Sarah Jenkins: All hail the super cob!
I’ve met various riders and trainers who are rather disparaging of cobs — being of the view they are built to pull carts rather than perform. And I can’t be alone in worrying that even referring to a horse as a cob might offend their owner.
This I cannot understand, particularly having enjoyed a day’s hunting last week on the pluckiest, brightest of equines who proved perfectly able and athletic yet reliable enough to put your granny on.
Of course you shouldn’t generalise about a breed, let alone a type, and there are those cobs who’ve proved the doubters wrong — taking Badminton and Burghley, or winning national dressage championship titles.
These are the fuller-figured equines with such big hearts that, despite any shortcomings in physique, they are able to surpass expectations. In this issue, we both salute them and find out how their riders achieved such feats.
I’m among those disappointed to learn that para dressage is not scheduled to run alongside able-bodied dressage and showjumping at the Europeans in Aachen next year.
It took quite some time for these athletes to be given the recognition they deserve and for the events to take place simultaneously at championships including the World Equestrian Games at Kentucky in 2010. It does indeed feel like a sad and backward step for them to be separated again.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.