “midway” between amateur and professional, and you have to qualify. Listening to the announcements of the competitors’ jobs – from lawyers to doctors and other public sector workers – was quite aweinspiring, and everyone I asked said it was the best atmosphere of any championship. The stands were heaving with spectators, the shops were busy, and classes ran from early morning to 11pm, with professional stewards keeping everything moving. The…

I’ve been a horse behaviourist for 20 years, but it’s only more recently that it’s been recognised as a discipline and now we have a registry of qualified behaviourists. Before, anyone could call themselves one! I started as a “normal” vet and I still do that, and I also work on referrals from other vets, much like us being referred to orthopaedics for an MRI. In the same way a vet would treat a tendon injury, what I do is founded on sound reasoning, evidence and understanding behaviour from a scientific perspective. It’s based on an understanding of the theory of how animals learn. We’re still fighting myths that people think horses are naughty, dominant and “trying to be the boss”, or have an underlying motive, but that doesn’t exist…

WHETHER TO RUN SPORTING events across the country were cancelled on Friday, 9 September, the day after The Queen’s death was announced. Cornbury was an outlier in continuing to run – on a non-commercial basis (all tickets refunded) – and the majority of competitors supported their decision. Event president David Howden said: “After much thought, and consultation with British Eventing and the DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport], the decision was taken to continue the event, which had already run for a full day when the very sad news of Her Majesty The Queen’s passing was received. “We tried to ensure we conducted the event in a respectful manner, and held two-minute silences with readings and prayers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “The Queen’s deep connection with horses…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald CSIO5* Spruce Meadows Masters, Canada “SHE’S just an incredible horse,” said Daniel Deusser of his obliging 12-year-old mare Killer Queen VDM after the duo achieved one of the hardest feats in the sport, jumping a triple clear to win the $3m (£2m) CP International presented by Rolex and launching him into the Rolex Grand Slam. “She was unbelievable to jump three clear rounds. Usually if you jump just two clear rounds, you’ve won already,” said the German rider. “But I’m able to enjoy this feeling now.” This blue-riband event is one of the toughest classes in the world. Leopoldo Palacios’ formidable, technical tracks tower far higher than your average five-star grand prix course and the Venezuelan doesn’t make any allowances for time-wasters. The stakes are raised even higher…

MULTITALENTED Flintstone gelding Hugo 1st claimed a brace of winning prelims at Ian Stark EC, Selkirk, on this, his third foray into affiliated dressage. Showjumper Gemma Kennedy, who is showing seven-year-old Hugo the ropes for his owner Ursula Read, is also new to dressage. She explained: “Ursula bought him as a four-year-old and he then never left the yard, so his debut show in July was his first real time away from home. He was hunted as a young horse and was going well on the flat, so we thought we’d try a dressage show and he has obviously taken to it well. “We had no real plan about what we were aiming for, but he has exceeded our expectations,” added Gemma, explaining that Hugo qualified for the Scottish Championships…

martha.terry@futurenet.com @marthaowenorterry British Riding Clubs (BRC) NAF Five Star National Championships, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincolnshire CARLETON RC were frequent visitors to the presentation ring at Lincoln, after the Norfolk-based club won two team and three individual titles. Michelle Lowe and Vivendi Noble Cavalier were members of the victorious senior open dressage and 100 showjumping teams and were also crowned individual champions in the latter. “I have been in bed with a sickness bug all week so it’s a surprise to be here, let alone do so well,” said the firefighter who’s been riding the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse for eight years. Joining Michelle in the winning dressage team were Joanne Watts (Churchside Reflection), Olivia Futter (Roman Empress) and Rachael Key (Ich Heisse Peanut). Michelle and Joanne combined with Steven Small (Annaghmore…

THANKS to a longstanding family association with equestrianism, Queen Elizabeth II had access to horses beyond the dreams of most of her subjects. But she turned it to the equestrian world’s advantage through her genuine love of horses and inestimable knowledge and expertise. Without her involvement and wise counsel, it is arguable that sports such as polo, eventing and driving trials would not have flourished as they did. Throughout her 70-year reign, it was duty first, family second and horses a very close third. A passion for racing HOWEVER much The Queen was involved in other aspects of horse sport, racing drove her equestrian interests. Not surprisingly, when British racing introduced the QIPCO Hall of Fame in 2021, she was one of its first inductees. As a child, The Queen…

ORNELLAIA The grand prix-winning mare, ridden by John Whitaker at the 2016 Olympics, then by Sienna Charles, has retired aged 17. Sienna and Princess Haya’s mare helped Britain to young rider showjumping team bronze in 2021. ALMOST ILLEGAL Caroline Mackness’ large hack mare has died aged 22. She won at HOYS 2006 with Katie Jerram-Hunnable, while owned by the Stennetts. In 2008, she won the RIHS supreme hack title with her last owner. STATE OF REST The Joseph O’Brien-trained Group One winner, who won top races on three continents, will not travel to Australia to defend his Cox Plate title as a scan picked up an issue. He has been retired to stud, aged four. ROYAL FURY British eventer Heidi Coy’s medallist has stepped back from competition. The 12-year-old team…

