With the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (29 August-2 September) in full-swing, riders have now had the opportunity to walk the infamous four-star cross-country course, designed by Captain Mark Phillips.

We caught up with some of the competitors to find out what they think about this year’s track…

Oliver Townend: “It’s seriously undulating and it is going to be stamina sapping. I know Burghley is big, but I’ve never walked around here and seen fences of such dimensions.

Andrew Nicholson: “I think right from the start, it’s very big and what has struck me is that I think it will be quite tiring on the horses. There’s quite a steep pull up Winners’ Avenue, which be around the seven minute marker of an 11 minute course. That will then make the Clarence Court combination at the Dairy Mound a bit harder. I think the Trout Hatchery is very difficult too — there will be a lot of different ways to jump there with plenty of options. I like the way the course is consistent — it feels like you’ll get into the groove of riding up to the jumps with the horses looking and letting you ride them up to them.”

Simon Grieve: “There are lots of places to do something silly and there are lots of places where horses can have a run out and they need to be so bold and brave. I think the Leaf Pit will cause a lot of problems — it comes up earlier in the course this year. The Trout Hatchery and The Maltings are difficult — the first set of rails at The Maltings is huge and it has a drop on it so you need to be in balance to jump the massive corner at part b. There’s plenty of places that could catch us out.”

Ludwig Svennerstal: “I think it’s a very serious course. There’s a lot of challenges all the way through. There are a lot of big fences and it’s really challenging.”

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Nana Dalton: “You don’t come here without expecting a challenge. It’s one question after another, but I think they’re all fair. We’ve got to be on our A game the whole way round.”

You can read the full Burghley report in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine (Thursday 6 September).

What does it take to win the Mountain and Moorland (M&M) supreme title at the Olympia International Horse Show, not once, but twice? Lancashire-based Connemara specialist Sandra Burton and her family show team scored their second Olympia victory last December with Joe Burke’s stallion Banks Timber, a title she also won in 2013 on her own gelding Fly The Last Flute.

We caught up with this talented amateur who shared her tips for home-producing to the very top:

Read the full interview with Sandra in H&H magazine (7 March issue) — out now!

1. Juggling duties

Six days a week, Sandra runs a milk round with her sister Janet while her daughter, Emily, works full time as a veterinary nurse.

“We get up early to do the milk and then once that’s done, we’ll do the book work,” said Sandra. “Even though the job has it’s drawbacks, it does mean I have the rest of the day to do the horses, which is especially helpful during winter.”

2. Making it work

Sandra rides Banks Timber to land the M&M ridden championship at the RIHS in 2017.

When attending the Royal International (RIHS) in 2017, where Tim and Sandra won the M&M championship, the team had to put in some extra work to ensure they could be back on the showground for the supreme on the final day:  “We doubled up the milk before we went, drove down, did the showing and as we won we had to arrange going back for the supreme,” said Sandra. “So we left mum with the wagon, borrowed someone’s car to drive home and deliver the milk, before driving back down to do the supreme — It’s safe to say I was absolutely knackered.”

3. Find your passion

Even though she began with Fell ponies, Sandra’s real love and majority of success has come from her involvement with Connemaras. “I didn’t get my first Connemara until 1998. He was a gelding I’d seen in H&H called Lintavon Ciro I went to see him in Scotland and just feel in love with the breed. He wasn’t the easiest and could be full of himself in the ring. He qualified for HOYS several times and eventually won in 2004.”

Her love and knowledge of the breed has seen her compete on a string of successful ponies at top level for over 15 years.

4. Put in the time

Despite being an amateur show team, the Burton’s always ensure that once they are in the ring, they provide a performance good enough to compete against the pros.

“You have to put the time in at home,” urged Sandra. “We do our homework so that when we go in the ring, we do our best and on the right day, we can get the results.

“If you want to do well, you have to be dedicated, especially as the standard in showing classes is so high these days.”

5. Enjoy the job

“I think a lot of people can lose track of enjoying the job,” said Sandra. “When we go to shows we make sure we go to the ones we enjoy, and these might not necessarily be qualifiers. You can get caught up in the chase to qualify and lose the fun side of showing. We put so much money into it that you need to go out and enjoy your animals, or what’s the point?”

