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H&H Festival of Eventing favourite: Suzanne Finigan and the horse that is tricky to catch


  • Entries are filling up quickly for the Horse & Hound Festival of Eventing in association with KBIS, so it’s time to get to know some of the contenders and hear their stories so far

    Would you love the chance to compete in an unaffiliated three-day event with your horse? Now you can at the Horse & Hound Festival of Eventing, which are being held at Keysoe on 25-28 May 2018.

    Entries are open so enter now >>

    With unaffiliated classes from 70–100cm there really is nothing to stop you and your horse living your dreams and completing a three-day event with a true championship feel.

    Find out all you need to know about the H&H Festival of Eventing >>

    Each week in the run up to the competition we will meet one of the entrants who can’t wait for the event in our new ‘festival favourites’ series.

    Suzanne Finigan and Rathlacken Stanley

    Name: Suzanne Finigan

    Horse’s name: Rathlacken Stanley (aka Stanley)

    Class entered: 90cm

    What’s the story?

    “I bought Stanley, an eight-year-old Connemara, three years ago from a sale. We have a couple of seasons of eventing at BE80 and BE90 level under our belts.”

    Why have you decided to enter the H&H Festival of Eventing?

    “We decided to enter the H&H Festival of Eventing as I have always wanted to do a three-day event. I have never had the chance to before so I thought ‘why not?’”

    What are you most looking forward to about the H&H Festival of Eventing?

    “We are most looking forward to the cross-country phase! Unfortunately I can’t cross-country school Stanley as he gets too fizzy and anxious if there are other horses in a group situation so we very much have to ‘learn on the job’. Touch wood, so far we have a faultless cross-country record, but Stanley does however seem to find it difficult to keep the showjumps up so we are hoping that our winter of showjumping lessons will have helped that a little…”

    Do you have a secret weapon?

    Stanley and Andy

    “Our secret weapon is my boyfriend/groom/biggest supporter, Andy. Stanley adores him and I can often feel him spot Andy while we are completing a showjumping round as he knows he always has a Polo waiting for him afterwards!”

    Tell us a fun fact about your horse

    “Stanley won’t let anyone else but Andy and me catch him in the field. The grooms at the yard can spend hours chasing him around the field with treats only for one of us to walk in and him allow us to catch him straight away, like butter wouldn’t melt.”

    Have you entered the H&H Festival of Eventing and would like to feature as a Festival favourite? If so please email gemma.redrup@timeinc.com

    Entries for this exciting three-day event are filling up fast, so to ensure you don’t miss out, secure your entry today

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