Top British showjumpers including the 2018 joint puissance winners will be out in force at Olympia, The London International Horse Show (16 to 22 December) as they battle competition including six of the world’s top 10 riders across the week.

Ben Maher, Scott Brash, Robert and William Whitaker, Guy Williams, Laura Renwick, Holly Smith and William Funnell are among the riders set to compete in this year’s classes.

A spokesman for the show said Guy Williams will be looking to retain his puissance title following a thrilling five-round contest in 2018 in which he and Mr Blue Sky finished equal first with French rider Mathieu Billot on Dassler.

“Williams, notorious for his speed against the clock, will be sure to have the home crowd on their feet throughout the week, as he takes on old rivals William Funnell and Laura Renwick, both of whom are also renowned for their speed and agility,” said the spokesman.

“Robert Whitaker is another to come to this year’s show high in confidence following his World Cup victory in Helsinki. He will be joined by Holly Smith, a member of the 2019 European Championship bronze medal-winning team which secured Great Britain their ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”

British young riders Emilly Moffitt, Amy Inglis, Harry Charles and James Wilson will also compete, all of whom have represented Britain on senior Nations Cup squads this season.

The Brits will face tough competition from world number one and two Swiss riders Steve Guerdat and Martin Fuchs.

“Steve Guerdat will be returning to London, the scene of his 2012 Olympic individual gold medal, looking to ride out a spectacular season on a high,” said the spokesman.

“Germany will also be sending a strong contingent, headed by world number three Daniel Deusser, a recent winner at the CSI5* in Prague, alongside Christian Ahlmann, currently ranked ninth in the world and always a consistent performer at Olympia. Adding to the German line-up is show jumping legend Marcus Ehning, who will be vying for a victory to round off a successful 2019 season.

Three riders will attend from Belgium including world number six Pieter Devos,

“Pieter is sure to mount a strong challenge following his recent victory in the World Cup of Stuttgart. He will be joined by his 2019 European Championship gold medal winning teammate Jos Verlooy, along with Niels Bruynseels and Olivier Philippaerts,” said the spokesman.

“Flying the flag for the USA is World Equestrian Games team gold medalist Laura Kraut.”

Show director Simon Brooks said the show had received an “outstanding” list of entries.

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“We are very much looking forward to welcoming the world’s best to the show for what is set to be another fantastic competition,” he said.

“It’s rare for British fans to have the opportunity to witness so many quality athletes under one roof and we’re really excited to see how the action unfolds.”

To purchase tickets for Olympia, please visit www.olympiahorseshow.com or telephone the box office on 0871 230 5580.

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International dressage rider Sarah Millis explains how she nails this movement and uses it to help her horses develop collection

Sarah is one of the most experienced international dressage riders in the UK, having represented Great Britain in 10 consecutive European Championships at under-21 level. She has developed and trained numerous horses up to international grand prix.

Training the stars

Sarah says: “Behroez used to get carried away and take over during his pirouettes. He’d lose the inside flexion, turn too quickly and his hindlegs would step out. So I would just turn for two steps, then go into shoulder-in, then straight, then shoulder-in the opposite way, and repeat. I’d try not to practise them at points where they’d be in a test, so that he’d wait for my question rather than think he knew what to do and anticipate.

“Many riders struggle with positioning their horse correctly, maintaining activity, controlling the degree of turning and being able to think forward within the walk-pirouette.

“Before you can position your horse’s body, you need to be able to dictate your horse’s length of step effectively from your seat, as well as maintain suppleness in shoulder-in and travers.”

Tackling the issue

1. Your position is important. Your outside leg can ask the shoulders to turn by being used further forward, or further behind the girth to stop your horse stepping out with his hindlegs. Your hands and seat can direct his withers and shoulders to turn. When your horse responds well to the basic half-halt and remains active, he will carry more weight behind and you’ll be able to think forward and have a soft hand even when turning on the spot.

2. Start with quarter-turns on a square — between R, S, V and P in a 20x60m arena, or B, E, K and F in a 20x40m. Ride your line with a slight shoulder-in or -fore position. Keep your inside leg near the girth and inside hand close to the wither to dictate flexion. Avoid pulling back, as this will stop the inside hindleg coming under.