Sandra rides Coillte Cashel and Emily rides Aniar Cashel. Both will be making their debuts under saddle during 2019

6. Keep going

“Try not to get discouraged if you don’t get what you want straight away; I have been disappointed many times. You’re always going to be beaten somewhere along the line; you have to come away from each show and think about how you can improve. If you have this attitude, you won’t give up.

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

A rider was left shaking in terror when a van flew round a blind bend so close to her horse it brushed his exercise sheet, before skidding and swerving across the road.

Jemma Fisher, from Wokingham, was riding her 17.1hh thoroughbred gelding Sizzler along Easthampstead Road on 24 September when she heard a vehicle approaching from behind.

“I thought I could hear a car coming round the bend really fast but it turned out to be a transit van. I raised my arms to ask the driver to slow down but as he came round he brushed Sizzler’s exercise sheet with his bonnet,” Jemma told H&H.

“The driver then swerved, skidded on a puddle, then swerved back on to his side of the road. I’ve never screamed like it in my life, it was absolutely terrifying to look down and see a van actually touch my horse.”

Jemma said Sizzler, who is coming back into work after a tendon injury, did not spook as the van only made contact with the exercise sheet.

“I shouted at the driver and said ‘will you not slow down on a blind bend?’ and I got a load of abuse back. He said I shouldn’t be on the road or riding on a corner – then he sped off. At the time of the incident we were only allowed to hack on my vet’s advice because of Sizzler’s injury as the sand school was too deep for him,” she said.

“The driver didn’t hit my horse but he still touched us with his vehicle, it was awful. I carried on and held my breath until I got off the road and into the woods, I was shaking.”

Jemma said this is not the first incident she’s faced on the roads.

“I had an issue with a lorry a few weeks earlier where it didn’t stop on a narrow country lane and scraped my stirrup as it passed. I remember Sizzler shaking but he didn’t move, we have a really good bond and I trust him,” she said.

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“If I could avoid going on roads I would but unfortunately for a lot of yards in the area it’s not possible. We need to use the road for about 20 minutes to get off-road. We constantly face cars speeding past us.”

Jemma reported the incident to the British Horse Society and plans to get a hat camera in the future.

“Cameras are such a safety precaution so my parents are going to get me one for Christmas. I’m worried something else could happen on the roads, it’s so easily done when drivers aren’t slowing down. A lot of the people from my yard have faced incidents too; we just want to enjoy our horses,” she said.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

If there’s one young stallion you should know about right now, it’s Springbank II VH.

This four-year-old Danish warmblood stallion, by the grand prix sire Skovens Rafael out of the De Niro mare De La Reinne VH, claimed an emphatic victory at the Breeders’ Trophy in Sweden earlier this month and it was none other than Charlotte Dujardin who awarded him the maximum marks.

For the third year in a row, Charlotte was the test rider for this final, and made no secret of how she felt about the spirited little chestnut stallion, who was presented by Spanish Olympian Severo Juardo López.

“It’s like getting in a Rolls Royce and just cruising,” she exclaimed as she put Springbank through his paces in front of an appreciative crowd. “He’s super hot and very sensitive off my leg. I touch, I breathe, and he goes. He’s everything I dream of — my ideal man. I’d even trade him for my fiancé!” she joked.

The compliments kept coming, with Charlotte declaring: “He’s the best four-year-old I’ve ever sat on.”

She rode him mostly in rising trot, explaining that she rarely did sitting trot with four-year-olds as it’s so important to keep the horse loose and swinging through the back. Springbank showed absolutely no sign of stiffness; in fact Charlotte couldn’t find a single weakness during her ride.

“If I could give him 100 out of 100 I would — 10 is not enough,” said Charlotte, who went on to award the young stallion full marks. “I can’t think what more I could want from him aged four: he has the ability to go and come back, he has power and balance and suppleness, he’s an absolute dream in the contact. There’s nothing I would change and I’m very jealous that I have to give him back.

“You always wonder what these stallions will feel like to ride, whether it feels as good as it looks and with him it does. Talk about putting a smile on your face — not even chocolate cake can make you feel this good!”

