Watch Laura Collett jumping bareback [VIDEO]
Horse & Hound went behind the scenes at eventer Laura Collett‘s Lambourn yard to find out how her small but efficient set-up works.
During the day Laura jumped Mr Bass, a bright bay novice — “He’s only six, but a bit of a dude, and safe and comfy enough to jump like this” — bareback.
Known to some as the queen of high jump contests, Laura is happy enough to dispense with her saddle over a whopping fence — she once said if she hadn’t been an eventer, she would have liked to have been a jump jockey.
You’ll see that Laura’s position is rock steady as she jumps bareback. But it’s not just a party piece.
“Yogi [Breisner, British Eventing performance manager and Laura’s regular instructor, who teaches her roughly one day a week] has sometimes had me riding bareback in just a headcollar on the four-star horses,” explains Laura.
“They just lob around in canter and it switches them off — they can let go of their whole body. It’s good for their fitness too.”
Watch Laura jumping bareback below
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Don’t miss today’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (31 July 2014), where we go behind the scenes at Laura Collett’s yard in our exclusive feature
Take a look at these 6 types of event horse you’ll find at every horse trials
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Lucy edited Horse & Hound from March 2002 until June 2014 and never had a dull day. She events (very badly) for fun, hunts whenever she can, and has written on topics ranging from embryo transfer to fall simulators. She’s reported from the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games and 2011 European Eventing Championships.