19 signs you’re an incurable eventing nut

Are you so crazy about eventing it fills every area of your life? Read on to find out if you’re a true eventing nut

You know you’re an eventing nut when…

1. WFP instantly means William Fox-Pitt in your mind.

2. Your part-bred native pony is on a constant diet to try to make him look like an event horse.

3. You only follow event riders, trainers and product companies on twitter…

4. And all your profile pictures on Facebook are of you doing cross-country.

5. You live for the months of March to October. You’d like to hibernate from November to February because it is so boring.

6. You find it more interesting watching the dressage at Badminton than a grand prix (there’s more rearing).

7. You hack out with your stirrups at cross-country length, even if it feels uncomfortably short.

8. Your horse always wears a breastplate, even if he doesn’t really need one. And a girth with a stud guard.

9. Your boss puts Badminton and Burghley in the work diary as holiday for you before you ask.

10. You try to avoid being totally colour co-ordinated lest anyone take you for a dressage diva.

11. And you proudly wear tweed at British Dressage shows.

12. Flag colours equate to difficulty levels, no matter what the life situation.

13.Your dreams feature you flying over skinnies, kicking on to ditches and punching the air in triumph as you cross the finish line with “clear in the time” ringing in your ears.

14. Whereas in your nightmares, the words “20 penalties at the corner” frequently feature.

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15. You use ice boots, poultices or other items from the equine first aid kit to treat the problem when you injure yourself, which is often.

16. When everyone else is complaining about rain in summer, you’re secretly delighted as it’ll make the ground better for your event this weekend.

17. You have to think of reasons why you need two screens at work and then spend a long time angling one so no-one else can see it. That’s your live streaming screen for watching eventing whenever it’s available online.

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18. You view every fallen tree out hacking as a potential cross-country practice opportunity.

19. You need a dressage bridle, a cross-country bridle and a showjumping bridle, but can’t quite explain why. Oh — for three-days, you also need a trot-up bridle and a work bridle too.

Don’t miss today’s eventing special issue of Horse & Hound magazine (9 March 2017), featuring our exclusive interview with Mark Todd, plus our first report of the season from Isleham

Pippa Roome

H&H magazine editor and eventing editor

Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.