WHEN we get a new horse here, Adam needs someone to hunt them a couple of times before he takes them out. This involves shadowing him on a hunting day: something I tend to avoid.
Anyone who has been in a relationship with a huntsman will know that hanging out with them on a hunting day is not conducive to marital harmony. Unless you happen to be one of those super-cool hunting wives/girlfriends who could hunt hounds themselves. But my horse is lame at the moment and there wasn’t anyone else available, so I agreed to go.
The next morning I found myself falling at the first hurdle when the new horse, a 17.2hh giraffe called Joe, was refusing to stand alongside the lorry ramp so I could get on. Manoeuvring a big, gangly thoroughbred can feel like reversing an artic at times.
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'Sorry, but I wasn't feeling it'
Fresh from the opening meet, Tessa Waugh hasn't quite yet been bitten by the hunting bug. Without the crisp autumnal air and cheek-pinching cold she hoped for, it's a sluggish start
New pair pull off a win
A former European Championships pony is on form with his new rider, while elsewhere former showjumpers and eventers take ribbons
Lording it over the rest
Horses who have returned from injury, a second generation homebred and a long format specialist score on the final weekend of the British season
Smith hits flying form
A \"her way or no way\" mare helps Zoe Smith to an impressive ribbon haul and a rider beats his own boss to the top spot
Jankorado hits the jackpot
Paul Sims is triumphant despite his interrupted jump-off preparation and a borrowed horse comes up trumps
Peanut
From \"dangerous, scary\" to hedge-hopping brilliance, hunting has been the making of this unstable but very lovable equine character
She's a corker
Communication, says long-standing and highly respected Belvoir master Lady Sarah McCorquodale, is the key to all, as Catherine Austen discovers
Access all areas Cavalier Centre
The Cavalier Centre is a fully accessible, state-of-the-art equestrian centre designed to improve lives through horse-based activities. Ellie May Forrester pays a visit
'Use it or lose it'
Not everyone wants to reach for the pipe and slippers at a certain age. Becky Murray speaks to some veteran horse-and-rider combos for their secrets of human and equine longevity
A new way forward
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