As 2020 rolls on, Covid-19 means we are without equestrian sport to entertain us. So join us as we take a look back at some of the funny, touching and intriguing things that event riders told our reporters during May 2019…
“She announced I’d sold her mum a horse and she was happy with the way it was going. I asked if her mum was ready to buy a new one yet!” – Oliver Townend on getting more than he bargained for as he thanked the Pony Clubber manning the dressage arena exit at Kentucky
“If he even touches a fence he does so very, very lightly and spends the next six apologising” – Oliver Townend on Kentucky winner Cooley Master Class’s careful jumping style
“He was cross-tied for two or three months for his own welfare” – Tim Price on Xavier Fair’s recovery after being kicked by a pony he had known his whole life in the field. The horse was third at Kentucky
“He got a bit distracted and drifted right at the first triple brush arrowhead, so I whacked the flag with my knee and it got stuck” – Ariel Grald on jumping the second two elements of a combination at Kentucky with a flag caught between her knee and the saddle
“The only time she wears a dressage saddle is at a competition – she knows how to do the movements and flatwork in the school makes her uncomfortable and cross. She is much happier like this” – Vittoria Panizzon on Withington advanced winner Borough Pennyz
“FAB-U-LOUS” – written on Gemma Tattersall and Quicklook V’s dressage sheet after they scored 15.5 in the open intermediate at Withington
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“He’s not what you expect for a sports cob – he can be a bit of a neurotic bulldozer – but once you’re on him he’s a total pro” – Laura Greenhalgh on Stanhopes Travelling Man, winner of the BE90 Mitsubishi Motors Cup
“I don’t sleep much and I don’t sit down” – Jo Hales, second in the BE100 Mitsubishi Motors Cup, on how she fits in working two jobs, having two children and eventing three horses
“She’s always been an amazing jumper but very opinionated and mareish. She swears and bites you regularly, but we’ve learnt to manage her” – Katie Magee on her Chatsworth advanced winner Dollarney
With the Event Rider Masters first leg of 2019, plus two other CCI4*-S sections, the Dodson & Horrell Chatsworth Horse
“He knows he’s really talented and tells everyone else about it” – Susie Berry on Rockingham intermediate winner John The Bull
“I said to the team, ‘We should have a good look because we won’t be invited any more!’” – chef d’equipe Hans Melzer on Germany’s fifth consecutive Nations Cup victory at Houghton
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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.
