Tim Stockdale proved he’s back on form, after spending six weeks in hospital following a broken neck last year, with great results at St Gallen (1-3 June).

Tim and Fresh Direct Kalico Bay jumped a double clear in the Nations Cup on Friday, helping Team GBR to joint second place with the hosts, Switzerland.

They then went on to take the runner-up spot in Sunday’s Longines grand prix.

Tim told H&H: “I felt slight trepidation about making my Nations Cup return at St Gallen as it is renowned for being big and tough, but the whole weekend has given me a real boost.”

Selectors Rob Hoekstra and Di Lampard are due to announce their four-member team for London in early July and Tim’s form puts him very much in contention.

Team manager Rob Hoekstra said: “Jumping one of only three double clears in the entire competition is amazing.

“It has made the decisions for London all the more difficult.”

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

Tim Stockdale has been given the all-clear to jump again by his consultant, following a fall from a young horse in October, when he broke three vertebrae in his neck.

The showjumper was officially given the go-ahead to get back in the saddle today after a visit to his specialist – Aheed Osman – at the Midlands Spinal Injury Unit in Oswestry.

Tim told H&H: “I have to be really careful – it’s not like a broken arm or leg, where it will just hurt if you go too far. If I re-fracture the bone I’m in deep trouble.

“But I feel really well in myself.”

Last week Tim told H&H that he’d had a few quiet rides on sensible horses, just walking and trotting.

He spent six weeks in the spinal injuries clinic immediately after the fall on 17 October, taking his first steps again at the end of November.

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

Tim Stockdale has had a few “sneaky rides” and feels confident his specialist will allow him back on board next week, he told H&H.

“I have been having the odd quiet ride on particularly sensible horses,” said Tim.

“Just walk and rising trot in the school and I have been getting off very carefully.”

The showjumper broke his neck in three places in a fall from a young horse he was trying last October.

Tim is due to see his specialist, Aheed Osman, at the Midlands Spinal Injuries Unit in Oswestry next Thursday (23 February).

He is hoping he will be allowed to start doing a little higher impact exercise and get back to the gym.

“All my physio has been non-impact up to now. I have not been allowed to run or jump around,” he said.

“I have to be really careful – it’s not like a broken arm or leg, where it will just hurt if you go to far. If I re-fracture the bone I’m in deep trouble.

“But I feel really well in myself.”

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

The consultant who treated showjumper Tim Stockdale for his broken neck says he is seeing more spinal injuries as a result of riding accidents than from rugby.

And he queries whether more hats should have flexible peaks.

Aheed Osman, of the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry, told H&H he had seen a “dramatic rise” in such cases – across all levels of ability.

“Fifteen years ago, most of the sporting injuries I saw were from rugby,” he said.

“But now riding appears to be the most common sporting activity for causing spinal injuries.”

Mr Osman has had three riders – including Tim – on his ward in the past few months, but only one rugby player. He believes the reasons are twofold.

“Riding is becoming increasingly popular and rugby, particularly schoolboy rugby, has changed a lot.

“There is better coaching, better preparation – and the contact rules have altered slightly,” he said.

Tim spent six weeks at Oswestry after falling from a young horse. He hopes to

start riding again at the end of this month.

“There were three riders in that unit, which had 30 beds,” he said. “So to have 10 per cent taken up by riders seemed quite high.

“Perhaps in rugby there is a bit more awareness about the perils,” he added.

The other two injured riders – retired police officer Ian Bolshaw and Seline Hodoglu, who is 15 – were also thrown while trying new horses.

Mr Osman said he would always advise people to try a new horse on an artificial surface and to check the tack.

He also believes some of the injuries he has seen could have been reduced – or even avoided – if the rider had been wearing a hat with a collapsible peak.

“Mr Bolshaw went over the front of the horse and the [fixed] visor caused his neck to be pushed back,” he said.

“As a medic, I look at the mechanics of injury – and it makes a lot of sense mechanically to have a collapsible visor.”

But according to the Spinal Injuries Association, Mr Osman’s experiences are not necessarily reflected in the 11 spinal units across the UK.

Director Paul Smith said different areas tended to see different problems.

“And while riding is a risk activity, statistically far more spinal injuries are caused by falls and RTAs [road traffic accidents],” he added.

Mr Osman agrees – but stresses that it is possible to minimise the risk to riders.

“Fortunately, it is a rare injury,” he said. “Hopefully, by raising awareness, we can reduce it further.”

Tim is fundraising for the centre. To donate, go to: www.justgiving.com/British-Showjumping-2012.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (9 February 2012)

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

Tim Stockdale has told H&H he is taking things “very quietly” since returning home after six weeks in a spinal injuries clinic with a broken neck.