Independent equine medicine and therapeutics consultant David Rendle is president of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) for 2022/23. He takes over from Huw Griffiths. British dressage star Lottie Fry won another world title, the seven-year-old championship on the Van Olsts’ Kjento. Lottie won every class she contested in Ermelo. Report, 22 September. Multiple Paralympic and world medal-winning Brazilian para dressage rider Rodolpho Riskalla has been elected to the newly created World Anti-Doping Agency athletes’ council. Former national champion Louise Saywell married fellow showjumper Graham Lovegrove on Saturday (10 September), in front of family and friends in Greece. The 2017 champion apprentice David Egan, 23, secured his first British Classic win, riding Eldar Eldarov to St Leger glory for trainer Roger Varian and owners KHK Racing. Report, p52.…

alexandra.robinson@futurenet.com @alexrob_journo_ I WATCHED Burghley Horse Trials with great interest, and noted that some of the most successful horses on the field were also some of the oldest animals. The winner, Vanir Kamira, was a youthful 17-year-old and the one horse clear with no time-faults, Classic Moet, was 19 years old. It’s quite a feat to keep these horses sound in their limbs and wind, and keep them fit enough to be able to jump round a large, technical cross-country course. Many of our show animals are deemed “old” when they hit age 10. Is this because they haven’t been treated as athletes throughout their career, unlike the eventing animal? I wonder if weight has played a part in ageing horses and ponies. After all, show animals have the least…

CAMILLA SOUTHERINGTON was already celebrating a stellar week, having gained her first HOYS ticket a few days earlier at the Sport Horse Breeding (SHB) championship show with her lightweight worker Ruby’s Rosshaven Deluxe. Here, though, her friend Frankie King partnered her other worker, the heavyweight Greenacres Chacco Charlie (pictured) to nail her own first HOYS pass. Although the 11-year-old had previously showjumped, he did not make the transition to workers easily. “He wouldn’t go near a rustic fence to start off with, so Frankie said she would help me,” Camilla revealed. “She hunted him, did inter-hunt relays, gate-jumping competitions and eventing.” The show ring seems to have gained a convert, too. “It’s my first season showing, and I’m loving it,” said Frankie. “People have been so helpful, and I can’t…

TWO more spots were confirmed for the Price Family supreme in-hand final held at HOYS. Lifting the ticket at Bucks County (1 September) was Virginia Russell-Wood’s 14-year-old broodmare Stage Music, who was shown with her Kilvington Scoundrel-sired foal at foot. Stage Music, Ottergayle supreme at the National Pony Society summer championships, is a cousin to Royal Stage, who qualified for the Price Family supreme at Devon County. At Stoneleigh Horse Show (3–4 September), Jane Laffey’s three-year-old Rotherwood Firefox trotted to his first HOYS ticket with Shane Rogers. By Highmead To Be Or Not To Be, the gelding was Welsh part-bred supreme at the National Welsh championships.…

PAYING TRIBUTE BRITISH commentator Adam Cromarty broke the news of The Queen’s death to spectators on Thursday with an emotional tribute to the monarch. The flags of Canada and the Commonwealth were lowered to half mast and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Band of the Household Cavalry, usually a popular element of the show’s proceedings, were immediately recalled to Great Britain for state ceremonial duties. The Queen visited Spruce Meadows in June 1990, something the show’s senior vice-president Ian Allison remembers fondly. “The fans arrived and I remember a woman sitting in the south grandstand with her Welsh flag at 6am,” he recalls. “She had driven a couple of hundred kilometres to be here. It was a very magical day.”…

LAURA MANTEL has had a run of success on new rides in recent weeks and at Edenbridge and Oxted she was also in winning form. Twelve years after his mother Beluga won this area trial, 11-year-old Arkuga (pictured) followed in her footsteps, winning here with the sole double clear. With usual rider Laura Renwick off games following a fall, it was Laura Mantel who partnered the gelding to the win. “I was the only clear in the first round, as the water didn’t jump very well and caused a lot of faults,” said Laura. “In the jump-off, I just aimed for a clear, as he jumped so well in the first round that I thought I could risk him leaving them up. “It was a lovely county show and hats…

jennifer.donald@futurenet.com @jen_donald Cazoo St Leger Festival, Doncaster ELDAR ELDAROV, whose only defeat in four starts prior to Sunday’s rearranged Cazoo St Leger had been in the Grand Prix de Paris, gave David Egan a first Classic when he out-galloped his rivals to win the 246th running of Doncaster’s big race. The Dubawi colt, trained by Roger Varian, came home two lengths clear of Haskoy but the filly was demoted by the stewards to fourth after she was deemed to have interfered with Giavellotto two furlongs out by drifting across his line and costing him more ground than she beat him by. New London, the favourite but third past the post, was promoted to second and the Italian-owned colt bumped up to third. There had not been much pace so the…

