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.”

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.

British Olympic dressage rider Laura Tomlinson has revealed that she is pregnant with her third child.

H&H columnist Laura and her husband, the international England polo player Mark Tomlinson, are expecting the new addition to their family in the middle of January. The couple already have a four-year-old daughter, Annalisa (pictured with Laura, above), and one-year-old son, Wilfred.

“Mark and I are excited to be expecting our third child in mid-January, and I’m very pleased with the timing, as it will hopefully allow me to be back in competition for next season,” Laura told H&H.

A member of the gold-medal winning British team at the London Olympics in 2012 with Mistral Hojris (Alf), and also winner of the individual bronze medal there, Gloucestershire-based Laura has spent the past five years successfully juggling motherhood with bringing on her young grand prix prospects.

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At five months pregnant she is continuing to ride and compete, as she did during her two previous pregnancies, and will take two of her rising stars to the British Dressage National Championships at Stoneleigh this weekend (20-23 September).

Her current top ride is Duval’s Capri Sonne Jr, the 11-year-old Rhodium stallion whom she has campaigned internationally at Aachen, Rotterdam and Hickstead CDI3*s this year. He will contest the grand prix at Stoneleigh.

Laura will also ride the eight-year-old gelding Fallatijn Van Kairos, whom she has previously described as like a “mini Alf”, at the national championships, at prix st georges (PSG).

Don’t miss Laura’s exclusive column in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound, as part of the bumper report from the World Equestrian Games dressage and eventing, on sale from 20 September.

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

Britain’s Spencer Wilton has withdrawn from today grand prix special at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina.

Spencer and his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II helped Britain win team bronze yesterday, but the 15-year-old De Niro gelding, known as Neville, was not feeling 100% today after getting excited in yesterday’s medal ceremony.

“I’m obviously devastated for myself and Jen as we were so looking forward to building on what we achieved in the grand prix,” said Spencer. “Prize-givings are not Neville’s favourite thing and normally I wouldn’t do them but we’re at a championship.

“I helped the team secure qualification for Tokyo 2020 and that was my primary focus, so with that in mind, Neville’s welfare was key to this tough decision.”

Britain’s Emile Faurie and Dono Di Maggio are currently lying 19th, having scored 70.38%. Emile reported that the huge 18hh gelding was feeling the humidity and the heat, which had reached 30 degrees.

“It was not easy today; he’s a massive horse and he struggled with the heat. The tank was a bit empty,” Emile told H&H. “With these big horses it takes a bit longer to get the strength too, but this has been a great experience for him. I’m really happy with him — he really tried. He’s a fantastic horse and I just know he’s going to be really great for the future.”

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Sweden’s Juliette Ramel is currently leading the grand prix with Buriel KH, having scored a personal best of 77.28% with a brilliant performance. Her Swedish teammate Therese Nilshagen is lying second with Dante Weltino, on 75.82%.

Britain’s Carl Hester will ride his own, Ann Cory and Anne Evans’ Hawtins Delicato in the special at 4.10pm (9.10pm UK time), with Charlotte Dujardin the penultimate rider of the class, beginning her test with Emma and Jill Blundell’s Mount St John Freestyle at 5pm (10pm UK time).

Bella Innes Ker and Carolyn (pictured), a 14-year-old owned by Bella’s mother, the Duchess of Roxburghe, have a commanding lead in the CCI3* at the SsangYong Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials (13-16 September) after the dressage phase. The pair scored 24.4 to sit 2.3 penalties ahead of second-placed Pippa Funnell and MGH Grafton Street.

“I’m shell shocked,” said Bella, who is just 24. “Carolyn, or ‘Princess’ as we call her at home as she is quite a sassy mare, is a great dressage horse — she makes my job easy.

“I had high expectations for us in this phase and it’s lovely when that expectation turns into this sort of result.”

Bella, who is based in the Scottish Borders at Floors Castle, but is moving to Ireland in a month’s time to train with an event rider, said that she has been training hard with dressage rider and judge, Harry Payne.

“Working with Harry has really benefited my dressage riding,” explained Bella. “He has given me a great insight into what the judges are looking for — it has taught me how to try and ride for every mark.”

Bella, who recently graduated from university with a degree in sports management joked she is “now walking the cross-country course 1,000 times”.

“Carolyn isn’t the speediest of horses out there, so I’m trying to work out how I can get the best round possible from her. It feels really special to be competing here and we’re going to go for it.”

Kitty King is in third with Ceylor L A N on 27, while Oliver Townend is fourth with Ulises. Nineteen-year-old British rider Richard Coney is fifth with Kananaskis. It’s tight at the top, with just 5.2 penalties separating the top 10.

The CCI3* cross-country gets underway tomorrow at 11.30am.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest reports from Blenheim via horseandhound.co.uk and don’t miss the full report in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, out on 20 September

A British rider and a horse whose heart is “the size of the arena” pulled out all the stops to record a personal best in yesterday’s (13 September) reining competition at the World Equestrian Games, but it was just not enough to progress.

Francesca Sternberg, from Kent, and Rosanne Sternberg’s Spook N Sparkle had qualified for the second individual qualifying round of the Johnson Controls reining competition at Tryon International Equestrian Center by finishing in 26th place in the first round.

Tenth into the arena, the combination gave a performance good enough for a personal best final score of 220. They finished in joint seventh place, but only the top five qualified for Saturday’s final, along with the top 15 from the previous day.

But Francesca was delighted with eight-year-old palomino gelding “Charlie”.

“It was Charlie’s personal best and I am so proud,” she said. “I haven’t ridden this horse for two years as he’s my sisters’ horse and my niece competes him so I am extremely grateful to them for lending him.