3. When using your outside leg, search for the spot where your horse responds best, so he truly turns the middle of his body and forehand around his hindleg. Some require you to have your leg closer to the girth to aid turning the shoulders, others will respond with it just behind the girth to discourage the hindleg from stepping out.

4. When you decide to turn, think, “Half-halt, activate, turn.” Look for the marker you wish to ride to and half-halt with your seat and outside rein, using your outside leg to press your horse to turn.

5. Make sure your seat and thighs stay centred over your horse’s back and ribcage, with a little more weight to the inside. There is no point asking him to go left when your seat is saying right.

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Consider this…

• Vary between quarter- (a 90° turn) and half-pirouettes (a 180° turn) so your horse doesn’t begin to anticipate and get behind your inside leg.
• A combination of walk-pirouettes and canter-walk-canter transitions will help develop collection in the canter as well. Always remember to keep your horse fresh and full of impulsion with plenty of forward work in between training collection.

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A new over-40s’ eventing challenge celebrating friendship, duct tape and gin is launching in Scotland for 2020.

Gin It 2 Win It is free to join and will coincide with the Scottish British Eventing (BE) fixtures calendar, which runs from April to September. Riders taking part in the league can accumulate points for placings, completions and double clears, in classes from BE80(T) to intermediate.

Founder Rose Dudgeon, a former BE Scotland under-18 coordinator, who came up with the challenge with racehorse trainer Lucinda Russell, told H&H the aim is to provide a community for older riders.

“When we were doing the under-18s, I found the community spirit and fun wasn’t just relevant to the riders, it was very relevant to their parents too,” said Rose, who set up the Eventing Plus Scotland Facebook group with Lucy Mackenzie, providing a support network for riders to connect with each other.

“It occurred to a few of us that older riders might not necessarily want to compete at Badminton or Burghley – they want to make some friends, enjoy their horses and have the achievement of enjoying competing and progressing to a level they want to.”

Rose said Lucinda, who evented before she entered the the racing industry, came up with the name Gin It 2 Win It as she missed the “eventing spirit”.

“Lucinda always says to me what she misses hugely is the travelling to events, the camping, and the three-day eventing ethos. She now has a campervan she goes around in and says it’s the closest you can get to the eventing spirit,” said Rose.

“We got talking about doing something for the older community to make them feel more included. When I did the under-18s there were prizes for everything, but when it comes to over-40s, for most people they’ve got full-time jobs and families and don’t always have the opportunity to win prizes and meet people, so this ties everything together with an accumulator and the points will add up throughout the year.”

Rose said prizes have been donated by companies including Edinburgh Gin, Musselburgh racecourse, and Top Spec.

“Lucinda has donated the ‘Shades of Silver’ salver, a day at the races and a tour of her yard for the leading rider over 50, and volunteer Caroline Moseley is donating the ‘Classy Touch’ tropy for the leading rider aged 40 to 50,” she said.

“The wonderful thing about our community is you have a network of people who know another network of people, it’s amazing what people will offer in terms of help and support. Grace Moran is hoping to organise some coaching for those taking part with David Gatherer.”

Rose said riders are encouraged to wear a small piece of silver duct tape on their numbers when competing in order to identity themselves as beign part of the Gin It 2 Win It gang.

“Duct tape is something most of us have with our equipment being old and falling apart! It’s a cheap way of identifying each other so if you see someone in the lorry park hopefully they’ll say hello or help with a practice jump if a rider hasn’t got anyone there to help. It’s about sharing supporting and having a club feel,” she said.

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“I’ve heard people say that they’ve felt lonely at events and that’s not good – the sport should be bringing positive fun, community and challenges. Every form of sport should be about far more than results; it should be about making friends, personal achievements or even just surviving the day.”

More than 65 riders have signed up to date, and those wishing to take part can join here or via the Eventing Plus Scotland Facebook page.

“Half the fun of doing this sport is the people you meet, the journey you have to get to where you’re going to, and the sharing of the success and the failures. It makes the day something positive for everyone,” said Rose.