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Springbank, who was bred at the Västra Hoby Stud in Sweden and is owned by the stud and Hennix Horses, stood head and shoulders above his competition with an overall score of 96.5% — making it the second year in a row he has triumphed in the Breeders’ Trophy. He went on to triumph in the four-year-old division of the Danish Young Horse Championships the following week.

Springbank currently stands at Helgstrand Dressage in Denmark and has limited semen available for a fee of €1200 + VAT.

Photo courtesy of swedehorse.swb.org

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

A rider who had essentially retired her horse owing to his “dangerous” behaviour, for which no one could find a cause, is back in the saddle after a bean was removed from his sheath.

Wendy Chriss’s thoroughbred gelding Scooby had been out of work for the best part of four years but despite the best efforts of a vet, saddler and physio, no cause for his issues could be found – until Tracey “the Bean Queen” Freeman paid a visit.

Wendy told H&H she first realised something was wrong when she tried to saddle Scooby in 2014, and he started “shaking uncontrollably”.

She had his saddle and back checked but nothing could be found.

“Every time I tried to get on, he’d shoot backwards,” Wendy said.

“It was quite scary, and I’d never been scared before. My husband told me I must be losing my bottle – then he saw it happen one day, and he said: ‘get off that horse now’.”

Wendy turned Scooby away for the winter but the next spring, he was the same. She had him scoped for ulcers to no avail, but also noticed he would continually rest his off hind leg, while weeing, and even if his left fore foot was picked up.

So the now 20-year-old gelding could not be ridden – until this year, a friend mentioned Tracey, of Sheath Cleaning UK.

“Because it costs £25, I thought I’d get all the horses done,” Wendy said. “Tracey was telling me about all the symptoms of having these beans and my daughter said: ‘That sounds like Scooby, Mum’.

“Then Tracey put her hand in and said: ‘We’ve got a big one’.

“We’ve now had him back in work two weeks and haven’t had a single problem; for £25, I can’t believe what she’s done. I’ve wasted four years and I’m gutted, but so relieved to be back on.”

Wendy wants other owners to be aware of the issue, as she said she had never heard of sheath beans in her years of owning horses.

“This story needs to get out,” she said. “How many horses are like this? I could have had him put down because he was dangerous, or he’d have been retired – but thanks to Tracey, I’ve got my horse back. I’m so pleased.”

Beans form from a build-up of smegma, which calcifies into hard lumps inside the sheath.

“They call them beans but they’re rock-hard; it must be like walking round with a big stone in your shoe, that you can’t get rid of,” she said. “I’ve had horses who had just stopped going forward, or had just gone off the job, and since I’ve taken the beans out, they’re back to their best.”

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Tracey said she also wants to raise awareness of the effects beans seem to have.

“Every time I pull one out – and I must have done thousands – I look at it and think ‘oh my God, how has this horse been functioning?’” she said.

“It’s so rewarding; I’ve had people ringing me in tears saying I’ve given them their horse back; Wendy’s horse is one of many.

“It’s trying to make people aware; horses like Wendy’s could have ended up being put down but it’s lovely to see her riding again.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Jonty Evans is back in the saddle of his Olympic ride Cooley Rorkes Drift (Art) – which he says is “where I’m meant to be”.

The Irish eventer told H&H he rode two other horses before he was reunited with his crowdfunded top ride this week.

“The other horses were known for being quiet and well-behaved – but I got slightly fed up with having to kick,” he said.

“I had been being a bit precious about Art but when I got fed up, I went for a hack on him, and it was amazing.

“It’s as if sitting in his saddle is where I’m meant to be.”

Jonty was in a coma for six weeks following a cross-country fall from Art in June, in which he sustained a serious head injury, and has since been undergoing intensive rehabilitation.

“I haven’t been in the school on Art yet; it’s about being a bit precious again as everything he’s ever done in the school has been good and I don’t want to make that any different at the moment,” he said.

“Art’s so good; even if he spooks, he warns you beforehand. The other day, he spooked at a gate on the floor but he let me know he was going to do it about 10 strides earlier, so I was ready for it and he was fine.”

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Jonty said he has been trotting while hacking, and although he has been “tempted” by an inviting grassy verge, has not yet cantered, or jumped, and does not have a fixed plan as to his progression with riding.

