Blog

Are you and your horse all-rounders – and proud of it? Or do you confess, in an embarrassed sort of way, that you “just do a bit of everything”? Riders are so eager to specialise that being an all-rounder has acquired a tinge of being second-best. I’ve even heard it used in a derogatory way, along t...

A day at the British Skewbald and Piebald Association national championships is always a revelation. It isn’t just the beautiful horses and ponies, it’s the dedicated owners – and yes, in the nicest possible way, some of them are obsessed. They’re convinced that solid-coloured horses aren’t a patch...

So, where are you off to this weekend? Whether you and your horse are flying over fences, heading down a centre line or strutting your stuff in a showing class, one thing is certain – the competition wouldn’t run without volunteers. Take the recent British Show Horse Association’s national champi...

Well the European Championships has now been and gone and a lesson learned.  Unfortunately, despite all the meticulous preparation, it did not go according to plan.  Fantom refused to eat and drink on the journey, including the overnight stop and arrived at the venue pretty dehydrated.  This was eas...

When Oliver Townend won Burghley horse trials on the relatively inexperienced Ballaghmor Class, he probably surprised everyone but himself. The grey, who lives up to his name in every way, is ten years old. When you’re looking at that level of competition, it’s the equivalent of a primary school pup...

Are you stuck in an equestrian rut? We all know the feeling that no matter how hard we try, we aren’t making progress. If so, try something different. You’ll have fun – and probably an adrenaline rush, although you don’t necessarily have to pin on your brave badge. Your horse could benefit, too, eve...

GB’s eventers and Paralympians won gold medals at the European Championships and our dressage riders missed out. But they all reminded us that what matters most is giving credit to your horse – and the value of sportsmanship. Some riders, at all levels, pay lip service to sportsmanship. Others me...

Have you made an involuntary dismount recently? If so, have you posted pictures of your bruises all over social media, or laughed it off? Falls are never a laughing matter, even if you manage to raise a smile – as did showjumping legend John Whitaker. It’s great that John could joke about his cra...

Hands up if you spend half your time enjoying your horse and the other half feeling guilty, writes Carolyn Henderson. Maybe it’s because you seem to only see your other half/family in the gaps between getting home and rushing off to ride. As for non-horsey friends – well, you might see them on so...

Fantom is quite the most difficult horse to train.  At home, he seems to have the mentality of a riding school hack where all the motivation is kept for the return journey.  However, this is coupled with almost miraculous transformations into the flying horse.  How to read these extremely exciti...

Hello, I must apologise as I have been particularly useless this month at getting my hooves to the keyboard! I have no excuses really, except that I have been terribly busy training one particular horse, but more on that later! We got July off to a flyer from a rather suprising source, when the ...

Schoolmasters (and mistresses) are worth their weight in gold – as long as you get the real deal, writes Carolyn Henderson. The Mum who posted online looking for a jumping pony schoolmaster doesn’t stand a chance. She wanted a “kick, point and shoot” pony that was guaranteed to take her daughter ...