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A group of exceptionally traumatised horses and ponies who “faced death” at a horror farm surrounded by bodies of dead animals have had their lives transformed.

In August 2015 Bristol-based welfare charity HorseWorld was part of a multi-agency operation with the RSPCA, Redwings, The Donkey Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare, rescuing more than 60 feral horses and ponies from “states of extreme neglect”, at a farm in the southwest.

HorseWorld assistant yard manager Vicky Greenslade said: “I have never seen anything as horrific as the conditions the animals were living in.

“There were hundreds of animals. Those who had managed to survive were starving; the bodies of the ones who hadn’t were covering the ground around us. The horses were running totally wild. Stallions, mares and foals, left to fend for themselves, had formed family groups.”

Vicky said the horses were “totally feral and terrified”.

“We had more than 60 wild horses to try to separate into groups so they could be transported to other welfare organisations. Only then could we start their lengthy rehabilitation,” she said.

“It was vital we didn’t cause any more trauma than they had already experienced, but separating them was essential for their health.”

HorseWorld took in 13 of the horses and ponies, two of whom were pregnant.

“It’s hard to imagine what was going through their minds when they were literally having to fight for survival every day,” said Vicky.

“As soon as our team started to try to work with the group, we knew these were exceptionally traumatised animals. In some cases it has taken years to try to help them feel that being around humans is a good place to be.”

The spokesman said a new chapter had been especially joyful for Enzo, who arrived as a foal with his mother Sierra.

“Sierra was even more fearful of humans than the rest of the herd, so Enzo had no human contact until he was old enough to be weaned. With careful and patient training from the team, he has since been rehomed and thanks to the love and dedication of his new carer has just started being ridden,” he said.

“It’s always brilliant when our rescued horses go on to find loving homes, but when these guys leave us to start new chapters of their lives with fantastic families it’s even more rewarding.”

The spokesman added that Perry, another foal of Sierra’s, was born at the charity and did not have to experience the “horrors of neglect” to which Sierra and Enzo were subjected.

“Perry has developed into a very sweet natured pony so much so she appeared at Your Horse Live as a representative of the HorseWorld herd. She has now gone to her new forever home,” he said.

“Others from the group have also been be rehomed with carefully selected loaners. Finding homes for them has been especially challenging because they have been so affected by their experiences on the farm and will probably have behavioural issues for the rest of their lives, so pairing them with people who have the necessary patience and experience has been essential.”

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The spokesman said for remaining ponies Lexus, Kia, Nova, Morris, and Leyland, the next chapter is “yet to be written”.

“All have made exceptional progression in their training with the team and are now waiting to find families who can understand their past, and help them find the confidence to live a much happier future,” he said.

“Some of the ponies rescued are still so troubled by their experiences there they will never be rehomed, but will live out their days happy and healthy as part of the HorseWorld herd.”

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The London 2012 gold medallist, Rolex grand slam-winner and “one of the best horses there’s ever been”, Hello Sanctos, is to retire at the age of 17.

Scott Brash announced today (29 November) that after an “incredible journey together”, he and owners Lord and Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham have decided it is time to retire the “legendary horse”.

“We can’t thank him enough for changing our lives,” Scott said.

Scott and Sanctos were on the British team that took gold at the London Olympics, and at the European Championships the following year, where they won individual bronze.

The Belgian-bred gelding is also the only horse to have won the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, taking the grand prix in Geneva in 2014 and going on to win the grands prix at Aachen and Spruce Meadows the following year.

“I dreamed of being a showjumper,” Scott said. “I wanted to be able to make a living out of what I loved doing. I dreamed of having a horse like Baloubet du Rouet or Milton, but did I think it was possible for me to have one of the best horses there’s ever been? No, I can’t say that. I’ve had an unbelievable life thanks to Sanctos.”

Scott spoke of the connection the partnership had in competition.

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“I understood every single step he was going to make,” he said. “There were things he could do in the ring; he knew what I wanted and just responded.

“I honestly think you’ll go a long way to ever see another horse like Sanctos.”

A retirement ceremony will be held at the CHI de Geneva on 14 December, a show that means a lot to Scott and the horse’s owners, as it is “where his Rolex grand slam journey started”.

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