Share your news story Call 01252 555021 Email eleanor.jones@futurenet.com @ jones_eleanor_ THE equestrian community has paid tribute to a “true and passionate” horsewoman after the death of The Queen aged 96. In her 70-year reign, The Queen was deeply involved with and a huge supporter of all aspects of the industry, from native ponies to racehorses. She was patron of a huge range of equestrian organisations including the British Horse Society (BHS) and British Showjumping, the Fell and Highland pony societies, the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, the Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show Society, Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain and, of course, Royal Windsor Horse Show. “On behalf of the BHS and British Riding Clubs, I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to His Majesty King Charles III, our…

WORLD CHAMPS OFF AT THE LAST MINUTE SAFETY concerns have forced the late cancellation of the endurance World Championships. The FEI has extended the timeframe and reopened the bid process for holding the championships, originally due to run in Verona, Italy, from 19 to 13 October, after terminating the agreement with the organisers with less than six weeks to go. “This is really unfortunate for everyone involved but if the experts are of the opinion that the safety of the athletes – both human and equine – cannot be guaranteed, the [FEI] board has no other option but to follow their recommendations,” said FEI president Ingmar De Vos. WARNING OVER WELFARE DISASTER OWNERS are warned of a potential equine welfare “disaster” if no action is taken on worming practices. The…

alexandra.robinson@futurenet.com @alexrob_journo_ British Show Horse Association (BSHA) Hunter Championship, Arena UK, Lincs CRAIG KIDDIER was the man on form over fences on hunter day of the sadly – but rightly – curtailed BSHA national championships, which came to an abrupt end last Thursday evening, 8 September, when the news of The Queen’s death was released. Lisa Kelly set her customarily thought-provoking courses and, in general, obtained a suitable number of clears. In restricted ranks, there was no denying Craig aboard Sue Tennant’s handsome six-year-old Mulberry Lane, who jumped a superb round to win his class and subsequently nailed the overall worker championship. The Irish-bred son of OBOS Quality – already through to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in middleweights and workers, having qualified for both at North of England…

pippa.roome@futurenet.com @pipparoomeorkyle Cornbury House, Oxon GEORGIE GOSS (née Spence) sealed her new married name with her first international win since her wedding. The mare Feloupe landed one of the three CCI3*-S sections (B), creeping up after their third-placed dressage mark of 27.6, despite rolling a pole showjumping. “She was a bit wild showjumping and dived at the first fence,” said Georgie, who credits the past six months working with Ian Woodhead as “life-changing”. She said: “She did an amazing test, and is a machine crosscountry. She thinks she’s a thoroughbred even though she’s warmblood. “She has everything: she moves, she jumps, she gallops and has all the energy you want. And 99% of the time, she gives 100%. “I am so excited about her – I hope she’ll upgrade to…

THE 2021 CP International victor Steve Guerdat and the 13-year-old gelding Venard De Cerisy had to settle for the runner-up spot behind Daniel Deusser this year, but the Swiss rider attributes a switch to natural fences to be the making of this quirky and sometimes challenging gelding. “He was never bad in the ring, but jumping at home and in the warm-up was difficult, so I decided to jump some natural fences to see if that helped,” said Steve, who entered him in the 2018 La Baule Derby. “That was the first time he felt really good in the ring. Now he does Derbies through the year and, at home, I jump a lot of natural fences. It’s taught him to be a better horse.” The gelding “canters round his…

polly.bryan@futurenet.com @pollyrose21 Hunters Equestrian, Glos FASIDE SIMPLY AMOUR delivered a medium double win with one score in excess of 81%, on her debut at the level. “She was a bit nervous and wobbly in her first test, like a rabbit in the headlights, but she relaxed in the second to cruise round and show what she’s capable of,” said Sonnar Murray-Brown, who co-owns the seven year-old mare with Nicky Hodge. “She’s a joy to train.” “Annie” has been lightly competed since she was bought from Scotland’s Faside Stud as an unbacked three-year-old. “We do everything at her pace, which is fine as she always gives 110%,” said Sonnar, who rode her to an elementary gold win at the winter championships in April. “She was powerful but weak as a young…

catherine.austen@futurenet.com @cfausten123 IF hunting is your passion, then working as a hunting correspondent must be one of the best jobs going. It sounds perfect: a free pass to see the wide variety of hunting our small island has to offer. There is one proviso: you have to get on a strange horse in a strange country and go for it. No hanging at the back. You need a good memory for names, and for the stories people tell you, and that’s even before you begin the writing bit. “The first one I did, I thought, ‘What a privilege to write about something you love, ’” enthuses Adrian Dangar, who became a hunting correspondent for H&H and The Field when he finished hunting hounds. “As a huntsman you pour all your…

WITH last week’s sad news, we are now a country in mourning. The loss of our Queen, magnificent to the end, has hit us for six, but we must rally in the way that Her Majesty always showed us. I thought of her as I climbed aboard Alec’s pony, Issy, with my horse Jim on a lead-rope and Meg the dog at our feet. The rain was hosing down and the wind was wild, but in horses, dogs and country life there is always solace. The Queen knew that better than most. IN our neck of the woods, horticultural shows happen in the lee of a pretty church in a picture-postcard village, with a backdrop of thatched roofs and low-browed Thomas Hardy cottages. Inside a village hall or tent you…