“I have never been very good at this but now I’m literally just going to take each day as it comes, one at a time,” he said.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

A teenager who has been volunteering with the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) for two years says the organisation “saved him”.

James Wiseman spoke at a parliamentary reception on Wednesday (6 February) at which the RDA, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, presented a report on the benefits of volunteering.

In investigations funded by Sport England, the RDA looked into who its 18,000 “vital” volunteers are, and how they feel about giving up their time.

The report focused on the “dual benefit” of volunteering for the RDA – not only does it mean participants can benefit from riding and carriage driving, the volunteers themselves enjoy benefits to their mental and physical health.

James, a carriage driving coach who also volunteers with riding activities at the Park Lane Stables RDA in London, said that two years ago, he would not have been able to address guests in the House of Commons, including MPs and charity supporters.

“My home life was a struggle so I wasn’t outgoing and I struggled with depression,” he said. “The yard helped me better myself; they showed me what was right and wrong and that the way the boys in my area were going wasn’t right.”

James told H&H he had been riding at Park Lane Stables before he started volunteering with the RDA group, and that at first he just “helped out with the heavy lifting” as it “saved paying for a gym and you make new friends”.

But he moved on to more regular volunteering, eventually earning his certificate as a carriage driving coach.

“I hadn’t done well at school; I always tried but had never passed anything in my life, that was my first ever certificate,” he said. “Helping with the horses and the groups made me feel needed. My confidence went up, and my depression went down.

“It saved me really. Natalie [O’Rourke, the yard owner] takes people and fixes them; she changes them into proper people.”

Asked where he would be without the RDA, James said: “Probably selling drugs, like the other boys in my area, causing problems, harassing locals and selling things I shouldn’t have my hands on. I could even have been stabbed – people I know have been – and I didn’t want that. Why would I want to ruin my life any more?

Continues below…

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“So Natalie sorted me out, and now I know I can get success if I keep pushing; that’s what I want.

“It feels too good to go backwards. I want to stay with horses, and maybe go into the Army, the King’s Troop.

“But I’ll still volunteer with the RDA, they’re stuck with me for the next 50 years.”

For more on the RDA report and its implications, see next week’s H&H magazine, out 14 February.

Irish Olympian Jonty Evans has sung the praises of his Rio 2016 ride Cooley Rorkes Drift, on whom he has jumped cross-country fences for the first time since his fall.

Jonty, who spent six weeks in a coma last summer, was filmed popping “Art” over some logs at Brian and Pammy Hutton’s Tallands centre last Friday (22 February).

Jonty told H&H Brian had suggested “having a canter round” in the field.

“He didn’t say anything about jumping!” Jonty said.

“A few people have asked, ‘were you nervous or anxious’ and I wasn’t at all.

“When I jumped my first showjump, I wasn’t that excited – but when I jumped this first cross-country jump, it was really exciting.”

In an interview last September, Jonty said his aim was to ride again, although that was “not meant to be part of the conversation”.

Three months later, he was hacking out on Art and in early February, he jumped his first fence on a surface.

Asked what the plan is now, he said: “The plan is that there isn’t a plan. I want to keep going, and getting better, and for Art to keep listening to me and getting better.

“I was doing flatwork this morning (27 February) in the same field and he was absolutely brilliant; I can’t tell you how good.

“I think the big thing to remember is that life’s going to be very different – there’s no getting away from that – but different doesn’t mean worse.”

Jonty paid tribute to his horse, whom he secured through a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2017.

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‘The aim is to ride again’: Jonty Evans talks rehab and his ‘remarkable’ progress

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Jonty Evans jumps for first time since cross-country accident

The Irish Olympic event rider was full of praise for his horse, Cooley Rorkes Drift, as well as Brian and

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“I think his intelligence is what allowed him to do so well in Rio [the combination finished ninth],” he said.

“He can go to Rio, have a look round and do the job, and he can be back here and have me flopping around, and do the job; he just gets on with it. I’m very, very lucky to have him; what he does for me is incredible.”

Jonty believes that had the horse still belonged to an owner, he might have lost the ride by now.

“That doesn’t bear thinking about, that I wouldn’t have been with him,” he said.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

British Horse Society (BHS) chief executive Lynn Petersen has announced she is retiring after six years in the job.

