
Ellie Hughes
Ellie has been a freelance writer for Horse & Hound since 2009 having cut her journalistic teeth as assistant and then deputy editor of Eventing magazine.
She has contributed to H&H in a variety of roles, as a reporter for all the main disciplines, features writer, veterinary page coordinator and news writer. She has compiled the eventing highlights page since it first appeared in the magazine in 2010.
Ellie has also written extensively on country lifestyle and rural topics for publications such as Country Life and The Country Smallholder, where she has penned features on matters as diverse as the history of the full English breakfast to the business of rewilding. She has co-written two books — Two Brains, One Aim with Olympic event rider and coach, Eric Smiley, and Happy Days and Winning Ways with former junior and young rider team trainer, Gill Watson.
Ellie has worked for media teams at international events, including London 2012, Royal Windsor, Badminton, Burghley, Blenheim, Gatcombe and Blair.
In the saddle, she is a former Pony Club eventing national champion and has produced several horses from scratch to advanced level, including her very special 15hh homebred Short Changed. She trained one of her former eventers to small tour level in dressage, finishing third in the National Championships at advanced medium, and is now trying to complete the hat-trick of disciplines with her current competition horse, who has recently made the switch from eventing to showjumping.
While not at her desk or on a horse, Ellie runs a busy cross-country schooling course at her home in Kent.
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How elite riders cope when their warm-ups go awry, plus tips to overcome blips in your best-laid plansBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Top riders share their tips to turbocharge your jump-offs and win rounds against the clockBy Ellie Hughes Published
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How to stop the drift and correct a horse that swerves over a fenceBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Top event riders share their tips for training horses to tackle drops with confidenceBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Teach your horse to jump water trays with tips from top showjumpersBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Do nerves hold you back in competition? Follow these 6 expert-led steps to a cool competition headBy Ellie Hughes Published
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How to improve a horse’s gallop: top eventers share their tips for productive fast workBy Ellie Hughes Published
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How to improve a horse’s jumping technique and encourage tidy front legs, with tips from gold medallist Will FletcherBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Help your horse master cantering through water confidently with advice from Olympic riders turned top coachesIn this article exclusive to H&H subscribers, we pick the brains of Olympians and top coaches Chris Bartle and Nicola Wilson to find out how to teach a horse to canter through water with confidence
By Ellie Hughes Published
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Worried about riding on wet, slippery or deep going? Top event riders share tips on how to help your horse copeHow do I teach my horse to jump out of soft ground? What can I do to make his job easier? Olympic event rider Nicola Wilson and five-star cross-country supremo Tom Crisp share their top tips in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
By Ellie Hughes Published
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How to cope when the menopause affects your riding lifeGiven that equestrianism is a sport, hobby and passion for women of all ages, Ellie Hughes finds out how menopause affects female riders, and how to cope
By Ellie Hughes Published
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Harry Meade scores international win on former William Fox-Pitt ride Grafennacht: ‘A really useful week’By Ellie Hughes Published
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Are you ready to go eventing? A helpful fitness plan for a grassroots eventerBy Ellie Hughes Published
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‘She’s still at the heart of the operation’: wins for Nicola Wilson’s young horsesBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Trainee accountant tops Badminton BE90 grassroots championships despite severe allergy to horsesBy Ellie Hughes Published
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‘Dope of the yard’ takes Badminton BE100 grassroots championships titleBy Ellie Hughes Published
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‘I could barely walk to the end of the garden’: eventer’s milestone win after long CovidBy Ellie Hughes Published
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‘I spoke to five surgeons before I found one willing to operate’: event rider returns from major injury to winBy Ellie Hughes Published
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‘I’m hooked up to a pump that delivers my nutrition 15 hours a day’: rider overcomes serious hurdles to win eventingBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Cob overcomes asthma to score eventing win: ‘He’s incredibly tolerant of his treatment’By Ellie Hughes Published
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‘Project’ recovers from chronic lameness to win at BE100 and advanced mediumBy Ellie Hughes Published
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William Fox-Pitt leads Brits to Nations Cup final glory in BoekeloBy Ellie Hughes Published
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Grassroots eventer makes miraculous comeback from freak accident to winBy Ellie Hughes Published
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The sound of silence: the effect running events behind closed doors has on riders *H&H Plus*By Ellie Hughes Published
