Military riders and cyclists have taken part in a 100km ride to mark a century since the end of the First World War and raise funds for the Royal British Legion.

On 10 August 48 riders, cyclists and support crew from the UK, Isle of Man, Channel Islands Australia, New Zealand and Canada left from Kent to travel across the battlefields of France to conclude in Ypres, Belgium on a ride called The Last Hurrah.

The ride, organised by historian Andy Smerdon and Major Will McGill, sought to remember the men, women and equines who gave their lives in the Great War.

Army reservist and military rider Daniel Petho told H&H: “The last 100 days of the First World War was the last big Allied push to break the German lines which ultimately lead to the ending of four long years of severe bloodshed, on Armistice Day in November.

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“The reality of how life was then for cavalry troops is something you can only experience by recreating it, you just don’t get that immersive feel watching it on television, it was surreal.”

Andy Smerdon said: “In these last days of the war, it was very much back to the old cavalry days becoming a war of movement again.”

The ride began in the Amiens region of France, stopping at locations including the Somme memorial at Thiepval, the battlefield of Pozéres, the Tyne Cot War Cemetery and the battlefield of Polygon Wood along the way.

“The ride was advertised by mayors of the towns. Lots of people came to see us from the local towns and had a procession – it was really spectacular. Some of these towns were central points of the war and the commemoration is really engrained there,” said Daniel.

The regiments represented in the ride were:

The Royal Flying Corps; The Household Cavalry; The Royal Engineers; The 16^th Lancers; The Essex Yeomanry; The Duke of Lancasters Own Yeomanry; Northumberland Hussars and The Queens Royal Hussars; The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps; The Royal Artillery; The Canadian Cavalry Divisions; and Royal Service Corps

“Every rider present represented his own regiments or regiments of personal links,” said Daniel “One of the riders is currently a farrier who was supplied by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.”

The riders recreated the Battle of Moreiul Wood (30 March 1918) in full 1918 period kit.

“With the heavy kit required to be carried for long periods and then taken into battle is a testament to how fit and robust the horses were back in the early 1900s,” said Daniel.

The ride was also granted access to parade the horses through the Menin Gate at Belgium, where 55,000 names of missing soldiers to 1916 are recorded, the only cavalry unit to have done this since the end of the First World War.

The very notion that we have been given this special privilege to be the first and only to parade was very emotional to me as we marched through. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I’ll never forget,” said Daniel.

Gary Crosbie and Sarah Lentle of Casting Horses and Nikky Willis of Horses4History supplied horses.

“All the horses supplied were worth their weight in gold, they didn’t put a foot wrong. When we had the cavalry charge, it really felt like a charge – they are jousting horses and knew what was coming.  There were various breeds involved and even a mule,” said Daniel.

A Cleveland Bay was also represented in the ride owned by RAF Wing Commander Russ Gleeson, who laid a wreath on behalf of the RAF 100 and the Cleveland Bay Society.

Russ said: “By the early 1900s the breed was in decline but the matter made worse by the First World War where many Clevelands were lost on the battlefields of France and Belgium. The fact they adapted well to the role of artillery horses potentially sealed their own fate.”

“The experience was exhilarating. For me being military, it was having that special connection for those that have perished from my regiment – it really was something nice to commemorate them. We loved every minute of it,” said Daniel.

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A rider who has not eaten solid food for 18 months, whose joints dislocate every day and who also suffers from heart and blood pressure issues says she would rather risk a shorter life and do what she loves than give up being with her horses.

Ali Hirsz suffers from a rare form of genetic condition Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder.

Her joints “pop out a lot” and she suffers with very fragile skin, as well as the heart and blood pressure issues.

She also has two horses, former racehorse Socks and part-bred Welsh So And So, whom she says have kept her going through tough times since – and before – her diagnosis at the age of 18 last year.

In May 2018, she underwent surgery relating to the EDS and when she came round, she was unable to keep any food down.

At first it was thought this was a result of the general anaesthetic but in the September, she was taken to hospital in such a critically malnourished state, her liver was starting to shut down.

It was discovered that her digestive system was rejecting all food, so although at first she was fed through a nasal tube into her stomach, and then directly to her small intestines, neither worked.

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“Throughout, I was still riding,” Ali told H&H.

“Sometimes, when the tube was into my stomach and Socks got bouncy, I’d be sick up the tube and have to go to hospital. Once, he grabbed the end of the tube, and I thought: ‘Oh my god, let go!”

Ali was jumping her horses in January this year, but in February, was taken back to hospital, again in a critically malnourished state.

“The tube wasn’t working,” she said. “I had to go into a special gastric ward till March, when they said: ‘Let’s try something else’. That was a very long six weeks.”

In a risky procedure, doctors inserted a pick line in Ali’s arm, which takes essential nutrients straight to her heart, bypassing her digestive system completely.

She has to have the line connected for 14 hours a day, and while there is a high risk of any infection also going straight to her heart, it is the only way to get the nutrients she needs.

“I used to work in a vet’s and preparing to put the tube in is like preparing for surgery there!” Ali said. “I prefer to do it overnight as I’m so active during the day, and I’ve learned to cope with it at night. People say it’s crazy but there wasn’t much choice.”

At one point, Ali’s tube had to be replaced and she was called into hospital – but Socks became ill.

“I said ‘Can you hang on for a bit?’” Ali said. “He had a tooth abscess; he had to have a tube in his sinus and I was draining it and flushing it, while they were getting ready to take his tooth out. I was getting calls from the doctor every day, asking if I could go in, and I’d be saying: ‘Hang on a minute, my horse is sick!’

“Then I did go, had the bigger tube in, they sent me home two weeks later and I’ve been here ever since.”