“He’s probably one of the smallest horses here so to have to go twice in two days, his little legs really had to try. His heart is the size of this arena and I want to take him home to England and keep him for ever!”

Fellow British reiner Alison Bucknell and her own Jac Barbee Dream had also competed in the first round, finishing in 54th place.

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The reining finalists now have a rest day before the individual final on Saturday, when the medals will be decided.

In the team competition, the US won gold, Belgium took silver and Germany the bronze medals.

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September.

By Penny Richardson

The name Whitaker is synonymous with Olympia, the London International Horse Show and on the show’s “super Saturday”, William Whitaker became the latest member of his illustrious family to win the prestigious Longines World Cup qualifier.

William and the Criel family’s wonderful Utamaro D’Ecaussines (Uti) had to do it the hard way, as they were seventh to go in a star-studded 18-horse jump-off .

“I told myself that I didn’t know how many chances I might get in a World Cup here and that I mustn’t go defensive in the jump-off,” said William.

Uti must have heard him. The little 14-year-old stallion set off at fast as he could go. He may not have the longest stride of any horse on the circuit, but what he does have is an enormous heart and their round was sheer perfection. They never wasted an inch and William crossed the line at the gallop to take the lead by more than two seconds.

The Yorkshireman then had to suffer what must have seemed the longest half an hour of his life.

Challenges came and went, with pre-class favourites Marcus Ehning and Pret A Tout beating the time at the expense of a pole down. Belgium’s Karel Cox came extremely close for the runner-up spot on Evert and when the last pair of Laura Kraut and Zeremonie’s time was good enough for third place, William’s leap in the collecting ring almost rivalled those of his horse.

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“This is by far my best ever win. I’ve been coming here since I was two and I got used to watching my uncles John and Michael winning the World Cup,” said William.

“I always wondered what it would be like to win something like this and now I have it hasn’t really sunk in. The whole thing is totally surreal.”

Don’t miss a moment of H&H’s extensive coverage. Check out dressage and Wednesday-Saturday showjumping reports in the 28 December issue (out Friday, not Thursday this week because of Christmas schedules), while showing, driving and Sunday showjumping coverage will be in the 3 January 2019 issue.

By Penny Richardson

The name Whitaker is synonymous with Olympia, the London International Horse Show and on the show’s “super Saturday”, William Whitaker became the latest member of his illustrious family to win the prestigious Longines World Cup qualifier.

William and the Criel family’s wonderful Utamaro D’Ecaussines (Uti) had to do it the hard way, as they were seventh to go in a star-studded 18-horse jump-off .

“I told myself that I didn’t know how many chances I might get in a World Cup here and that I mustn’t go defensive in the jump-off,” said William.

Uti must have heard him. The little 14-year-old stallion set off at fast as he could go. He may not have the longest stride of any horse on the circuit, but what he does have is an enormous heart and their round was sheer perfection. They never wasted an inch and William crossed the line at the gallop to take the lead by more than two seconds.

The Yorkshireman then had to suffer what must have seemed the longest half an hour of his life.

Challenges came and went, with pre-class favourites Marcus Ehning and Pret A Tout beating the time at the expense of a pole down. Belgium’s Karel Cox came extremely close for the runner-up spot on Evert and when the last pair of Laura Kraut and Zeremonie’s time was good enough for third place, William’s leap in the collecting ring almost rivalled those of his horse.

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“This is by far my best ever win. I’ve been coming here since I was two and I got used to watching my uncles John and Michael winning the World Cup,” said William.

“I always wondered what it would be like to win something like this and now I have it hasn’t really sunk in. The whole thing is totally surreal.”

Don’t miss a moment of H&H’s extensive coverage. Check out dressage and Wednesday-Saturday showjumping reports in the 28 December issue (out Friday, not Thursday this week because of Christmas schedules), while showing, driving and Sunday showjumping coverage will be in the 3 January 2019 issue.

ITV racing presenter Chris Hughes and Flat jockey Kieran Shoemark have spoken about their struggles to encourage others to do the same.

The pair have teamed up with Movember, the first official charity partner of QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot (19 October), to raise awareness of men’s health issues.

Kieran, who has served a suspension from racing following a failed drugs test nearly a year ago, explained how opening up was the turning point for getting his life back.

“I certainly struggled to open up, I kind of didn’t know how to,” he said.

“I spoke to many people because I was forced to. They knew something was up and I didn’t really know myself. Sometimes you can’t even recognise it yourself and other people spot it before you.

“Since I asked for help, I can’t stress how drastically my life has changed beyond mine and anyone’s recognition.”

Chris and Kieran were talking in the Movember Man Van, which will be at Ascot on Saturday offering men’s health advice, free haircuts and shoe shines.

“Kieran and I have had quite different experiences but we both found that opening up and talking about what we were going through was the best thing we could have done,” said Chris, who did a stint on Love Island and is now a presenter on ITV Racing.

“As men we do sometimes feel like we can’t be honest or show our vulnerability but the sooner you open up, the better. Hopefully by sharing our stories we can encourage other men to seek the help they might need.”

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Movember is a charity that aims to challenge the way men’s health is approached and supported.
Prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention are among the areas the charity is addressing.

Since 2003, it has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects globally and is aiming to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25% by 2030.

“We’re proud to have Movember as the official charity partner of QIPCO British Champions Series and for the Movember Man Van to be on course for QIPCO British Champions Day, helping to raise awareness about the vital work they do tackling the biggest health issues facing men,” said British Champions Series chief executive Rod Street.

“With free haircuts and much more on offer, I hope everyone is able to stop by to enrich what will already be a fantastic day.”

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