CATEGORIES

If at first you don't succeed...

For many riders, 2023 was the year they realised a childhood ambition, or followed through with a new year resolution. Alex Robinson meets those who made their own dreams come true. Could it be you in 2024?

Brookfield Equestrian

The Brookfield prefix is synonymous with top-level eventing. Gemma Redrup meets the ownership trio to find out how the syndicate works and where they source their brilliant charges

Equestrians among the 'pride of this country’ in 2024 honours

Author Jilly Cooper was recognised with a damehood, and figures from racing and coaching were also rewarded

Dressage Judges are being asked to do the impossible’

A study found it is too much to ask judges to assess the sheer volume of information required

Riders will be asked to talk after falls to improve safety

A first-person account of any incident has so far been missing from data collected in international eventing

12 to watch in 2024

Which up-and-coming riders will make their mark this season? H&H predicts this year’s rising stars

Denman

The all-out galloping machine aka The Tank had a heart as big as himself, but that was ultimately his downfall, finds Julian Muscat of the heroic chaser

‘It’s nice to have a joint win’

LASHING wind and rain did nothing to dampen competition in the Socks By Ruby Diamond Championship qualifier, in which Phoebe Sealey (Amelusina II) and Zoe Coombes (Chamora S) tied for first place on 37.39sec.

Kasino Is a good bet

The year ends on a high for Henry Squibb, and two friends share the limelight

Carols and calamities

There’s something 7 magical and memorable about hunting over Christmas and the festive period, says Rory Knight Bruce

Greenacres Special Cavalier

This unexpected event horse is making her mark at the top level of the sport. Gemma Redrup meets the talented mare with the \"heart of a lion\"

Jockey turned trainer

Brian Toomey on coming back from the dead after a fall to race-ride again and starting his new venture as a dual-purpose trainer

Barney

Eventing wasn't for this horse, but hunting hounds and jumping the biggest places certainly was

Horse rehoming figures drop as living costs remain high

H&SH speaks to the major equine welfare charities for a picture of the national herd as the year comes to a close

FEI to work with riders on chaotic’ tack app issues

Showjumpers say the new app, intended to clarify rules, has caused confusion and forced last-minute bit changes

Treating horses like horses, not kings: changing the commentary

Research found that changing the way we talk about welfare could help protect it, and our sport’s future

Harvey Smith

The legendary showjumper tells Bernard Bale about his trajectory in the sport, the talent of his own top horses and what he would like to see change on the circuit today

A Dales pony dream

A home-bred stallion wins this season's ultimate native sash on the third time of asking, providing his hard-working producer with a second M&M supreme crown of her career

The best of medicines

Feeling crook and with poor weather threatening to dampen the spirit, Tessa Waugh shrugs off her lurgy and braves the elements a day's hunting the perfect antidote to her pre-Christmas blips

First treble for Comley

A trainer secures his first treble, while a new recruit impresses

A prescription for body and soul

H&H's hunting editor Catherine Austen discovers a novel about hunting that had passed her by, and is both gripped and inspired

Former star shines on

Two previous stars of the ridden circuit triumph as veterans on their debuts in the big city

Charlotte's back on top

It's a British one-two-three as Charlotte Dujardin returns to London to win with Imhotep, on a night that also saw new stars break through

'He's my horse of a lifetime'

A young Scottish showjumper is on the crest of a wave and emotions run high among the pony riders

Whitaker shows how it's done

The legendary John Whitaker says that winning in front of his home crowd “keeps me young” and shows his rivals exactly how to do it – twice

Williams makes puissance history

Guy Williams wins a record fifth puissance at the show, and British riders are off to a flying start

'I was hungry for the win today'

Ireland's Daniel Coyle triumphs with his horse of a lifetime and Matt Sampson is crowned the show's leading rider

'The class everyone wants to win'

Spectators were treated to \"the best sport you can get\", with Ben Maher leading a British one-two in the World Cup and an Irish show debutant in third

Vital slumbers

A horse’s sleep patterns vary from our own, but their need for sufficient rest is the same. Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS explains equine sleep behaviour

Veterinary consultant

Jane Hastie née Nixon on a fascination with equine structure that began back in childhood, her involvement in the showing world and why she rates the farrier as the most important player in a horse's support network