Ali has had to overcome even more challenges to be able to return to the saddle – she had to learn to ride one-handed, as any pulling on the arm with the line could make it bleed. But the tube is in her right arm, and doctors said riding just with her left hand put added pressure on her left shoulder, the muscle of which has snapped owing to the EDS and needs surgery.

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“So I had to go back to riding with two hands, and teach the horses to be gentle,” Ali said, adding that while doctors had hoped that after a rest, her digestive system might be able to cope again, there has been no sign of this so far.

“It definitely gets me down,” she said. “Some days, I’ll sit in my room, bawling my eyes out.

“I dislocated my neck and doctors said I couldn’t ride any more as if I hit my spinal cord, I’d be paralysed from the neck down. It took me ages to think about it but the more I did, the more I thought I’d keep doing what I’m doing.

“If I had a really long life but not doing what I like, what would be the point? I’d rather have a shorter life doing what I love – and horses are what I love.”

Ali said that while she is in hospital, she feels like a number, that “the illness is you”, but at home, the horses are in a field minutes away from her parents’ home.

“I’m incredibly lucky to have that,” she said. “I’m very lucky to have my two horses and I’ve got a unique relationship with them. I think if I didn’t have them, I’d have nothing to get out of bed for.

“Sometimes, my joints are so bad, my shoulder’s playing up, sometimes I need walking aids, but even if I have to hobble down there, it’s worth it.”

Ali said the riding and activity has also helped keep her joints more stable – but she would continue even if this were not the case.

“With the eating, doctors have said if I catch an infection, that could be it – but I’d rather go that way than sit around waiting for something to happen. I wouldn’t be able to sit here and let my illness control my life,” she said.

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“I have to take my temperature every day and you never know when an infection might hit, which is scary, but it could be years; I could be 60 and still pottering about, it’s just one of those things, and I’d like to know I’m doing all I can.

“That’s why I’m trying to achieve milestones with the horses. My partner rides with me and both horses are in such a good place; it’s so good to know I’ve done that, despite everything.

“If something does happen, I know I’ve had a fulfilling life; that’s all anyone can ask for.”

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A rider whose horse rolled on her when they fell while cross-country schooling has spoken of the importance of wearing an air jacket.

Madeleine Hubel, from York, was taking part at a training camp over 90cm fences on Saturday (28 September) when her 16hh Irish mare Holly caught her back legs over a jump.

“I jumped a drop down into water and was really pleased with Holly and then the last thing I remember is taking off at a jump coming out of the water,” Madeleine told H&H.

“I was told by my friend, Charlotte, Holly jumped really boldly and ended up straddling the fence. I nose-dived to the ground and Holly followed, landed behind me then rolled on my legs and pelvis.”

Madeleine said the next thing she remembers is the noise of the Midlands Air Ambulance landing.

“I was vaguely aware of where I was but Charlotte said I wasn’t making much sense. My instructor, Niki de Macedo, looked after me until the paramedics arrived and I was taken to the hospital,” she said.

“I had a CT scan and X-rays to check my pelvis but the doctors eliminated any serious injuries quite quickly. I had a gravel rash down my cheek, a burst lip and I broke both my wrists.”

Madeleine had surgery to insert pins in her wrists on Sunday.

“I can’t ride for six weeks and feel a bit useless having two arms out of action. Holly is kept at Charlotte’s yard so she is going to look after her. Thankfully Holly was absolutely fine after the fall and will have a holiday while I can’t ride. She’s a tough cookie and she’s such an easy horse, you can pick her up and put her down,” she said.

“I will miss riding but it’s one of those things. I’m looking forward to getting back on and hope to go cross-country schooling in spring. At the moment I don’t have any nerves about getting back on because I know it was a freak accident wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

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Madeleine said the doctors believed the air jacket prevented Madeleine suffering any further injuries and she has urged others to consider wearing one.

“The combination of my air jacket, body-protector and hat really helped and I’ve been very lucky. Niki thinks it saved my life. If I hadn’t had the air jacket things would have been a lot worse,” she said.

“Air jackets provide an additional safety level and what’s a few hundred of pounds for safety? Some riders competing at lower levels think they might not need one but it doesn’t matter if you’re jumping 50cm or a metre – you’re still putting yourself in danger – you hope not, but there are still risks.”

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Find out what some of the world’s top event riders, such as Pippa Funnell, Tina Cook and Nicola Wilson make of this year’s Badminton cross-country course

This year’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course is as big and bold as ever. The track is designed by Eric Winter, and is 6697m in length with an optimum time of 11min 45sec.

Pippa Funnell said: “I think it’s a very clever course with how the course designer has used the terrain. There are plenty of places where a horse will really have to use its footwork. The fences invite you to ride and attack the course and there are certainly places where you have got to be accurate.”

Tina Cook said: “There are a few combinations where the striding could be quite interesting where, as a rider, it’s going to be difficult to know what your horse is going to go on, jumping off the bank and out of The Lake the direct way, for example. So you will have to ride with feel and be positive with the horses.”

Gemma Tattersall said: “There are some really tricky distances where horses are going to have to have really good footwork. But, maybe it’s not as tough as past Badmintons.”

Chris Burton said: “Eric has designed a few tricky lines and a few things to make us think, so we’ll see how it goes.”

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Nicola Wilson said: “It’s massive from start to finish with questions one after the other.”

Emily King said: “It’s a really big, bold, attacking course, but with fairly-built questions for the horses. There are a couple of distances that are a bit unusual so we’ll have to work them out.”

Read our full Badminton form guide in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound (issue dated 2 May 2019).

Our bumper 25-page Badminton report will be in our 9 May issue, including opinion from Mark Phillips and Peter Storr.

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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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“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.

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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?

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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.

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 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.”

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