But the Olympic showjumper hopes to start riding again in the New Year.

“I go for more scans in the first week of January,” he said.

“That will give us a better idea, but all being well, I hope to get back on a horse in late January or early February,” he added.

Tim fractured three vertebrae in a fall from a young horse he had gone to try in North Wales .

Doctors at the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry immobilised him to help the injury heal.

He took his first steps since the accident last Wednesday and was allowed to go home to Northamptonshire the next day.

Tim told H&H: “I am still in a collar and the old legs are very weak – I went round the yard seeing everybody when I got back and suffered for it the next day.

“But I’m feeling positive. I thought I’d feel more frustrated, but I realise how lucky I’ve been. This is a serious fracture and I am fully prepared to give it the respect it deserves.”

His wife, Laura, told H&H it was a relief to have her husband home. “He’s doing as he’s told at the moment – but I’m not sure how long it will last!” she said.

“We hope to go to

The Stockdales asked H&H to pass on their thanks for the “hundreds” of letters, Get Well cards and emails.

“It’s been very humbling,” said Tim. “They certainly helped during the dark days.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (1 December 2011)

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

Doctors have ordered Tim Stockdale to have six weeks’ bed rest after he broke his neck in a fall.

The Olympic showjumper was initially told he had fractured two vertebrae – but subsequent tests revealed three fractures, to his C3, 4 and 5. He tweeted from his hospital bed on Tuesday (25 October): “One more doesn’t matter, I guess?”

This additional fracture is not thought to affect Tim’s prognosis. Doctors say that with bed rest and physio, he should make a full recovery.

The accident happened on 17 October when Tim was trying a young horse in north Wales.

Tim’s wife, Laura, told H&H: “He’s torn the ligaments on both sides of his neck as well as the fractures – so by all accounts, he was very, very lucky. It was a freak accident – the horse show forward when he tried to adjust the girth. He hit the post-and-rail fence and landed outside the school.

“It was a nasty knock and he was unconscious for a bit.”

Tim, 47, is being treated in the spinal unit at Oswestry. It’s not clear how long he will stay in hospital. Laura has been making the four-hour round trip from their Northampton yard to Oswestry most days.

They are hoping that Tim will be transferred – at some point – to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville hospital, Bucks, to be closer to home.

Laura said her husband was feeling “positive” and was “in good spirits” but was not the easiest patient.

“He’s really fidgety and all I hear the nurses saying is, ‘Will you stop moving!’

“He doesn’t do relaxing, so it’s going to be hard.”

“Everyone is joking and saying he’ll be back for the Sunshine Tour,” she added.

“He’s looking forward to getting back – and we do think February or March is realistic. Hopefully he won’t drive us all mad before then!”

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

Showjumper Tim Stockdale and his wife Laura have asked H&H to relay their thanks to the hundreds of well-wishers who have sent emails and posted comments on Tim’s Facebook page since he broke his neck in two places.

The accident happened on 17 October when the Olympic showjumper was trying a young horse in north Wales.

Tim, 47, was taken to Shrewsbury Hospital and moved to the spinal unit at Oswestry on Wednesday (19 October).

Laura told H&H today: “We have been inundated with messages wishing Tim a speedy recovery from so many people that we do not know, but who are obviously supporters of British showjumping.

“Tim has been very surprised by the reaction and very touched – I read out a load of them to him last night and he’s really taken aback by how kind people have been.”

She said other riders have also offered their help to take Tim’s horses to competitions for him.

Tim is recovering well but will be confined to bed for the next six weeks, and Laura hopes he may be transferred to a hospital a little closer to their Northamptonshire home.

“Tim spoke to the specialist this morning and we are hopeful he might be able to move to Stoke Mandeville soon, which will make things a little bit easier for us.”

Read more in this week’s Horse & Hound out on 27 October

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

A young horse with a broken neck was abandoned in a road in Buckinghamshire last night.

The RSPCA is appealing for information after the 18-month-old skewbald filly was found by a member of the public in Mumfords Lane at Chalfont St Peter at 8pm last night (5 January).

Inspector Kirsty Withnall told H&H that the filly was in a horrific state.

It was emaciated, had a broken neck and both hind legs were bound together and the rope tied to a gatepost.

It is thought that the pony was tied to the gate while on the back of a trailer and was pulled off the vehicle and onto the road as it moved off.

“It’s an easy way to dump an animal,” said Mrs Withnall. “She was absolutely exhausted from struggling.”

The pony, which was wearing a blue and red Polywarm rug and a cavesson lunging headcollar, was put down at the scene.

Anyone with information about this or similar cases is asked to contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234999.

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