Ms Petersen said she had “loved every minute” of her time at the helm of the charity, membership of which has grown by 43% during that time.

“The time has come for me to move on and forge another path, and to retire from the post of CEO,” she said in an email to members today (12 March).

“I have loved being your CEO. Together we have moved the society forward in so many ways – membership, education, welfare, safety, access. Today we are better and stronger in every way.

“We have learned that change is a fundamental part of life… and so it is with the role of CEO. It is time for an exciting change for the society.”

Ms Petersen said membership income has increased by more than 70% during her time as CEO, adding that the charity’s income has “never been stronger, ensuring we can serve the needs of a growing number of horses and riders”.

“With the growth in membership and income we have witnessed a growth in professional staff of 60% since 2013 all of whom seek to support over 1,000 volunteers across the UK,” she said. “Without their efforts and dedication, the BHS could not have experienced such remarkable growth and success.”

Ms Petersen mentioned the upgrading of the BHS education system, which she said has led to a 53% increase in the number of candidates, and said this year the BHS Challenge Awards will be launched, allowing leisure riders to qualify for 26 different titles.

Continues below…

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She cited the 2018 launch of BHS on the move, a “travelling classroom” that will continue to deliver training and education nationally, the Dead or Dead Slow road safety campaign and the successful Changing Lives Through Horses scheme, as well as the BHS’s work on access to safe off-road riding.

“With the evident success of the BHS over the past six years has come a renaissance in the influence of the BHS within the UK’s equine community. The wise counsel of the society is now actively sought within industry associations and, most importantly, government.

“I have loved every minute of serving you, our members, and the horses of the United Kingdom. Thank you very much for the opportunity.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Dannie Morgan continued his championship winning streak to complete his hat-trick of 2019 NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championship titles.

Dannie topped the Suregrow elementary freestyle gold class on a huge score of 78.78% aboard Headmore Figaro (“Jack”).

The Headmore Stud, which has had a fantastic championships, dominated the podium with Alice Oppenheimer taking second and third aboard Headmore Dionysus (78.21%) and Headmore Bella Ruby (77.37%) respectively. All of the top three were bred and are owned by Sarah Oppenheimer.

“It is really special with Jack as I backed him as a three-year-old and trained him myself,” said Dannie, who rode to music by legendary composer Hans Zimmer.

“I know he is a smart horse and we tried to design a difficult, interesting floorplan for him. It suited us to be first to go this morning as it was nice and quiet in there.

“I thought ‘I’m going to have to try to pull out something special at that time of day to make the judges take notice’.

“From counter canter I go into medium canter on the diagonal to the centre line, followed by a simple change right in front of the judges, so I hoped that would make them sit up!

“I was sitting watching Alice’s test when I saw the score come through, I turned and showed [the screen] to Sarah in disbelief.”

Dannie, who combines dressage with eventing up to intermediate, and Knoxx’s Figaro claimed their second title as a combination in as many days (pictured, top).

“Fig” impressed the judges in the Nupafeed advanced medium freestyle gold with their routine to a War Of The Worlds soundtrack to add that title to yesterday’s Charles Owen advanced medium gold win.

The pair posted yet another huge score of 76.06% to win by more than 3%.

Jayne Turney took both second and third aboard the pint-sized dressage star Cruz 111 (72.83%) and Penhaligon’s Jupiter (72.78%).

“I’m a bit speechless as it is not often you’ll have a couple of days like this,” added Dannie, adding the horse was “amazing”. “Fig was so good yesterday that I just went in there to enjoy it.”

Article continues below…

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Katie Bailey won her second championship title, following up on her Magic PSG freestyle victory on Friday with a win in the Theraplate UK medium gold on her own Hillgrounds Wolkenhall, who she bought as a foal.

The pair scored 75.32% to take the title, with Becky Moody and Heavenly Kiss BS second (72.26%) and Becky Edwards riding Lawrke Stensvang in third (71.67%).

“He felt amazing at the regionals and got a fabulous score there,” said Katie, adding he felt great today as well.

“He knocked himself last week so had a week off and hasn’t had as much preparation as I would have liked, but he did give me a really great feel.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday