Spring has finally sprung and for many this time of year means a return to competition. But not so fast – before you set off on a day out it’s important to ensure you’re fully prepared for the competition season ahead.

Here are some things to tick off in advance that will help set you up for a successful season. Once these jobs are done, you’ll be left with less to worry about and more time to focus on your performance and having a great day out.

Preparing for the competition season checklist

1. Get your horse fit

Make sure your horse is fit for your intended level and discipline. If he’s not, you’ll fall at the first hurdle – hopefully not literally, of course. If you’re eventing, hire a local cross-country schooling venue and get some training under your belt;, if you’re heading to dressage practice your test riding, and if you’re going showing, make sure your horse is show ring prepped.

It’s not fair on a horse to go competing before he’s ready, and it increases his risk of injury. If you haven’t already, start by writing a fitness plan for your horse.

2. Familiarise yourself with rule changes

Every year the governing bodies introduce new rules, and it’s important to read these through to check whether they’ll affect you. The last thing you want when you go to enter the warm-up arena is to be told that your bridle is no longer permitted.

3. Check your registration

If you’ve marked affiliated competitions in the diary, have you registered your horse and is your own membership up to date? If you want to try going affiliated for the first time, we’ve rounded up some helpful information for affiliated eventing, affiliated showjumping and affiliated dressage to help you navigate the options.

4. Review your insurance

This leads nicely on to checking your horse insurance. If you’re planning to try something new this year, or step up a level, double check that your insurance covers this activity as some providers offer different levels of insurance depending on what activities or sports you take part in.

5. Check vaccinations

Again, for anyone competing affiliated, you’ll need to double check your horse’s vaccinations are up to date. It’s recommended that all horses have flu and tetanus vaccinations for their own wellbeing, but you won’t be able to compete unless your horse’s flu vaccine schedule complies with the current rules.

6. Give your transport some TLC

If you’ve got your own transport then it’s time to check your trailer or horsebox is in good working order. It’s good practice to do this even if you’ve been out recently.

If you usually hire transport, then don’t forget to check availability and get booked for your most important dates.

7. Check your kit

Is everything still in good working order from when it was last used? Are your riding hat and body protector up to standard? Does your whip meet the guidelines? And it’s not just your competition gear you need to consider, check your horse’s travel kit, too.

• For unlimited access to training tips and advice on how best to care for your horse, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Competing your horse alone alone can be daunting. There’s so much to consider — from what will happen to your horse if you are injured, to making sure you have everything you need before you mount.

But for many riders without the back-up of a groom or willing friends or family, heading to shows solo is the only way to fulfil their competitive ambitions. And with practice, it needn’t be terrifying.

The three mantras of experienced “go it aloners” are practise at home, give yourself time and be organised.

Be prepared

• Make sure everything has its own place in the car, trailer or lorry and it’s all cleaned and put back after the previous event or show
• When you get your times, work backwards from each phase, writing out a timetable for warming up, tacking up, walking courses and so on
• If you are taking two horses out alone, practise at home leaving one horse on the lorry while you school the other, make sure you can lead both horses together and that both are happy to be tied up to the lorry while you are loading the other

Arriving and getting ready

• Allowing plenty of time is vital
• Often a visit to the secretary is essential, as well as heading off to walk courses, but you should never leave horses tied up outside your lorry or trailer unsupervised. So check your steed on arrival, but leave him on board
• If your horse becomes fractious when left standing on the lorry after arriving, then this is something you will need to practice. Some horses will stand better if they are unloaded, allowed to take in the sights and possibly hand graze for a short while and then put back on their lorry or trailer
• If you are new to the venue, check where everything is located while on foot
• Consider travelling in jodhpurs, stock shirt and stock under other clothes, ready for a quick strip
• Organise yourself ready for after your class before you get on — leave a headcollar, travel boots and grooming kit within easy reach
• Even the calmest horse can get into trouble in the lorry or trailer, so leave names and contact details on the dashboard and taped to the doors

The warm-up

• The warm-up arena is a place where the solo competitor often needs to ask for help — do so politely with a smile and it’s rare for people to say no
• On solo outings, put your show jacket on before you mount, with a coat over the top if necessary
• Practise removing your jacket and, if appropriate, exercise sheet while mounted so you are confident your horse won’t object

Safety first while competing your horse alone

• If you are going to a show alone, you need to make provision for your horse if you are injured
• It may be wise to hand the show secretary your lorry details and contacts for someone who could collect your horse should an emergency arise
• Another suggestion is to pop this information in your cross-country medical armband, if worn, or jacket pocket
• Save the details into your phone, too, using the acronym ICE (in case of emergency) or perhaps “ICE horse/eventing/showjumping/shows”
• Good breakdown cover is a must and it would be wise to insure your vehicle for any driver
• Consider how far your travel to a show. It can be tiring to drive home at the end of the day, so avoid long journeys
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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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

We all know how we’d LIKE show days to go – but let’s face it, reality has a tendency to get in the way. Unless you’re a pro with a yard full of grooms and a lorry full of gear, you’ll probably be familiar with the following…

The dream: You wake up early and leap into the shower, full of excited anticipation about the day ahead. You’ve been preparing for this for weeks, and you know you can do it justice.

The reality: You do wake up early – three hours early. Your clock says it’s 3am but you’re way too nervous to get back to sleep again. When you do finally nod off at approximately 5.59am, you dream that you’re halfway through your dressage test when you look down to see that you’ve forgotten to put your breeches on and your stripy pants are on full display. The relief you feel when your alarm clock abruptly wakes you up from this nightmare is short-lived. Oh &*&*! It’s show day!

The dream: You’ve bought a lovely, expensive new pair of white breeches especially for this event that will ensure you look and ride like someone whose surname is Dujardin.The reality: The expensive white breeches are so tight that they go see-through when you pull them on, forcing you to revert to your trusty old beige ones. At least you can have a burger later without them bursting at the seams (although, admittedly, this may be the cause of the problem in the first place…).

The dream: You arrive at the yard early, groom your horse and plait him up like a pro.The reality: Even though you stabled him so you wouldn’t have a mud monster to tackle this morning, he’s merrily spent the night rolling in his own poo and wee. His mane is more tangled than Rapunzel’s hair – and he smells. As the clock ticks on you give up on the idea of beautifully stitched plaits and do the best you can with plaiting bands. That’ll have to do!

The dream: He loads.The reality: He doesn’t load. Well, he does eventually – but only with half your fellow liveries strategically positioned round the yard with carrots, lunge lines and buckets of food.

The dream: Your trailer-towing practice has paid off and you’re able to nimbly reverse your Ifor Williams into the tightest of parking spots at the showground.The reality: You have to get your dad/mate/a parking official to do it for you. Your hands are shaking and you’ve completely lost all sense of coordination. Which doesn’t bode well…

The dream: Saddled up and ready to go, it’s time to hit the warm-up arena. Your horse demonstrates impeccable manners and does you proud, soaring over practice jumps/executing nifty dressage moves with grace and precision.The reality: Thoroughly over-excited by so many horses, your not-so-trusty steed decides to show off to his new friends by pirouetting across the arena, nearly catapulting you off in the process. Someone tuts and hisses that you should have put a red ribbon in his tail – which, in fairness, would at least match your face right now.

The dream: Your moment has come! You’ve practised and practised for this, now it’s time to show the world what you and your fabulous horse can do.The reality: Life has got in the way, and between work deadlines, social commitments and the time you have to spend looking after your horse, you haven’t had a chance to practice this as much as you’d like. But you’ll do the best you can – and once you’re in there, you start enjoying yourself. This is what it’s all about…

The dream: You win!
The reality: Maybe you’ve had a cracking round and maybe you haven’t – the important thing is that you got out there and gave it a go. It may sound like a cliché but it’s true. Grassroots riding needs people like you. Be proud of yourself – and your horse, of course. If you got a rosette – that’s a bonus!

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

However much we have prepared, things don’t always go exactly to plan on competition day. Top riders tell us how they stay focused when their competition plans go adrift

How do you cope when things go wrong on competition day?

Oliver Townend

“I think you just do. You learn to. You just have to! It’s going to happen all the time in eventing where things don’t go to plan and you just have to be quick thinking and change the plan. Often I’ll set off on novices trying to be competitive and they’ll go a little green and I’ll change the plan from being competitive to trying to get a double clear. You have to do that constantly. You’re always trying to have the best result possible but sometimes the best result is a different result from what your plan A was.”

Maria Eilberg

“You can often feel everyone has seen [your mistake]! You need to think that when people do really well it’s often forgotten very quickly so it’s not as big as you tend to think it is. It’s important to do the analysis and work out your next step — but not to dwell on it too long. Be constructive and productive about the analysis, and it’s good to go and watch other people.

“Watching the training and the warm up of other people is a really good idea, not just the tests. It’s amazing when you see the difference on how warm ups have gone to how the test has gone. You often see people struggling in the warm up, but they then go and do a great test. But you’ll see horses that have been idyllic in the warm up but they then mess up in the test. It can show the full picture of how professionals make sure that the horse is listening to them in the competition.”

Izzy Taylor

“Remember you’re dealing with an animal that is unpredictable. You may need to mentally box up the issue to allow you to get on with the rest of the day, and then get it out again later when you have the time to properly assess what happened and how to learn from it.”

Caroline Powell

“We all have those days! Horses develop at different stages and ages. What we tend to do is put them in situations that test them and to actually find out whether they are taking the job on or not. When you have one of those days, look at what’s wrong. If they fall out at the shoulder and you get a run out at a skinny fence, for example, you have to work out at what stage they started to go wrong and usually it’s the fence before. It’s a case of going back and rewinding through your mind where the problem actually started.”

What techniques do you recommend to overcome a setback at home?

Caroline Powell

“Repetition. When things go wrong just look at the basics as usually there’s something wrong in there. Whether they’re not straight, or in front of the leg — the silly things like that that they need to be. If you’ve had a problem at a fence, then you bring the fence right back to being quite small and making the horse understand what it is meant to be doing and then build its confidence up from there.”

Oliver Townend

“Always go back to basics. Go back to the start, figure the problem out from the basics and then go forward. Always start lower and build up. If you have a setback or the horse has a problem then you go back as many steps as you need to go back; whether that might be a pole on the floor or going back to the basics on the flat. You just have to go back to the things that are easy and make it all as simple as possible.”

Izzy Taylor

“Remember we all make mistakes. Take things right back to basics at home if you’ve lost confidence. Find a simple exercise you enjoy and is easy then slowly build up from that. Your horse has two eyes and a brain — allow them to use them!”

Maria Eilberg

“If you have the opportunity, perhaps see if your trainer can go with you to the next show. I know quite a few trainers who are happy to do that, especially if you can talk about things in advance. I’ve done that with a few people where we’ve gone through the tests at home to feel that they are confident at doing them and then we’ve gone to the show doing the same system so they’ve had me there to help them.

“I would also say always give yourself enough time. Time is a big thing that gets people stressed out. Always have plenty of practice run-throughs. That’s a big part of keeping everything calm; the horses feed off the rider. If the rider can get into a routine and stay focused then the horse can stay relaxed as well.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Don’t you wish you could reproduce your best performance in training in the ring? But for so many riders, competitions do not bring out the best in us. We grapple with competition nerves, we doubt ourselves, we don’t really know what we’re aiming for –and the movements that felt so soft and easy back home feel alien and awkward under pressure.

Performance coach Charlie Unwin works across sport, business, and the military to help riders optimise their performance from the inside out in training and competition. The proof is in the pudding – his clients won four gold medals in Tokyo last summer, as well as three silvers and one bronze.

Here, he outlines three principles to help riders cope with pressure and bring out their best when it matters.

Manage your inner game

Charlie works with riders on the concept of reproducing their peak performance, and calls it “managing your inner game”.

“Take your best-ever performance and think about it hard – you know you can ride that well because you’ve done it before,” he says. “But what if you could repeat it every single time?

“Managing our ‘inner game’ is about consistently recreating our internal conditions to make our external performance the best it can be. The inner game can be a curious concept to equestrians because, in this sport, the animal forms the focal point and that can draw attention away from what is going on in our heads. However, the horse largely performs as a function of how you perform and what goes on inside our heads affects our outside performance.”

Charlie breaks this down into two aspects: thinking and feeling.

“‘Thinking’ involves training ourselves to focus on the simple things that count – like rhythm, straightness, accuracy,” he says. “It sounds easy, but in the high stakes of competition, there are distractions that pull our attention away from what we focus on in training.

“‘Feeling’ is both the emotional and physiological side – managing both so we can perform at our best. Nerves are a factor, but also how our body responds to stressful thoughts, in the form of tension in the muscles, which means suddenly our body doesn’t respond in the way it normally does. We are stiff or robotic, and the horse responds differently.”

If you’re riding at grassroots, perhaps aiming for your riding club team debut and think this all sounds a bit high-brow, it applies to you, too! Most of us who have ever competed know the feeling of tension and nerves.

“This is as important for someone competing in their first event as at the Olympics,” Charlie confirms. “The way you think and feel affects how you perform on your horse.”

Set effective goals

Charlie calls goal-setting one of the “most profound tools in sports psychology”.

“Athletes who are able to set real effective goals are able to manage their attention and direct their efforts towards what they want to achieve,” he explains. “Most of us don’t think about our goals that much. We have an idea in the back of our heads, but we don’t spend time working out what it will take to get us there and what it will feel like along the way.

Charlie says goals should be “specific, measurable and achievable”.

“No single goal will solve our problems,” he says. “For example, say we want to compete at Badminton or get our jockeys’ licence – a heck of a lot has to happen for us to get there, so it doesn’t play a role in our day-to-day behaviours.

“Conversely, if we set tiny little goals, we need to know they are moving us towards a bigger goal, which will motivate us. So goal-setting is a dynamic process; a blueprint that gives us a focus every day and all our actions should be connected to the process that gets results.

“I’d urge you to put pen to paper, breaking down your goals into as small chunks as you can. For instance, say your goal is to go clear at a particular level – certain components will always be true, like maintaining a rhythm, accuracy, using the corners and sitting up after the fence. Use these smaller goals in training as well as competition.”

Charlie cautions that the brain cannot focus on multiple thing at once.

“When you make goals for competitions, set really deliberate, controllable goals about one or two things on which you will be able to maintain your attention from beginning to end.”

Develop a winning mindset

All competitors know they need a winning mindset, but how do you develop and shape this? Charlie calls this an “inside-out” mindset – enabling riders to focus on the things that they can control and achieve their big goals.

“My starting point is to get riders thinking back to when you were a beginner,” he suggests. “The first time you rode, your only concern was to stay on and just doing that was a success. As you learnt about balance and started getting a tune out of the horse, you started jumping and before long you’re competing. At the first competition, you’re excited to be there, a bit nervous but you have nothing to lose and you end up doing well. It’s called beginners’ luck, but actually beginners have a very powerful mindset because they are focused wholeheartedly on the things that count, the things they can control, with no expectation of the outcome.”

Conversely, an outside-in mindset focuses on the outcome – clear rounds, results – and when it doesn’t go to plan, there’s nowhere to go, because the mind has not been trained to focus on the ingredients of the performance.

“Inside-out focuses on the inner game and allows the outcome to take care of itself,” Charlie explains. “It becomes more challenging the better the results, because your brain connects the reward system (dopamine) with the outcome, and you become vague about the process.”

Charlie urges riders to write down the little things that make a difference – whether that’s from lessons or any positive experiences.

“Before long you will have a ‘good news bible’ full of golden nuggets to fill you with confidence and remind you of the little things that enable you to get results,” he says.

So, take it step by step, work from the inside out, and get ready to bring you best into the ring – every time.

• For more tips and details on psychology and coaching courses, visit centre10.com

Charlie’s book, Inside Out: Train your Mind and your Nerve like a Champion, is available on Amazon.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

What happened to sunny days of competing, picnic et al? Some have been suffering with the miserable weather recently and none more so than those trying to compete their beloved horses in less than favourable conditions. Here’s just a few problems we face while battling the elements on the competition circuit…

1. Brown mud + white breeches = disaster zone. You have considered taking out shares in Vanish.

2. It’s all fine if you have a lorry with a decent living, but a car and trailer combination is a great deal more labour-intensive. Trying to get changed in the trailer and make your horse look as beautiful as possible while it is tied to the outside standing in a quagmire is a fine art. And when you return to the trailer laden with wet tack and clothes there’s the million dollar question: where on earth do you put everything?

3. Spending the duration of Saturday washing, drying, re-washing and re-drying your horse, sawdusting white feathers, rugging and then re-rugging, getting up at 4am to get to the show on Sunday only to be completely immersed in mud as soon as you step off the lorry needs the stiffest of upper lips to survive.

4. The thought of a riding on wet ground in a grass warm-up arena gives you clammy hands. To quote International Velvet, it’s like trying to perform Swan Lake in clogs.

5. You’re desperate to show off your horse’s wow-factor movement to the judges — but those bog-like conditions are something of a hindrance…

6. Plastic covers for your car seat are a waste of space — don’t kid yourself. Now is not the time to be a clean car person.

7. Quickly ‘nipping’ anywhere is a no-no. Spontaneous plans to go to a show? That will be an hour of bathing first. Dashing back to the tackroom across a flooded yard to pick up the girth you forgot? Welcome to mud-splashed brown-spotted breeches. Running to the secretary’s office to make a last-minute entry for the next class? Not unless you want to end up face-first in a puddle. Everything. Takes. So. Long

8. Rain has an uncanny ability to make your perfectly-groomed horse’s coat go dull and flat, and for your horse to instantly tuck its belly up, flatten its ears and clamp its tail within minutes. Not the best picture…

9. The tack cleaning situation post-show looks as though you’ve had a full day of January hunting, only without the port…

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Is it just us or has this lockdown been the toughest of them all? The good news, though, is that competitions are back on the horizon again, with British Dressage (BD) and British Showjumping recently publishing their roadmaps for the season. While we’re all buzzing to get back out there with our horses, there’s sure to be a few of these thoughts running through your mind as you start to prepare for the season to get underway…

1. “Will I still fit in my show jacket/breeches/boots?”

The combination of a long winter plus strict lockdown has done nothing for most of our waistlines, and if your competition clothes are feeling a little on the snug side, we can assure you that you’re not alone. Don’t panic, though, it’s never too late to work on your rider fitness – and perhaps ask your friends if they have any suitable clothes you can borrow.

2. “Help – my horse is still in holiday mode”

It’s been tough to know how to structure a horse’s training and fitness regime over the past few months without any solid idea of when competitions might be returning, and plenty of horses have been enjoying some time taking it easy over the winter. That said, if you’re hoping to get back in action once it’s safe to do so, now is the time to formulate a fitness plan for your horse if you haven’t already.

3. “I’ll never remember the dressage test/route to the venue”

However well you think you have something ingrained in your memory, when you stop practising it for several months, you’ll need a refresher. Don’t wait until you’re halfway up the centre line to realise you don’t know which way to turn at C – get those test sheets out now and swot up. And maybe use a sat nav for that first journey in the lorry.

4. “What if all my competitors have had a more productive lockdown than me?”

It’s easy to feel as though everyone else has used lockdown to advance their training in leaps and bounds, while you could barely summon the energy to tack up on dark evenings. But while you might be expecting your opposition to burst into the warm-up looking like Charlotte and Valegro, the truth is everyone has had their own struggles with the current situation and every combination’s training moves at a different pace. Redirect your focus to you and your horse – and maybe ask for trainer recommendations.

5. “I still can’t get a haircut – I’m going to look scruffy”

With the planned restart of BD activity in England set for 29 March – and hairdressers not due to open until 12 April at the earliest, you can expect most people to rock up to the first event back looking a little worse for wear. We recommend doubling – or even tripling – up on hairnets on keep those wild lockdown locks under some sort of control.

Continued below…

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6. “Why do I feel so nervous?”

Feeling a little more nervous than usual after a break from competitions is completely normal. Try to mitigate this in advance – opt to ride a test or jump a course that is lower than the level you were competing at in 2020, and book yourself a confidence-boosting lesson in advance. And don’t feel you need to rush to enter the first competitions in the post-lockdown calendar – wait until you feel ready. But also remember how much you might have missed that thrill of anticipation during lockdown, and try to embrace the adrenaline.

7. “I’ve forgotten how to get up early”

Those elusive weekend lie-ins every rider would dream about have certainly lost some of their appeal now they’ve become a little more normal. It might come as a shock to the body clock to drag yourself out of bed pre-6am for your first post-lockdown show, so why not build yourself up to it by setting your alarm a little earlier each week in the run-up.

8. “Get me to the burger van”

There’s nothing quite like a show-day lunch, especially if it’s following a performance you’re proud of, so don’t deny yourself that dirty burger/cheesy chips/chocolate cake – hopefully on-site cafes will be providing takeaway options for you to enjoy back at your lorry, even if you can’t enjoy them while sitting down watching the action straight away.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

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

We've put together some top tips for online dressage success

With winter on the way, and the cost of living going up, now could be the perfect time for riders to give online dressage competitions at go.

Organisations that offer online dressage judging in the UK include Dressage Anywhere, InterDressage, Dressage4All and Dressage Riders Online, and the format is simple – enter your chosen class online, ask a friend to film you riding the test in a correctly sized arena, then upload or submit the video online. Your test will then be judged by British Dressage listed judges and you’ll receive marks, feedback via email or in the post, as well as rosettes and often prize money.

To help you get started, we’ve rounded up some top tips for online dressage success…

1. Don’t attempt to enter videos of tests that have already been judged in another competition. To help prevent this, ensure that if you choose to wear show attire during your test (usually not compulsory), your horse or pony also wears boots or bandages to clearly prove that the test was not ridden at a show.

2. Check the position of the sun in relation to your arena — you will need a friend to film your test from behind the C marker, so try to ensure that the sun is behind them.

3. You don’t need specialist recording equipment — an iPhone or iPad will work — but do ensure that the camera has a digital or optical zoom function, to use when the rider is at the opposite end of the arena. It’s also a good idea to make sure whoever is doing the recording has practised zooming in and out with control.

4. Go through the floorplan with the person doing the recording, so they know roughly where you will be at which point — and when they will need to zoom in. They should ideally begin recording shortly before the rider enters the arena.

5. Record the test in landscape orientation, keeping the horse and rider in the centre of the frame — they should fill roughly half the vertical space in the frame wherever possible — to ensure the judge has the best possible view.

6. Make sure you record sound during the test — this shows that riders are not receiving outside coaching during their tests — and ensure that the test is filmed in one continuous sequence, without cuts or edits.

7. Double check the rules of your chosen online dressage body to make sure you comply, as well as making sure you are up to speed with the preferred method of uploading, or sending your video.

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Competing these days may be expensive and complicated – but was it any better in the old days? We take a look at how things have moved on.

1. Back in the day it was much less common to have your own transport, so getting to competitions at all often proved the first stumbling block. You could cadge a lift with a friend, club together and hire a horsebox or hack there (in full show gear, with your packet of sandwiches and drink).

2. Instead of modern high-tech show gear, you had your ‘best’ velvet riding hat which soaked up water like a sponge when it rained. Your jacket was dry-clean only, so you went to huge lengths not to fall off/get wet. Your leather boots neither zipped not stretched and had to be eased over your calves with ‘boot pulls’. Once they were on, though, they were on for the day as it took the combined efforts of two people to get them off again.

3. Hats either had no chin strap at all, a single piece of elastic under your chin or, if you were really safety conscious, a separate webbing harness that fitted over your helmet and made you look like a coal miner.

4. Pretty much the only ‘health and safety’ rule was ‘no stallions to be ridden or handled by anyone under 16’.

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5. Turnout for just about any discipline consisted of a GP saddle and a snaffle or double bridle. Nosebands were either drop or cavesson, and bling was still a thing of the future.

6. To prepare your pony, you’d wash him the night before, with a final rinse of ‘blue bag’ for a grey. In the morning, you’d use copious amounts of baby oil on a dark coloured horse to give a shine, and apply a chalk block to white markings. After your class, you’d wrap him in a ‘string vest’ anti-sweat rug and cross your fingers he’d dry out in time for the next one. Happy days!

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Anyone who has experienced competition riding nerves will know just how debilitating they can be. We asked Danielle Olding, of From The Neck Up, how to eliminate competition riding nerves.

Danielle says: “Nerves are the brain’s way of alerting us to potential dangers and protecting us from doing anything rash. Many of us experience clear symptoms from anxiety, doubt and negative thoughts, through to nausea, sweating, migraines, or an increase in breathing and heart rate.”

Sound familiar? Well the good news is, nerves can help our riding — they speed up our reactions and make us ride with more purpose. The bad news is, for some, they have the opposite effect, making competing an emotional trial.

The trick, Danielle says, is to learn to work with your emotional responses, channelling them into the job in hand rather than trying to eradicate them altogether. Here she explains how.

1. Understand the positive intention behind the nerves. Are you concerned for personal safety, delivering a competent performance in front of others or is it something else? Find a positive, practical way to satisfy this concern, so your brain can relax and not feel the need to press the warning buzzer.

2. Identify any possible causes behind your nervousness, such as a previous bad experience, and get some professional help to scramble your brain’s recollection of events.

3. Notice what process you are going through in your head to generate your nervous reaction. Are you creating pictures of everything that might go wrong, or are you using a running commentary to talk yourself into a negative state? Try changing the order in which you do things in your head. Change the volume, location or tone of the voice. Make colour pictures black and white, big pictures small, close pictures far away, movies into still shots, disaster into success.

4. Take the word “nervous” out of your vocabulary, both in your outward conversations and in your inward thought dialogue. Replace it with the word “excitement”. You’ll be amazed how your brain will adapt and generate a totally different state.

5. Keep yourself in the present. There is nothing a ‘What if’ junkie loves more than to catastrophise and create a damn good drama. If this is you, get a job writing thrillers. This marvellous skill has no place in the real world. Our horse has no comprehension of the nightmare you have on continual replay in your head. Learn to stay firmly rooted in what is actually happening underneath you right now. There is more chance of Richard Branson toppling out of his hot air balloon half way through your round than your elaborate script joining the ranks of reality. Try to recall any rare occasions in your riding career when you didn’t die, or get banished from the venue on account of your hopeless riding, and compare this to the number of times in your career when you did. This should give you a better sense of reality.

6. Learn to keep your body physically relaxed. If you can keep your body soft and relaxed, your brain finds it very hard to generate a negative emotional state (because it associates a soft, relaxed body with a happy, confident emotional state). The best way to keep your body soft is to breathe. Learn to ride with slow breathing based low, behind your belly button. If you get really good, you can synchronise your slow breathing to the horse’s strides in any pace, this will help you maintain your breathing and a good rhythm.

7. Learn to ride with a soft jaw. Think back to how your jaw felt last Saturday night on your way home from the pub. Your jaw needs to be totally floppy and ‘disconnected’ and the rest of your body will soften with it. It is impossible to have a soft, relaxed body if your jaw is tight. So all you actually have to do is open your mouth very slightly and keep the jaw ‘floppy’. Learn to do this in downward transitions, lateral work, collection and coming over poles and fences until you can keep it totally uninvolved all the time.

8. Start riding in peripheral vision. Peripheral vision is another thing that your body naturally does when it is relaxed. Put yourself into it directly, and your brain assumes that you must be relaxed and everything is ok with the world. It is that soft, blurry gaze where your eyes remain firmly fixed on one spot out in front of you whilst taking in everything around you by way of vague shapes, colours and movement. Learning to ride like this makes it difficult for your brain to generate a negative state because it is not natural. It will also improve your balance and sense of feel.

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9. Actively create images and movies of you riding confidently. You have to teach your brain to do this. Take a few minutes three times per day to mentally rehearse yourself using one or more of these tips every time you ride, out hacking, or in competition, until your brain starts to develop them as a habit.

10. Remember, confidence is like a muscle, the more we use it, the stronger it gets.

From the Neck Up is led by Danielle Olding. Danielle is an experienced business, executive and sports coach who is CIPD qualified and is also a trainer member of the the Association of NLP and the International Coaching Federation. She is an NLP Trainer, Master Sports Practitioner and UKCC Level 3 Accredited Coach.

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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

When it comes to the tense world of collecting ring politics, here’s what we would put in Room 101...

1. The swarm of professional riders who swan in and sabotage your allotted start time, for which you have been delicately priming your one and only ride for a rare shot at success. You end up jumping 45 minutes after you were scheduled, your horse is bored and tired and hence knocks four poles down.

2. Supporters that stand in collecting rings. You wonder what the reason could be for them floating around in there? Stand the other side of the fence, head to the viewing area, stands or café — anywhere but in the ring.

3. On the subject of standing still, anyone mounted and stationary in a small indoor warm up while adjusting stirrups/girth/clothing/blowing their nose/putting in a bacon sarnie order to their loyal supporters. Can we make this illegal?

4. That moment the pro-rider’s groom claims total ownership of the practice jump for their rider and repeatedly steps in to put it up when you’ve called that you are on the approach to that fence, forcing you to circle away for the umpteenth time that day.

5. When you’re one stride any from the practice jump, committed to your take off stride and someone (either on foot or riding) decides to walk across on the landing side. Eeek!

6. When two riders walk two abreast around the small indoor warm-up, blocking both the outer and inner track — then look daggers at you when you nearly clip the inside rider’s stirrup as you ride past.

7. (Selective) blindness for your horse’s red ribbon — proceeded by the rage when your horse kicks out as they career up behind it…

8. The rider who insists on using the collecting ring as their personal training session.

9. Fellow riders using your horse as a tool to stop their own, running right up behind us. Your heart rate was sufficiently high as it was.

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11. People jumping 2ft bigger than they need to in the warm-up. There are no rosettes to be won here…

12. Riders with voices so loud you wonder whether they’ve considered a career in commentating.

13. And finally… The rider who has (allegedly) never heard of left-to-left…

What would you add to this list when it comes to collecting ring bugbears? Let us know below…

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When the pressure is on and the collecting ring is busy, knowing what to do and implementing it can be daunting. We asked former European champion Rachel Bayliss to give us her tips

The dressage

“It sounds obvious, but no two horses are the same and riders have to adapt their warm-up to suit their mount,” says Rachel. “The warm-up isn’t the place to iron out new problems, but if you’re aware that something isn’t working find out how to improve it.

“Remember that every rider tries hard to have a successful day, so be considerate. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what you’re doing and cut up other horses. Always be polite — especially to stewards — no matter how bad things are going.”

Rachel’s tips for… the dressage

➤ When you collect your number, find out how long it will take to get to the dressage area. It’s better to have 10min in hand. Running late means stress for you and the horse.➤ Before you start working in, find out which arena is yours.➤ Make time to stand and watch a test in your arena to ensure you have learnt the correct one.➤ Always pick up your dressage sheet to check that what you’re feeling matches what the judges see.➤ Remember that each dressage movement is like a showjump or cross-country fence — they have to be done, so be accurate.➤ Assess where the marks come from — sometimes a 10 is earned just for making a turn and halting. If you mess something up, forget about it. The next few strides could earn another 10 marks.

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The showjumping

Knowing how long to warm up for the showjumping can be difficult to gauge.

“The first thing to do when you get to the collecting ring is find out whether things are running to time,” says Rachel. “There is no point being ready to go only to have to hang around for another half an hour while your horse gets bored and you switch off.”

There are two common errors that Rachel witnesses in this phase: riders overjumping their horses or having a lesson in the warm-up area.

“You’re not going to transform a horse in the warm-up, so don’t try to,” she says.

“Having a helper is very useful, though, and many riders do find that having someone giving pointers gives them confidence.”

Often the warm-up ring can become busy and subsequently get chaotic.

“A lot of riders don’t really know what they are doing and get anxious because they’re not used to working with others who do. It’s easy to be fazed by professionals taking over a fence, but you have every right to be there, too. Take your time and do what you need to.”

Rachel’s tips for… the showjumping

➤ Often riders don’t get a chance to walk the showjumping course. If you don’t, walk around the edge of the arena looking at the fences to work out your line.

➤Go through the course in your mind to make sure you can remember it. Once it’s in there you won’t forget it.

➤If there is a long period between your dressage and showjumping times, allow an extra 20min or so to warm up on the flat. Don’t overjump your horse.

The cross-country

“You can’t just float from the showjumping to the cross-country. It’s important that both horse and rider get into cross-country mode in both body and mind, so you have to make a clean break,” says Rachel.

This starts before you get on — changing your kit, shortening your stirrups and changing studs if necessary.

Begin by establishing a good quality canter in a forward rhythm.

“It doesn’t need to be fast or for a long time. The aim is to get the horse thinking forward and in front of your leg,” says Rachel.

She suggests that you try to achieve a more open jump compared with the showjumping and, once you have cleared the fence on both reins, try riding it at an angle and off a turn.

“This makes sure the horse is switched on and listening to you,” says Rachel.

“Aim to have no more than three horses left to go before you. Then you have time to catch your breath, check your girth is tight and that the stirrups are still sitting properly on the bars of the saddle before heading off to the start.”

Rachel’s tips for… cross-country

➤ If you are riding multiple horses, write each name on their number so you don’t get confused. Keep all the numbers in your bib and change the order as needed, then you will never find yourself without one.

➤Make sure everything is as you want it. It’s very easy to get down to the start only to be told you’ve forgotten something. Eliminate unnecessary stress by sorting your kit into a pile in the lorry so it’s ready to grab.

➤ When you arrive at the cross-country warm-up, find out if it is running to time.

“As with the showjumping there is no point having your horse ready to go only to discover there’s 15 more horses before you. It’s very frustrating,” adds Rachel.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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

Prancing piebalds and sashaying skewbalds can take part in a new dressage championship this year.

The coloured horse and pony championship, run by British Dressage (BD) and animal health manufacturer Nettex, is open to mounts registered with the Coloured Horse and Pony Society (CHAPS).

The competition runs from intro to medium level. To qualify, combinations must achieve three scores of 60% or above, before 31 August.

“British Dressage and Nettex is are proud to announce new for 2018 the coloured horse and pony championship,” said a BD spokesman.

“Riders lucky enough to ride one of these horses will now have the opportunity to qualify for the prestigious championship in the autumn.”

Scores can be gained in any BD competition, BD team or my quest competition. Scores from area festivals, regionals, winter or national championships and quest regional or quest national championships do not count towards qualification.

Combinations must be eligible for bronze or silver sections at the level they wish to qualify. They can qualify at different levels but can only compete in a maximum of two sections at the final.

Once riders have achieved their three qualifying scores, they must register their qualification with BD in order to take part in the championship.

Qualification forms can be found here and should be send by email to fixtures@britishdressage.co.uk or post to; British Dressage, Meriden Business Park, Copse Drive, Meriden, West Midlands CV5 9RG, stating where and when the qualifying scores were achieved.

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This year’s championship will take place at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre, Buckinghamshire on 14 – 15 September.

The winning combination at each level at the final will not be eligible for the same level or below in future years and must compete at a higher level.

For all levels excluding intro — where riders can be unaffiliated with CHAPS membership — at the final, both the horse and rider will need to be full BD members.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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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

We all know riding is inherently challenging. Trying to get both human and horse, with their independent brains, to work together can be incredibly difficult and the variables affecting that partnership and performance is vast.

While we can control how much money and time we spend on fitness, training and equipment, what do you do as a rider when your mindset starts to fail you and negative thinking sets in?

“Quite often it can be a particular negative experience that triggers these debilitating thoughts — having a fall, experiencing a bad jump, getting the striding wrong or incurring injury,” says sport and performance consultant Camilla Henderson.

“However big or small, riders can overcome these challenges through the use of core mental skills and strategies, helping them to use effective coping strategies in order to achieve their optimal performance at home or in competition.”

Camilla Henderson and Zoe Taylor, performance psychologist at Taylored Mindset, give their advice on how to stop negative thinking impacting your performance:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Seeking psychological help doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you, it’s a method which helps you conquer your fears and allows you to be the best you can be.

“Essentially sport psychology is about retraining your brain to think differently,” says Zoe. “It need not be a route to take when we have become unstuck, it can also be used proactively to overcome challenges or fears before you get to that point.”

2. Identify your fears/challenges/struggles

It’s important to know and understand yourself and be aware of your strengths and weaknesses.

Ask yourself the following questions: what are your challenges? Why and when did this become a challenge? How do these challenges affect your performance?

Some common struggles and challenges are:

• Fear of injury
• Worry over others’ judgements and opinions
• Self pressure
• Negative thinking
• Fear of letting significant others down
• Pressure to succeed when riding ‘good’ horses
• Pressure to perform well to be able to show people on social media

3. Find ways to combat your fears/challenges/struggles

Once you have identified the areas which you are finding difficult then you can strategically look at how you overcome them.

Practice makes perfect but it is hard to replicate the competition environment at home. However, look for ways in which you can add pressure to your training environment.

“For example in a training session you can set yourself mini targets such as ‘at 5pm I am going into the arena and I’m going to ride the test regardless of what happens,’” says Camilla, who as well as specialising in equestrian psychology is also Swindon Town Football Club’s sports psychologist.

“Asking someone to video the test and promising to upload it to your Facebook page afterwards is a way of applying a bit more pressure to the situation.”

4. Control the controllables

Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t. Don’t waste time worrying about variables like the weather or whether you are going to get your striding right at a particular fence, put all your energy into the processes that are in your control.

“Have a good structure in place on competition day,” says Camilla. “Put together a routine that works for you and use it. It will take time to harness but keep working at it so you know you have everything covered and have confidence in your own processes, we call this ‘power in the process’.”

5. Learn to minimise worries and prepare how you manage them

If you worry about letting your mum/partner/trainer down then have a conversation with them about it.

Often the pressure or fear hasn’t come from them at all but from what you perceive them to want. A conversation can alleviate much of that worry.

“It is critical for us to understand the power of perception. It is how we perceive and interact with our environment that effects how we respond physiologically, which ultimately affects our behaviour,” says Zoe, who also designs and implements the academy psychology programme at Harlequins Rugby.

“By taking ownership and gaining clarity of our processes, we can start to build confidence in the process, which means that we can control our perceptions and ultimately control our physiological response to a potential stressor, such as “that trakehner” or “that tricky dressage movement” or simply “opening gates on hacks”.

6. Set a variety of goals

Ahead of each competition establish your dream goals, realistic goals and goals that you are content with so you can manage expectations.

7. Evaluate and reflect

After each competition ask yourself what you have learnt, remembering to list positives as well as negatives. Don’t always focus on what went wrong, ensure you spend time thinking about what worked well, however minor it is. Keep a reflective diary to help build a picture of your thoughts and behaviours which over time can enable you to identify patterns. Finally, it’s important to remind yourself of your motivation for competing. It should be for authentic reasons such as you are passionate about it and enjoy it, not for unauthentic or egotistical reasons like you are trying to please your parents or trainer. So go out, enjoy yourself and have fun!

Find out more

Camilla Henderson and Zoe Taylor hosted ‘Developing Your Peak Performance,’ the first in a series of sports psychology workshops aimed at individuals from all equestrian disciplines at Oaksey House in Lambourn earlier this month. Part two will be hosted in May, details to follow on their Facebook/Twitter pages. For more information visit tayloredmindset.co.uk or camillahenderson.co.uk.

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

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

With the competition season underway, most middle-aged riders will occasionally find themselves in a reflective mood, usually vacillating between ‘hell, yeah!’ And ‘what the HELL am I doing?’ Here are 10 things competitive riders over 40 might be mulling over, says Jane Laidlaw

1. Am I in the correct discipline? Should I still be jumping? Maybe I should just stick to dressage? Or maybe I should be going up a level while I still can?

2. This might have to be my last season on a thoroughbred/warmblood/ex-racer. Next year I’ll get a nice cob or a Highland pony. Or the year after…

3. Thank goodness I bought dignified breeches before they only came with sticky diamante studs. And I am not tempted by one of those plastic riding hats, a skull cap with a velvet cover is just fine, thanks.

4. I am going to get fitter and I am DEFINITELY going to do Pilates three times a week. *Creak*

5. I must be prepared for the rollercoaster of conflicted emotions I will feel when I see people my age who have given up riding. As my horse cat-leaps a 60cm upright and I’m left hanging around his neck, I will wonder whether I am an irresponsible eejit.

6. But at the Thursday night jumping, victorious after a stunning second in the 65cm (five in the class…) I will look at the no-longer-riders and think, what a shame they are too scared to ride any more. It’s such fun!

7. When I am talking to my fellow younger competitors in the collecting ring I must remember to refer to my instructor as my coach.

8. I must remember that once in the showjumping ring, I will feel sick and wonder why on earth I am doing this, until the bell goes and I am over the first jump and then I will get into the zone and forget everything. That might include the course…

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9. Am I good enough for my horse? Should he be with a younger, fitter, braver rider? No, he’s very lucky to have a lovely life with someone as indulgent and experienced as me.

10. John Whitaker and Mark Todd are WAY older than me. I have years left…

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

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

It’s amazing what you forget when you take a break from something. H&H eventing editor Pippa Roome had not competed at a horse trials for a decade — until last weekend. Read on to find out what she’d forgotten about eventing…

1. Finding out your start times. This has moved on since my day — I remember ringing up for them and the drama if you forgot to ring in the allocated window and had to get in touch after it and grovel to the secretary. They were online by the time I finished eventing, but now you get a text message too. And then all the working out. Can we walk the cross-country course between phases? No. Ok, we need to arrive early then. So we need to leave at this time. So we need to get up at what time? Aargh…

2. The start fee. You need to take cash to pay it. Totally forgot that — good job I took my Dad with me…

3. Studs. They are the absolute bane of any event rider/groom’s life. Even if you tap the holes the day before it’s still painful putting the little sods in on the day, and then you have the whole, “Can I put him back in the trailer with studs in?” dilemma and end up worrying about walking on hard tracks and roads.

4. The many different ways to run a showjumping collecting ring. Taking numbers on a board, trying to make people stick to times, taking numbers on a clipboard. I really don’t envy that volunteer.

5. Remembering courses. I thought I had this one licked, never had too many problems before. I think my brain has melted in the 10 years since I last evented, as I absolutely could not remember quite a few fences when I was waiting to go across country.

6. Sweets in the secretary’s office. It’s nice that they often have them. Who doesn’t want a jelly bean while you’re picking up your number?

7. Finding out your dressage score. Do you try to look for it before showjumping? Or wait to see if it’s read out on the commentary? Or try to ignore it so it doesn’t distract you?

8. Cleaning tack. Yes, I know it sounds lazy. But you clean it all before the event and then it rains and you have to clean it all again afterwards. But when it goes well, it’s all worth it for that thrilling six minutes going cross-country…

Keep up to date with the latest eventing news, reports and comments from elite eventing personalities in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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

Whether you are competing for the day or staying away, we have all the life hacks and useful kit you may not have realised you needed in your horsebox until now

There are so many things to think about when you are competing; your turn-out, timings, changing dress, keeping organised, keeping clean and that’s all before you’ve mounted. This is why we have found a selection of products for your horsebox that will really short circuit a lot of those tasks and greatly improve your competition day.

If you are staying away in your horsebox, the amount and type of kit you need to be comfortable and organised increases dramatically. If you don’t have a super luxurious lorry with all mod cons, then we have found some products that will make your stay away a pleasure, even if your lorry only has the bare minimum of conveniences.

Running out of phone charge is said to cause more stress to people than a job interview, so don’t worry – we have got that covered in this list. Plus we have found products to combat the cold, dark, lack of wifi and electricity.

NB: The shopping links below are provided to help you buy these items. We earn a small commission from these links.

For staying away:

Anker PowerCore 20100 power pack

Never let your phone run out of battery with this portable charger. It weighs as little as a can of soup yet can rapidly charge the iPhone 8 almost seven times over, the Galaxy S8 five times or the iPad mini on four occasions. It recharges in 10 hours and has a safety system with high-quality LG battery cells to ensure complete protection for you and your devices.

Buy now: Anker PowerCore 20100 power pack from £27.99

Asado Portable Charcoal BBQ hamper

A BBQ is probably the most popular thing to have while away at a competition, as not only you can have a tasty meal without needing electricity or gas, but it’s also a great way to socialise. This hamper has everything you need for a BBQ. It uses bamboo charcoal for environmentally friendly, smokeless and odourless cooking and comes with cool bag, a frame, 7 in 1 BBQ tool, three standard instant BBQs and two large instant BBQs. Just check with the venue they are happy for you to BBQ on site first…

Buy now: Asado Portable Charcoal BBQ hamper from £14.99

Solar Camping lantern

You would be crazy to stay away at a show without one of these as its uses are endless, from going to the shower in the dark and checking your horse at night to lighting up your outside dinner table or using it as a bedside lamp in your lorry. This one has a fashionably design and comes compete with a USB port and a crank dynamo if you completely run out of charge. The full charging time by plugging in the AC adapter is about 6 to 7 hours. The charging time via the built-in solar panel is about 6 hours in strong light or 12 hours in weak light.

Buy now: Solar Camping lantern from £18.99

Evopower EVO20i 2kW 2000w 230v Suitcase Inverter generator

Many stay away shows don’t offer hook-up and many lorries don’t have on board generators, while any type of leisure batteries will run out before a long show is over. For this reason many people buy generators and we feel this one is a great choice. It has a maximum output of 2000W, ideal for powering appliances such as televisions, laptops, air compressors and more. It is compact, lightweight and portable, with a mounted top handle for easy transportation. A LCD Display shows the voltage, frequency and hour count, plus it has an ECO mode that lowers the engine rpm to increase fuel economy and reduce noise, which will keep your neighbours happy!

Buy now: Evopower EVO20i 2kW 2000w 230v Suitcase Inverter generator from £389.99

Tuff Concepts gazebo with sides

A gazebo is a popular choice in the lorry park at a stay away shows where the parking space allows, so if you are going away and don’t already have one, then it’s worth investing in one. This example can be erected on hard or soft ground to give you outside undercover space, as well as another room to your horse box for entertaining in, eating meals or just sitting around.

Buy now: Tuff Concepts Garden gazebo with sides from £35.99

Classic Games Compendium

A lot of our time nowadays is spend on the internet, whether it is checking social media or catching up on the latest episode of The Crown. While staying away at a show the chances are that you will not have wifi, and the boredom may creep in – particularly in the evening. This is why you should invest in this game set: it contains over 100 games, with detailed instructions with all the family favourites, chess, snakes and ladders, ludo etc. You may enjoy yourself so much that you won’t notice the lack on internet connection!

Buy now: Classic Games Compendium from £19.99

Folding Dining set

Whether you are wanting to eat some meals outside, or need more table space and chairs inside, then this dining set is ideal. It consists of four folding chairs and a foldable table, durably constructed of high-density polyethylene with steel legs, which is easy to set up and store away.

Buy now: Folding Dining set from £119.99

Honeywell HZ-510E1 fan heater

Many horseboxes don’t have the luxury of heating, so this is why this portable heater is a perfect addition to your lorry that has hook up or a generator, especially when you need an extra bit of heat to dry something out. It is a domestic heavy duty heater with a metal casing, a variable thermostat, child safeguard switch, anti tilt cut out, cool touch carry handle, grippy rubber feet and designed to heat rooms up to 30m2.

Buy now: Honeywell HZ-510E1 fan heater from £59.99

Eco-Friendly Disposable plates

Using china plates and metal cutlery while away not only requires storage space, but also means washing up, which can prove challenging in a show environment. Also if you want to have people over in the evening, accommodating those extras requires even more cutlery. This is why these eco-friendly, biodegradable, compostable, sturdy, and microwave friendly plates made out of palm leaf are a fantastic life hack. They are strong enough to eat comfortably off and you can just throw them away afterwards. Bowls, knives, forks and cups are also available.

Buy now: Eco-Friendly Disposable plates from £11.99

Local show essentials

Copper Hexagonal Metal Hanging mirror

This handy mirror can be hung in your lorry to help you tie your tie or hung outside for that last minute check before you get on. It is made of metal with a copper finish and is a nice piece of décor as well as being useful.

Buy now: Copper Hexagonal Metal Hanging mirror from £8.97

Hemara 12″ Silent Quartz wall clock

Timings are a huge part of your competition day: what time do you need to tack up by? When are you getting on? What time do you go cross-country? The list is endless. For this reason, a large and clear clock that you can quickly glance at is always in handy. This ultra quiet, accurate, durable clock with distinct number fits the bill.

Buy now: Hemara 12″ Silent Quartz wall clock from £18.99

Kaps Perfect Shine

Quite often during competition days you are running between horses, watching others, walking courses, attending prize givings (hopefully!) and therefore your boots can get fairly dirty. This quick wipe on shoe polish gives a great shine to your boots in seconds.

Buy now: Kaps Perfect Shine from £5.49

RinseKit Portable Pressure washing kit

This washing system allow you to wash your horse off quickly and efficiently, similar to how you would at a home with a hose. This is an upgrade from using buckets and sponges, plus you can also use it as a shower for yourself if you are away overnight. It requires no batteries or pumping as its patented design features a pressure system that holds up to two gallons of hot or cold water. It fills in 30 seconds, sprays for up to four minutes, comes with a six foot hose and can be used as a seat with a storage area for soap and sponges.

Buy now: RinseKit Portable Pressure washing kit from £89.71

Whiteboard

When your nerves are high on a stressful and busy competition day things can go off plan. But by writing down timings, horses, tack and other crucial information on a white board, not only do you have an instant reminder of what needs to happen when, but so do other members of your team. These magnetic, sturdy, wipe clean boards come in a range of different sizes with pens, magnets and an eraser thrown in.

Buy now: Whiteboard from £15.49

Stubbs boot jack

Save yourself from bending down and getting your competition clothes dirty with this durable wooden boot jack.

Buy now: Stubbs boot jack from £12.26

H & L Russel Lint roller

When your life is action packed, your show schedule full and your competition days busy, finding time to clean your jacket can be the last thing on your list. This roller can take off any excess dust and horse hair in one fell swoop and leave you looking immaculate as you go into the arena. Plus it comes with six useful spare refills.

Buy now: H & L Russel Lint roller from £3.59

Esschert Design Boot rack

Space is tight in a horsebox so this boot rack will keep your footwear neatly out of the way while helping to prevent a dirty floor. It’s made from high quality wood and contains two size poles 23cm and 37cm to put your boots on.

Buy now: Esschert Design Boot rack from £27.18

Fyna-Lite Mini Mucka fork

Although designed for children, this miniature fork is ideal for a quick quick skip out of the horse area of your transport and much smaller to find a space for compared to a full sized one.

Buy now: Fyna-Lite Mini Mucka fork from £20.35

Small Drawer Tower set

Cupboard space and drawers are often scarce in the front of your horsebox, which is why these drawers are a good buy. They are 260 x 350 x 680mm, easy to clean and can be moved into any position. Plus they can be used outside to hold grooming kits, boots, tack cleaner etc.

Buy now: Small Drawer Tower set from £22.99

Fotosnow Self Adhesive hooks

Hang up your coats, bags, number bibs etc to any lorry door or smooth inside wall with these stick on hooks. They have a max weight capacity of 6kg per hook, are easy to stick on and remove, plus they are reusable, durable and waterproof — a great use of space and way to keep tidy.

Buy now: Fotosnow Self Adhesive hooks from £7.99

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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 well-being of our equine athletes might be our number one 
priority, but the power of a rider’s sleep for 
boosting performance in the saddle should not be underestimated. Here’s how to get some more time in the land of nod...

Early mornings and late nights — riders’ busy lives leave little time for sleep. But could more time in the land of nod give you the edge in the saddle?

Other top athletes take sleep seriously. Roger Federer is said to have around 11 to 12 hours a night, while Usain Bolt and Maria Sharapova both clock around 10.

Dr Amy Bender, of the Centre For Sleep in Calgary, specialises in working with elite athletes.

“Sleep is a basic need — we all have to sleep or we die,” she says. “Every cell in our body is affected when you don’t sleep as you should, as is every biological process.”

With elite equestrian sport becoming ever more competitive, the margins between winning and losing are increasingly close. Dr Bender worked with members of Canada’s Winter Olympic squad in the run-up to PyeongChang 2018.

“With sufficient sleep you make better decisions, you are in a better mood, you are able to train harder and you are just better recovered in general,” she explains. “Getting a medal could be the difference of 0.001 second and so those athletes are looking for any advantage that they can get.”

12 ways to get the best sleep you can

1. Naps can help, even at the competition: keep them short (15 to 90 minutes), and mid-afternoon is best.

2. Be organised: clean kit before putting it back on the lorry, have a plan for the week ahead, go to bed earlier if you have early starts.

3. Routine is key: try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

4. Good cardiovascular fitness can help with sleep and recovery.

5. Alcohol is a sedative and harms sleep quality; it also hinders recovery.

6. Stop drinking any caffeine 
around lunchtime.

7. Off-load your racing mind by writing down what went well, what you want to work on and your plan of action with your horse after a show.

8. Have a clear sense of why you are getting up in the morning: for example, fitting in a swim before riding, or practising your dressage test before work.

Continued below…

Take a spare plaiting kit and other ways to stay calm ahead of a dressage test

How sports psychology helped an eventer overcome her rotational fall demons

Performance and sport psychologist Camilla Henderson explains how

9. Be mindful that smartphones and technology can prevent sleep.

10. Relax by doing a simple hobby, reading or taking a warm bath.

Read the full feature about the impact of sleep on riders in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (22 March 2018)

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

Competition day superstitions aren’t uncommon. Serena Williams doesn’t change her socks once during a tennis tournament, Christiano Ronaldo likes to stare at himself in the mirror and Rafa Nadal has to pull his shorts from his bottom, pluck at his t-shirt shoulders then wipe his face before every serve.

Some of the world’s top equestrians are a little superstitious too — Laura Tomlinson likes to wear the same pair of pearl earrings while competing and Piggy French always feeds four leaf clovers to her horses and then makes a wish.

Here are some of your superstitions to add to the list…

Alli Lawson

“I wear odd socks and I have to have a plaited bit of hair from my old horse in my jodhpur pocket too.”

Emma Cruickshank

“I show and once I’ve won or done well at a stay away show, I won’t change my shirt or tie all week. You can imagine the state of it by the end of the five days!”

Gemma Shanks

“If I hit more than three red lights en-route to the venue it’s an omen and I have to head home!”

Sally Galloway

“One magpie — not good!”

Lucy Jones

“I wear odd socks and I never have 13 plaits down the crest of a horse’s neck either.”

Gemma Smith

“I always have to put on left-handed things before the right — so the left sock first, left riding boot and so on.”

Continued below…

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

12 top riders reveal their superstitions

Georgie Christy

“I was once told that if a strap of a horse’s bridle is out of its keeper, you will fall off. If there are two straps out of keepers, you will fall off twice.”

Megan Hunt

“I like to stamp on things if they are brand new before I use them in competition. The most difficult occasion I had to do this was when I bought a new top hat for an event. My mother and friend had to lift me up so I could gently tap my feet on the top of the hat before I would put it on!”

Do you have any superstitions for competition day? Let us know below…

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

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

As the old adage says, by failing to plan you are planning to fail. Trainer James Burtwell believes riders need to get strategic if they are going to optimise their competition performance

You’ve had all the lessons you can afford and put in the hours of training required. You’ve tackled your nerves and are competing regularly. Somehow, still, you don’t feel you are doing yourself and your horse justice in the ring. If this sounds like you, try following James’s advice to give you the edge come show day.

1. Plan ahead and make a timetable

You want to arrive with enough time to get ready and warm up, but not so much that you get worked up hanging around. If possible, do a dummy run.

If you’ve competed at the venue before, you will even know how long it takes to get to the secretary’s and into the arena from the lorry park. Make a note of this information, as it’s this detail that can make the difference between a smooth performance and a frazzled, stressed-out day.

2. Never look at the scoreboard

Just don’t do it, however tempting. Ask a friend or helper to go and check your time or arena if necessary. Looking at other’s scores before you ride will only make you start worrying about whether you can better them. And stressing about what everyone else is doing won’t help your performance.

Don’t look to see which riders are going before and after you, either — you don’t want to know if you’re following Mark Todd or Carl Hester.

3. Consider stabling

If you are going to a show that is particularly important to you — perhaps a championship — and your route takes in a road as potentially nightmarish as the M25, consider stabling overnight beforehand. Some horses worry about being away from home, but it’s a good experience and part of their education. The last thing you want is to miss your class.

If your start time is very early, it may be worth staying over, too. Getting up at 4am upsets the horse’s routine. It can be beneficial to have the opportunity to ride in the arena the day before, too.

4. Don’t get carried away in the warm-up

Your warm-up is just that, designed to warm your horse’s muscles (and yours) in preparation for the task ahead. Don’t use it to wear you both out, nor to teach your horse something new — if he doesn’t know it now, he won’t pick it up in the next 20 minutes nor sustain it for the competition. That said, don’t under do it in the warm-up, either — your horse needs to be prepared for the job, so ride transitions and make sure he is listening to you.

5. Pretend you’re at home

Remain calm and behave just as you would if riding in the arena at home. Your horse will pick up on any tension, and if you suddenly change the way you ride he won’t understand what you’re asking of him.

Get yourself into a bubble on arrival at a show and ignore all distractions. Explain to anyone going with you that you may be distant when getting ready and don’t need a kind family member offering you a coffee in the warm-up, for example.

While waiting for the bell to ring (or the starter’s orders), you shouldn’t even notice who else is there — just focus and think: same test/jumps, different arena.

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

10 top tips to help tackle nerves in the warm-up

Bursting into song — and 5 other ways to beat riding nerves

6. Get familiar

If possible, avoid changing your bit or tack before a show — you want your horse to work predictably. Practise riding at home in the kit you plan to wear at the show, too. Putting on your shiny riding boots and white breeches without leather half-seat may suddenly make you feel much less secure.

Don’t change the way you ride right before competition, and similarly don’t over-ride or over-train before a show — your horse won’t know what’s going on.

Have the horse shod at least two weeks before an important competition to give his shoes time to bed down, and take spares with you.

7. And get on with it

If you can’t have leg protection on your horse in the ring, put boots on him during the warm-up rather than bandages, as the latter can be difficult to remove before you go in if the horse is excitable.

If your horse is tense, having warmed up, get in the arena and get on with the test or course — don’t faff about getting him to halt perfectly before you get going, for example, as you’ll only wind each other up.

Don’t miss this week’s special SHOW GUIDE issue of Horse & Hound magazine (22 February 2018), including more than 5,400 dates to plan your season

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

This week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (22 February 2018) is our show guide issue — complete with more than 5,400 dates to plan your season. Find out how to make the most of your moment in the spotlight with our guide to prize-givings...

A big win is always memorable, but a particular grand prix prize-giving ceremony sticks in showjumper Tim Stockdale’s mind for all the wrong reasons.

It was just as the national anthem fired up and the crowds burst into appreciative applause that Tim’s moment of glory ended in a cloud of Spanish dust.

“I put my leg on for the lap of honour and was bucked clean off,” he remembers. “As my horse galloped round, sponsor’s rug and rosettes flapping, I was left sitting on my derrière in the middle of the arena.”

Tim’s experience is not unique. Riders at all levels can recall explosive prize-givings in which hyped-up horses, forced to stand in line in an electric atmosphere, have boiled over.

From rearing up to falling down, or exiting the arena at high speed, the resulting behaviour can cause carnage.

Avoid a disaster with our prize-giving advice:

Don’t:

✗ Overtake. Shooting past higher-placed competitors is bad-mannered and dangerous.✗ Hog the limelight. Circle just once, unless you’re the winner.✗ Overdo it. Throwing your hat in the air or dropping your reins can end in disaster. Even professionals have messed that one up.

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

10 tips to banish competition riding nerves

18 expert tips for success on competition day

Do:

✓ Try to create a prize-giving atmosphere at home. Although it’s hard to mimic the atmosphere of a big arena at home, playing a CD with loud applause can help.

✓ Take a stepping-stone approach. A gradual progression through the competition levels should get a horse used to prize-givings.

✓ Practise making your horse stand still. Asking a horse to stand still under pressure should be a priority, whether this is out hunting, at the mounting block or after something high-energy like canter.

✓ Be honest. Tell the organisers if your horse hates rosettes or rugs before they try to attach something to him.

✓ Borrow a horse. If yours is truly terrified, find a safer alternative.

✓ Smile! It’s your moment of glory — remember to enjoy it.

Ref: 9 October 2014

Don’t miss this week’s show guide issue of Horse & Hound magazine (22 February 2018), complete with more than 5,400 dates to plan your season

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

With horse sport, inevitably along the way we may face setbacks — be it at home through a tough training session, a young horse that has lost its confidence, or an injury. We speak to top riders to find out just how they cope…

How do you overcome setbacks, big or small?

Maria Eilberg

“Major setbacks are quite difficult to deal with sometimes, especially if it’s your top horse and you have something happen to it.

“I had a disaster with Two Sox when he retired, and he suddenly had to be put down as he broke his leg in the field. He had been the horse I aimed for team places every year. That was a big setback.

“It definitely hit me, but I got into concentrating a bit more on my coaching and judging. In hindsight, if I hadn’t had that setback, I don’t think I would have done my ECAP Course and the UKCC Level 3. I’m now a List 2 judge. It can work in your favour if you use it in a positive way.”

Izzy Taylor

“Think about what changes you can make and try not to worry about the stuff that you can’t. Preparation, as always, is key to everything.

“Things go wrong, that’s part of the learning process so it’s very important to deal with them in the correct manor. Assess what went wrong and why. And it’s very important to be straight and honest with yourself. Once you’ve done this then it’s important to move forward and not dwell on the error. By all means learn from it and try not to repeat it, but getting hung up on it will be detrimental”.

Caroline Powell

“I have a great theory — what’s for you doesn’t go past you. If something isn’t meant to be then it’s not meant to be, and you are meant to go and do something else. When I broke my leg, we had our new house to complete so I changed my focus on to that and didn’t sit and stress that I had a broken leg. I had something else to do. It’s more about re-evaluating your focus and changing it.”

Oliver Townend

“Change the plan and go towards the new plan. The biggest problem and setback with event horses is injury or niggles and that boils down to more time, going to plan B and going from there.”

What are your tips on dealing with younger horses and overcoming issues?

Caroline Powell

“When young horses go wrong I think you need to take a step back and look at where things are going wrong. At some stage they haven’t learnt something so they aren’t understanding and the whole process isn’t working.

“I think if something does go wrong, you need to take some time out and think what the basic problem is. Sometimes it’s a case of taking 10 steps back from the bigger problem and working out what is going on before you actually tackle the main problem”.

Izzy Taylor

“Break the lesson down into segments and keep repeating the first segment until the horse understands and comprehends what you ask of him. Then, and only then, do you move on.”

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Bursting into song — and 5 other ways to beat riding nerves

10 tips to banish competition riding nerves

Maria Eilberg

“Always prioritise what is going on at the time. In my experience horses are always very genuine and they’ll try and do it if they can, so I always try and work out if they are OK to start with.

“I want to make sure they are physically OK. They might have had something that has frightened them, so mentally they might be a little bit backward. But normally I find if a horse suddenly can’t do something that it’s always done, then there is something wrong with it physically.

“So having the horse physically checked is the first thing and if you’ve ticked all the boxes and they seem fine physically, then you need to go to what the horse can cope with and keep progressing step-by-step, and forget what it has done in the past. That way you’ll get a bit of satisfaction again — it’s about baby steps”.

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

There’s lot to like about the winter competition scene. Horses are clipped and keen, while indoor venues tend to have a cosier feel than the sprawling summer showgrounds. From bobble hats to sizzling bacon baps, various tricks and treats can soon brighten the prospect of getting out and about in the colder months ahead, says Andrea Oakes

1. Find the right surface

“The arena surface is one of my priorities,” explains dressage rider and trainer Maria Griffin. “I prefer a ‘ride-on’ surface that the horses can skip on top of, so I choose venues with well-prepared arenas or those that won’t get waterlogged and freeze. Winter weather can be extreme and some venues are very exposed, so an indoor arena is always an attractive option.”

2. Make sure the lorry is in working order

“We have the lorry serviced regularly and take it out as often as possible — the worst thing is to leave it standing around,” adds Maria, crediting a “great mechanic” for keeping it winter-ready. “We also take an extra plug-in heater to warm up the living area. It’s horrible changing into your competition gear in the cold.”

3. Discover your secret weapon

Laura Wollen’s secret weapons are heated boot insoles — a “revelation” she discovered last year. “I’ve always struggled with chilblains,” says the dressage rider and trainer. “At previous winter shows I’d ended up unable to feel my feet, which can be disastrous. These insoles react with oxygen when you take off their wrappers, giving you around six hours of heat. I use hand warmers, too, because if you blow on your hands you just make your gloves damp.” Aside from taking dry, clean spares of everything, plus “three or four coats”, Laura chooses venues with a decent surface and good facilities. “It’s not just that it’s nicer for us and the horses to be out of the cold,” she explains. “It can be a nightmare if the surface freezes and the show is cancelled at the last minute.”

4. Avoid weather-related health problems

Even with minimum mud and a well-maintained surface, waterlogging can lead to skin problems. “Do your best to towel-dry legs and don’t leave a horse with water dripping from his coat,” advises showjumper Holly Smith. “I’ve had a few with cracked heels, which can be hard to eradicate once established. The best preventative measure I’ve found is liquid paraffin, as it forms a barrier on the legs and stops anything penetrating.”

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

9 reasons riders love (and hate) autumn

9 dressage questions you’ve been meaning to ask your trainer

5. Allow plenty of time

Eventer Anna Horton competes indoors in winter in dressage, showjumping and British Eventing jumping and style (JAS) classes, taking younger horses out one weekend and older ones out another to avoid lengthy waits. Her advice for the collecting ring is to allow bags of time and to go on foot first to assess the facilities. “I pick someone who’s competing a couple ahead of me and try to follow them through their warm-up, as they’ll be putting up the jumps I need,” she says. “It can be difficult to get your canter going sufficiently forwards for jumping, so make as much use of the space as you can and jump on an angle if you need to. It may be possible to find a quieter time for faster work.”

Don’t miss the full feature about competing this winter in the current issue of Horse & Hound magazine (6 October 2016) — our special Winter Show Guide, which includes all the dates you need to get out and about with your horse this winter

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

Looking for something different to do with your horse this season? If so, Forest Edge Arena might just have the answer.

The competition centre is offering a weekend of zumba for horse and rider next month, and spaces are filling up fast.

The classes are the brainchild of dance teacher and amateur showjumper Sarah Jeauke, who will be running the sessions with her husband Hugh.

She said: “You’ll have a great time, and you and your horse will both get fitter – what’s not to like?

“It might sound strange but it’s hugely beneficial to the horse, whatever your discipline.”

Sarah said she came up with the idea from watching dressage to music.

She explained: “I think the rhythm of the music really helps you concentrate on the rhythm of your horse’s stride.

“I tried playing music while riding at home and found it very helpful, on the flat and also to keep my horse’s canter consistent while jumping.

“These classes are just an extension of that.”

Sarah progressed to riding with friends, and using faster Latin-style music to up the ante, so the result is far from the kur that inspired it.

She said: “It’s high-energy, with some wicked moves that the horses pick up very quickly, they love it!

“It doesn’t matter if your horse hasn’t done anything like it, my boy was a complete beginner a couple of months ago and he’s a pro already.

“It’s helped so much with his engagement and collection, his speed jumping off, and his happiness.”

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Forest Edge manager Mark Muggeridge said that since the events were published on H&H’s competition entry site Equo, the response has been overwhelming.

He added: “At Forest Edge Arena, our forward thinking events team is always looking for new ideas and we are pleased to be involved with the launch of horse zumba!

“We never dreamt it would be this popular, and with the help of Equo, our first class is already almost fully booked. It is definitely something we will be hosting on a regular basis.”

Sadly, the horse zumba classes do not yet exist. But you can find more great events to enter by checking on Equo!

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

If you’re looking for somewhere to compete or train with your horse this week no matter which corner of the country you’re in, here are some dates you need to put in your diary and enter online via Equo Events

Get your sunshine tour ticket in the midlands

Venue: Keysoe, Bedfordshire

Type of event: Evening unaffiliated dressage

Date: 10 February

Details: Classes from introductory to PSG, including qualifiers for the Hickstead Sunshine Tour.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Get your jumping hat on in the south east

Venue: Felbridge Showground, East Grinstead

Type of event: British Showjumping

Date: 11 February

Details: Classes from discovery to 1.35m with a clear round at 90cn from 8am.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Go eventing in Staffordshire

Venue: Field House Arena

Type of event: Arena eventing

Date: 13 February

Details: Classes from 80cm to 1m, including qualifiers for British Eventing’s arena eventing final at Blenheim Horse Trials in September.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Jump and go up north

Venue: High Plains Equestrian Centre, Northumberland

Type of event: Jump and go

Date: 13 February

Details: Classes from 55cm to 85cm. This is a great way to practice winter showjumping. Competitors warm up in groups of four-six and then jump the course.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Train with a four-star eventer in Kent

Venue: Eden Equestrian, Edenbridge

Type of event: Sam Jennings eventing clinic

Date: 13 February

Details: Train in groups of riders of similar ability to improve horse and rider technique.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Bring out your inner dressage diva in Somerset

Venue: Stretcholt Equestrian Centre, Bridgwater

Type of event: Unaffiliated dressage

Date: 13 February

Details: Classes from introductory to elementary.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Valentine’s Day jumping in the north east

Venue: Holmside Hall Equestrian, Durham

Type of event: Unaffiliated Valentine’s showjumping

Date: 14 February

Details: Classes range from clear round showjumping, 45cm to 105cm and down and out, where the last remaining competitor is the winner as the fences go higher.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Fun Valentine’s show in Norfolk

Venue: Forest Edge Arena, Swaffham

Type of event: Valentine fun show

Date: 14 February

Details: Classes include clear round showjumping, handsomest gelding, best fancy dress, judge’s choice, and jumping classes from 40cm to 1m.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

Valentine’s Day show in the north east

Venue: Leamside Equestrian, Durham

Type of event: Valentine’s show

Date: 14 February

Details: Classes include cobs, mountain & moorland, lead-rein, veterans and ridden hunters.

Visit: Enter now with Equo

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

In her new book "Transform Pressure to Power: 8 Mindset Strategies to Achieve Eventing Success", Helen Rennie looks at how rituals and routines are key mindset tools that enable you to switch yourself into performance mode and get into your zone

You may have noticed that professional sports people have routines that they always go through before and during competitions. Often these routines are labelled as ‘superstitions,’ which makes them seem like they are frivolous and irrelevant, but they are actually the key to helping the athlete or sports person unlock their performance potential.

The reason routines are labelled as ‘superstitions’ is because they have meaning to the competitor using them but they may have no logical or rational meaning to other people.

You can argue that triggers fall into the same category. It doesn’t matter if the routine, ritual or trigger makes logical sense or not; it just needs to help the competitor perform at their best. If it serves that purpose, that is what matters.

Obviously in equestrian sport, there is the horse to consider in all of this and so any routine, ritual or trigger must be safe for the horse and rider, and it must also not compromise the horse’s ability to perform. So for example, a warm-up routine must effectively warm up the horse to prepare it for the athletic challenge ahead and prevent injury, whilst also helping the rider to get focused and in their performance zone.

Here I’m going to outline some of the most common rituals and routines that help event riders. These are repeatable processes that you can use as often as you need to throughout all three phases of an event.

Effective routines and rituals

Effective routines and rituals give you certainty, control and a plan of action. When you are at an event, you are competing in an environment that is often uncertain and unpredictable, so having routines and rituals in place will give you reassurance and a greater sense of control.

Routines and rituals are essentially about getting you into your performance zone and helping you to conserve vital mental energy and control your emotions.

Camilla Kruger, international event rider and Zimbabwe Nations Cup Team member, told me that she has a series of routines that she has designed and refined in training at home so that when she goes to competitions, she focuses on doing what she’s trained to do at home.

This is a great strategy because it provides Camilla with greater control and an ability to more easily transfer her performance level at home to the competition environment.

Make sure you plan each event knowing which rituals and routines you need in order to be successful, because this will help you focus on yourself and what you need to do to perform at your best. If you are competing in a big class, this will help you to manage the pressure of other riders because you will be more focused on your performance.

Here are the most common rituals and routines that I find are most helpful for event riders:

• Pre-competitionThe purpose of this routine is to help you stay organised before competitions and focus your attention on the upcoming event. This type of routine covers everything from the last work session you do with your horse before an event, to the process of packing your lorry or trailer for an event. It is common for riders to have a series of these pre-competition routines that they carry out in the final week before every event.

• Warm-upHaving a warm-up routine is good for you and it’s good for your horse, particularly if you ride young or inexperienced horses. Routine gives horses comfort in the uncertain and unpredictable environment of a competition. It also has the exact same benefit for you and, because it gets you focused on riding each step of the routine, it enables you to get in to your performance zone. The better you know the routine and the more precisely you ride it, the more effective the routine will be in a competition environment. So make sure you practise it at home and know it back to front!

• RefocusingHave a routine or ritual that allows you to refocus and get back in your zone quickly. This could be a deep breath, saying something to yourself or simply riding a shape like a 10m circle to give you time to refocus. This will help you to limit the impact that distractions have on your performance and help you refocus more quickly.

• Mental rehearsalAs well as being a mindset strategy, mental rehearsal is also a routine that you can use to switch yourself into performance mode.

Continued below…

A Thermos flask was your favourite present — and other signs you’re a competition junkie

Hurrah! The competition season will soon begin in earnest — and the following may well sound familiar to you…

Pre-competition routines

Very often a mistake made at an event can be directly linked back to the pre-competition routine and preparation of the horse and rider. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you already have pre-competition routines and rituals; it’s just that they may be unhelpful rather than being something that aids your performance.

One pre-competition ritual I have come across is something I call ‘the wind-up.’ Some event riders use the time before an event to get nervous and wound up about the conditions and the challenges they may face. Clearly this isn’t going to be helpful to them on the day, as it is merely building up their stress levels in advance of the event, which in itself will raise their stress levels.

So it’s important that you establish some clear pre-competition routines as well as event routines and rituals that help you manage your stress, conserve your mental energy and get you ready to switch into performance mode and get into your zone!

Effective pre-competition routines are essential for getting you in the right state of mind to perform at your best and get the competition outcome you really want. These routines will give you a greater sense of control going into the competition and will help your horse remain calm.

The best pre-competition routines are simple. Keeping it simple means your routine will be predictable and easy to repeat for every competition.

This will give you a greater sense of control, and the predictability of the routine will help keep your horse calm. Write down everything you believe you need to do in order to prepare for the competition, including what exercise routine your horse needs to perform at his/her best.

Being clear about the optimal plan for your horse is essential. This will depend on your horse’s preferences and fitness. Only you will know what works for your horse; just make sure you have a clear plan that gets your horse prepared and ready to perform. Once you’ve completed your list, go through it and evaluate the importance of each item. Check that you have included the essential things like checking your horse’s shoes, packing your equipment, food, first aid kit, etc.

Your pre-competition routine must include a deadline for finishing up practise. This is really important because last minute practise can be damaging to your competition performance, especially if you are struggling with something, like a section of your dressage test. It is much better to practise the things that you are finding difficult and could be the weakest link in your performance way before you get to the competition, because trying to fix that last minute will likely damage your confidence and not set you up for success.

The next element you need in your pre-competition routine is a routine for eating, sleeping and just generally taking care of yourself. To make sure you have sufficient mental energy for all 3 phases of your event, it is very important that you rest and eat well in the week leading up to the event. Your muscles also need to be well rested and this needs to be balanced up with the riding preparation you are doing.

Your pre-competition routine needs to be designed to reduce your stress so that you’re not leaving things to the last minute and so that you are well-prepared. This means preparing all the logistics well in time and knowing when you’re going to do things like plaiting up and loading equipment on to your lorry.

Structure is your friend

Build a checklist for the event itself to help guide you through the event so that if things start to get overwhelming, you can simply review your checklist and identify the exact thing you need to do next. This will help you focus and give you back control.

Be completely open with your support people, or whoever comes with you to competitions, about what you need from them in order to remain calm and focused. Remember rituals and routines are all about giving you control and allowing you to remain calm under pressure, so make sure you’re really honest with the people around you about what you need them to do for you so you can implement the rituals and routines you need to get into performance mode and into your zone in each phase.

Design your own

So now you know more about the most common routines and rituals that help event riders get switched on and into their performance zone, it’s important you understand how to design your own rituals and routines. This is something I help competition riders with so I have a lot of experience and here are my top tips:

• Keep it simple! Simple routines are more powerful than complex ones so make sure you keep it simple.

• Remember the aim of a routine is to help you stay organised and feel in control before and during competitions so you can focus your attention on your performance.

• Focus on creating a routine or ritual that enables you to be in peak state and remember that what works for other people might not work for you – find what works for you and stick with it!

• Make sure your routine or ritual enables you to get into your performance zone, so you quieten your inner critic and maintain the right level of stress and pressure that enables you to thrive and perform at your best

Action

Make a list of all the rituals and routines you use before a competition currently and include all the unhelpful ones as well as the ones that help you perform at your best. Then design new routines and rituals using the information and tips above, that you will implement in place of the unhelpful ones so you remain calm, in control and ready to perform at your next event.

Transform Pressure to Power: 8 Mindset Strategies to Achieve Eventing Success by Helen Rennie

Price: £14.99

Visit: www.transformpressuretopower.com

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

Now that autumn has arrived with a vengeance, we’re back to be spending our time competing indoors. No-one’s complaining that we can feed our competing addiction all year round — but there are a few things we’d forgotten about indoor arenas…

1. They tend to be very, very spooky…

Whether it’s autumn leaves falling on the roof, branches bashing against the side in a sinister fashion, or sunlight streaming in through the windows/wooden boards and dazzling him, your horse is sure to find something to shy at. How come he’ll wander happily past road signs without batting an eyelid out hacking, yet stick him in an arena with advertising billboards and he takes exception? Horses, eh?

2. Wow, it’s hot

Sure, it’s freezing brass monkeys outside, but in here, it’s like a horse sauna. Yuck.

3. You’re soaking wet

You’ve come from tacking your horse up outside your trailer in the pouring rain into a cauldron of steaming horse flesh. Everything feels damp and sweaty. You could take your jods off and wring them out, if that wasn’t actually a bit disgusting.

Continued below…

9 reasons riders love (and hate) autumn

4. There’s nowhere to hide

Those spectators are watching your every move. Not for them, the distraction of the fancy dress competition, or the ice cream van, or the tack stand, or the dog agility ring. That stuff’s just for outdoor summer shows. No, they’re totally focused on you. Just YOU. Feeling the pressure yet?

5. It’s really loud

You can hear them all talking. They’re not talking about you, are they? Probably, to be honest. After all, you’re the one they’re all watching.

6. Oh god, wrong leg!

If you’re in a big outdoor arena/field with plenty of space for turns and transitions — not to mention the occasional distraction for the judge, like a loose horse galloping out of the gymkhana field — you can get away with the odd mistake. Here, with all eyes on you, in a very limited space, you need to be accurate. Like, really accurate.

7. Weren’t we doing the 2ft6?

Yet there you are, hurtling towards a jump that’s at least a foot higher. That’s what happens when you get the course wrong in an indoor arena that’s been set out for several classes. You’re going over anyway – hang on tightly…

8. Who is that scary woman?

The one booming “get away from the door!” as you wait your turn outside for the clear round jumping. You weren’t looking anyway, honest, guv!

9. It’ll all be worth it in the end

It’s all preparation for the day you finally get to compete at HOYS or Olympia — and it will happen, oh yes it will…

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

In the latest edition of Ingrid Klimke's book 'Basic training of the young horse', originally written with her late father Reiner, the European eventing team gold medallist looks at what you need to know ahead of a young horse's first competition

The test of correct basic training is the first one-day event competition.

At home the familiarity of the indoor school, outdoor arena and local countryside plays an important role. The horse is not distracted, is calm and therefore easier to ride. Sometimes the rider gets it wrong, especially in the dressage phase. With the showjumping and the cross-country phases the courses are similar to those practised at home.

You can lose in the dressage competition because of self-deception if you think the horse is better than he really is, and the judge’s opinion can sometimes bring you down to earth with a bump.

However, the judge’s opinion is of great importance and notice should be taken of it. A large number of experienced judges are needed these days to cope with the number of shows, classes and competitors. Basically one must trust that in every competition the judge will be diligent and judge fairly.

Every experienced rider will confess to sometimes being foolish and having been taken unawares at the first competition. Success in this situation can only come with hindsight.

Be prepared for things not to go as planned

At every competition one must be prepared for things not to go as planned. This applies especially with the young horse. The atmosphere at a show is unfamiliar. People, banners, loudspeakers, and many different horses all contribute to unsettling the young horse. It takes about one show season for the youngster to perform as well at a competition as he does at home. Only then can one prepare properly for each outing.

The young horse needs frequent outings to a variety of different shows before the first proper one-day event. We also load up the horses and take them to another stable yard and practice different exercises in new surroundings.

It is best to plan which competition to enter within a set timescale. Once you have planned the date of the competition, you will have a clearer idea of the necessary training programme to follow.

Continued below…

5 things to look for in a young horse

H&H finds out what producers look for in their young horses — from finding something with good conformation to one

Warming up

Most horses will need to be warmed up for about 30–40 minutes. A horse who carries himself easily will need less, and an excitable horse will need longer. Warming up should include loosening exercises followed by dressage movements to ensure accuracy.

For the dressage phase, parts of the test can be practised to make sure that the horse understands them. It is best not to practise the whole test in case the horse starts to

anticipate the movements, which can cause problems.

It is a natural tendency for the rider to want to practise the more difficult movements but this is not wise on the day of the competition.

There is a risk of the horse going against the rider and becoming tense and then not performing well in the actual test. In this situation the rider and trainer have to work on tactful riding. If the horse finds certain movements difficult when working in, the rider must be careful not to spoil everything that has already been achieved in training.

Just before the competition is not the time to teach the horse anything new. The rider must keep focused on the fundamentals of training, such as working through the back and keeping the horse calm in the dressage or showjumping arena.

In our experience the time allowed for warming up before the first competition should not be too short. Failure in the dressage test is usually because the rider has not taken long enough to warm up.

It is better to take longer so that there is no pressure of time and the horse can relax. Just before the test, some lengthening and shortening of the strides should be ridden to make sure that the horse is responsive to the driving aids. Just before the start, the rider should practise the entry to the test, and praise the horse.

When warming up for the showjumping you could first trot over a small cross-pole after loosening up. With some horses it helps to lay a pole on the ground before it.

After the first jump the horse should be returned to trot and the exercise repeated a few times. To finish, canter a few times over a small upright, which is raised gradually. Follow this with a small oxer with the back pole a little higher. It is important not to jump too high or too many times in order to maintain the horse’s trust and not tire him out.

For the cross-country phase the horse should cantered in a good rhythm after loosening up. Begin over a small natural fence which should be situated in the warm-up arena. Once this has been jumped calmly and confidently, then other obstacles can be jumped.

The last warm-up fence should be jumped at competition speed.

Coping with competition atmosphere

At home one can practise ‘competition riding’. The atmosphere on the day, though, is somewhat different, being unpredictable and more unsettling. This is what makes competing exciting. If one can calculate what will happen beforehand, then there is no enjoyment anymore.

At the first competition, about 10–15 minutes longer than normal should be allowed for working in. We have had horses who were so distracted at first that we had to warm them up for a long time before they would pay attention. A few weeks later they were completely different and needed much less time.

Warming up for the jumping and cross-country phases should be done in a jumping seat and be ridden in the same way as at home. It is essential to walk the course on foot beforehand and plan exactly the route to take from start to finish.

With young horses the inspection of the course is very important if one is to achieve good results. At every jump the exact take-off point must be noted, and this depends on a number of factors including:

– The precise direction/ line you are approaching from.

– The direction you are going in afterwards.

– The condition of the ground on the points of take-off and landing.

– The structure of the obstacles. (With combinations, this includes measuring the distance between elements and deciding at what tempo to ride them.)

The experienced rider calculates each turn in the course and the best approach to each jump.

Reflecting and learning

If there is little success at the first competition, you should not hang your head in shame. We console ourselves with the thought that young horses are not always successful at the beginning and require painstaking preparation beforehand. A horse is not a machine.

Working out what went well and what did not is part of assessing whether the day was successful. Riders should not just blame themselves regardless, without taking these factors into account.

Every competition should be reflected upon. Questions will arise after each individual performance, indicating what is necessary in future training. This can be, for example, how to improve looseness, contact, working through the back, or correcting flexion.

Every competition is valuable and worthwhile when the horse has made progress in his training and improved from the last time out. The rider gains valuable experience and knowledge from each outing which can put to good use in training. The rider can work quietly at home on improving the horse’s performance.

‘Basic training of the young horse’ by Ingrid and Reiner Klimke is published by J.A. Allen

Price: £21.99

Visit: www.allenbooks.co.uk

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

Riders are having to rethink their competition plans after the recent closure of several popular competition centres and event venues.

Hertfordshire’s Patchetts Equestrian Centre revealed in June that it would be shutting after 32 years (news, 2 July). It closed on 2 August.

The centre hosted British Showjumping (BS) and around 30 British Dressage (BD) shows a year.

The closure was followed by the news that Carlton Cross-Country, a training venue and home to both affiliated and unaffiliated horse trials in Bedfordshire, would be shutting this autumn (news, 13 August).

Other recent losses to the calendar include horse trials at Milton Keynes Eventing Centre, Stafford and Salperton Park.

A variety of reasons have been given by owners and organisers regarding the difficult decision to close.

Patchetts’ said the centre was making a loss and the McTaggart family could no longer personally support it.

Milton Keynes’ owner Fiona Gifkins confirmed last year that they were putting a wind turbine on the cross-country course as it was more “financially viable” and they wanted time to compete themselves.

The impact that running a horse trials has on the parkland at Salperton Estate means that too has disappeared from the calendar.

Other commitments are behind the loss of Carlton after 25 years, while health reasons mean Stafford organiser Amy Dixon is stepping down from the role.

One venue making that is making the numbers work is Washbrook Farm at Aston-Le-Walls in Northamptonshire (pictured, top).

This season, owners Ann and Nigel Taylor have so far run 12 days of affiliated and nine days of unaffiliated horse trials – drawing large entries.

Mr Taylor said the money they make comes from entries.

“You must have the numbers through the door,” he said.“If you are not running a full day, you are not making money.”

At their latest unaffiliated horse trials, which ran on 16 August, they had around 330 entries.

“We have probably now hit where we want to be,” he told H&H.

At the other end of the scale to the grass-roots unaffiliated competitions, Aston’s British Eventing (BE) advanced is also hugely popular.

“Because we provide good ground at the right time of year, we do end up with around 300 advanced horses,” he added.

Washbrook Farm has invested in the ground and infrastructure to ensure riders want to run there.

Mr Taylor has spent around £100,000 on hard tracks throughout the farm, to access the course without churning up the ground ahead of competitions.

In 2014, they built an all-weather cross-country arena, which he said has been “incredibly popular”. This provides year-round facilities without the danger of damaging the ground.

“People come from all over the country — I have had people come down from Scotland to use it,” he said.

Arena UK in Lincolnshire is also investing in arenas and competition days.

The centre hosts international showjumping and major shows, including championships affiliated to Ponies Association (UK), the British Show Pony Society and BS.

Arena UK’s general manager Teresa Stratford said the grassroots unaffiliated championships are also “growing at a rate of knots”.

But the venue looks to non-equestrian areas to generate income, too.

“You have to diversify in order to stay in the market,” Ms Stratford told H&H.“We have had antiques fairs, boxing, beer festivals, motorbikes, dogs and TV and filming.

“We look at anything and everything.”

The centre is also looking into the possibility of hosting music events.

“We are unique in that our site can cater for a lot more than most venues,” added Ms Stratford. “If it is a viable business proposition, we will look into it.”

This is an area Hickstead has branched into – the Boomerang Hickstead Music Festival runs for the first time at the All England Showground on 12-13 September.

Chris Farr, BE’s sports operations manager, said the organisation is fortunate that a number of existing and new venues wish to replace those lost.

“BE currently has 24 potential new sites that wish to host affiliated competition and many that wish to run further competitions,” he added.

Mr Farr also said that a new organising team for Stafford is being sought.

Milton Keynes (1) will be replaced by Whitfield, Northants, in April and Salperton, Glos, is to be replaced by Farley Hall, Berks, next year.

A BE spokeswoman also confirmed that there would be replacements for Carlton and Milton Keynes (2).

She added the final draft of the fixtures list has not yet been finalised.

Ref: H&H 27 August, 2015

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

Horse & Hound’s 2015 bumper show issue will hit the news stands on Thursday 26 February — with more than 1,000 dates of equestrian events and shows nationwide for the forthcoming season.

If you want to have your show included in the directory and online free of charge please send your information to Madeleine Pitt, Horse & Hound, 8th floor, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU, or email hhshowlistings@timeinc.com

What information is needed?

– The date of your event

– The venue name

– The nearest town to your event

– The county

– The secretary’s telephone number and email address

– Details of the disciplines running — stating whether they are affiliated or not

The closing date to submit your show listings is Monday 26 January at 10am — but the sooner you get them to us the better.

What better way to get excited about the season ahead than by sitting down with the Horse & Hound show guide and circling the shows you want to aim towards? With details of events from showjumping and showing to dressage and driving — there is something for everyone.

“Horse & Hound’s show guide issue is the biggest and best-selling magazine we produce each year,” says H&H’s Content Director Sarah Jenkins. “Packed with additional features, training and interviews, the show guide issue is perfect-bound rather than stapled, and has a glossy cover, meaning it lasts a year of referencing in the tack room as readers continue to plan their competition seasons week after week.

“For many of our 200,000 readers, this issue’s competition listings provide the definitive guide to events in all disciplines — don’t miss this chance to get your venue or clubs’s shows listed to guarantee your events are on all our readers’ radars.”

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

How long is your packing list for a day’s competition? Now add a baby’s paraphernalia — from nappies and toys to pushchairs, cots and playpens — and you’ll consider upgrading your lorry.

It’s small wonder many mothers don’t have the energy to combine sport with parenthood. Each is all consuming, arguably incompatible. But some mothers do manage — how?

9 tips for competing after having children

1. Polo player Aurora Eastwood says that having someone dedicated to looking after the child as their sole job, so you are not distracted, is a must.

2. Eventer Emily Gilruth puts a playpen in the lorry so when it is cold and wet, the children can play with their toys safely. “Take a rope — my husband pulls them round on their bikes. And Scarlett loves taking her hobby horse to pretend she’s galloping round the course,” she says. Emily also makes bacon butties as a treat along the way and takes a children’s singalong CD.

3. Dressage rider Steph Croxford (pictured) says: “Take lots of toys and gadgets, plus juice and snacks — apples last much longer than a bag of crisps.”

4. Steph also puts her children to bed at 8pm which means that they sleep in the next day, giving her a chance to do the yard chores and ride before they wake up.

5. Physiotherapist Ann Clare, who works with many riders recommends pelvic floor exercises initially after giving birth, while the core muscles settle, followed by early core and deportment exercises, and Pilates by six weeks (three months after a caesarean).

6. Losing your nerve after having a child is a common problem. Performance psychologist Charlie Unwin, who works with the British equestrian teams, suggests setting small goals: “It could be useful to develop specific skills at a lower level while you regain confidence.

7. Charlie also advises nervous riders to use breathing techniques, which directly control the nervous system and cognitive (thought) patterns.

8. International dressage couple Gareth and Rebecca Hughes take their daughter Ruby when possible, although school can interfere with her jet-setting. If not, their nanny steps in.

9. Rebecca’s parting advice is: “Have help, have help, have help!”

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9 things only a pregnant rider would know

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

Grass-roots dressage riders are counting down to the start of the inaugural Team Quest season, with just over 2 weeks to go until the first competitions.

Team Quest is British Dressage’s latest concept aimed at encouraging riders to try dressage in a “fun and relaxed way”, even if they have never competed before.

Teams are made up of 3 or 4 riders who compete in individual classes at intro, prelim and novice level. The best 3 scores count towards an overall percentage for the team.

Each team has a name, captain and can ride in their own colours. Almost 50 teams have already registered — with light-hearted names such as “Let’s Piaffin You” and “Half Passed It” — in the 3 age categories of 16 and under, 25 and under, and mixed.

The series kicks off on 1 March, with competitions at Wellington Riding (Hants), the College of West Anglia (Cambs), Todburn (Northumberland) and Maelor Equestrian Centre (Flintshire). There are more than 75 venues hosting some 275 competitions up until 21 September.

BD Sport Operations Manager Paul Graham said: “Team Quest has really caught the imagination of riders from all over the country. We’ve enjoyed reading all about the team members and have had some fantastically creative names coming in.

“We have a team with a combined age of 221 years and our youngest team notch up just 45 years between them. Teams have been formed from riding clubs, yards, family members — we have a team of ex-racehorses and another where none of the riders know each other — they met on Facebook!

“The response has been amazing and we can’t wait for the first fixtures.”

For more details visit the Team Quest page on the BD website, www.facebook.com/TeamQuestBD or follow @TeamQuestBD on Twitter.

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

All dressed up and nowhere to go? We have all been familiar with that feeling over the past 12 months as the weather put paid to competitions of all types around the country.

To ensure that not a single wet weekend is wasted this year we’ve come up with some ideas to weatherproof your competition season.

Try online dressage

If you had online dressage mistakenly pigeon-holed alongside other new-fangled internet fads, read on.

If you are a dressage rider or eventer looking to monitor your progress, but are unable to compete as regularly as you would like — perhaps due to the weather — this could be an excellent solution.

Dressage Anywhere, which launched in 2010, now has 3,000 members around the world. It offers riders the chance to video themselves riding BD, BE and FEI tests and be marked by, and receive feedback from, a top judge.

Anyone can take part and classes range from walk and trot to prix st georges (PSG).

The driving force behind the company, List One judge Nereide Goodman, says: “The concept was quite slow to take-off, but more and more people are signing up.

“It’s especially good if you have limited access to shows and it gives grass roots riders access to top judges who wouldn’t normally judge lower level classes.”

Entry fees are comparable to — or slightly cheaper than — BD, and prize-money is awarded.

Jo Ivimey, a BHSI instructor who competes at advanced level, is a big fan.

She says: “I used to live in Dubai and signed up with Dressage Anywhere because there were limited opportunities to compete.

“I found it such a help that I carried on using it when I came home — and I recommend it to my clients.”

Jo tried her first PSG online recently.

“My test was marked by a list one judge and the feedback was really useful,” she reveals. “It gave me the confidence to try one for real.”

For more great ideas on how to weatherproof your competition season see 21 February issue of Horse & Hound magazine

All dressed up and nowhere to go? We have all been familiar with that feeling over the past 12 months as the weather put paid to competitions of all types around the country.

To ensure that not a single wet weekend is wasted this year we’ve come up with some ideas to weatherproof your competition season.

Go eventing on a surface

More and more venues have cottoned on to the fact that there is a demand for eventing-type competitions on all-weather surfaces throughout the year — not just in preparation for the new season.

David Sheerin, a three-star event rider and chief instructor at Wellington Riding in Hampshire, says: “We are running combined training classes with eventing dressage tests in March, but there also seems to be the need for arena eventing throughout the season, so we will be looking into hosting some of those, too.”

Grass roots eventer Jo Murphy found arena eventing a useful stopgap last summer, but warns that it is important to do your homework before entering.

“I’d never really considered it for the older horses, but then I went to Bovington — as a last resort because of all the eventing cancellations — and changed my mind. They had a full set of portable fences with skinnies and some tight lines.

“It really made you concentrate and was brilliant practice.

“Conversely, I went to another venue which had advertised an eventer trial. The course consisted of pieces of piping and random fillers scattered in the arena — fine for young horses, but not what I was looking for. It is worth doing your research.”

For more great ideas on how to weatherproof your competition season see 21 February issue of H&H

The three-stage warm-up

Warming up is about kickstarting physiological processes that make exercise safer and more efficient. This leads to a better performance.

1. Passive

• Make the body warm using something external like an exercise rug, even before the rider gets on, as well as a gentle walk.
• The horse should not be standing outside uncovered on a cold day or the blood vessels will be constricted.

2. General

• This is not specific to discipline and will take the form of walk, slow trot and canter, maintaining a pretty low heart-rate.
• The horse should not be stretched or pulled, but be able to jog along at a relaxed and comfortable rate.
• At this stage in the warm-up, the muscles, tendons and ligaments might not be flexible enough in some horses, so do not force the issue.
• Working in long and low warms up the back. If the horse’s head is in the air, its back is fixed, rather than engaged and using the core muscles effectively.
• This stage should involve general movements, working the different muscle groups, flexing to either side without pulling anything too tight.
• Keep abrupt transitions to a minimum because they make the horse work hard and raise the heart-rate.
• If short on time, it is preferable only to work up to this point, rather than skip it.

3. Specific

• Finally, start practising the types of movement you will be using following the warm-up.
• Abrupt transitions, tighter circles and specific movements can now be incorporated. Jumping would be introduced towards the end of this time.
• For competition, you want to practise the nerve-muscle patterns that you will be using in the arena. But the horse must not be made to work to strenuously so he leaves his best work for the practice ring.
• For a power discipline, such as dressage or jumping, we have to be careful not to exhaust the energy (glycogen) stores by jumping too much or spending 20 minutes in piaffe.
• As a general rule, this warm-up stage should take place about 20 minutes before competition.

However much experience you have of local shows, there’s something about going affiliated that means it’s a bit different — but these top tips should help you and your horse get started in affiliated competition

• Consider buying a day ticket if you’re not sure whether you and your horse are ready for affiliated competition:

British Eventing (BE): £16 for a horse, £16 for a rider or £10 for a training ticket for BE80(T) for both horse and rider.

British Showjumping (BS): A ‘ticket to ride’ allows an unregistered horse and rider to compete in affiliated competitions for a small charge over the normal entry fee. You won’t receive prize-money, points or qualification places on a ticket. You can use as many tickets as you wish until you feel ready to register.

British Dressage (BD): You can enter any affiliated prelim without being a BD member.

• Groom for someone at a couple of events before you compete yourself, so you can see what happens and it becomes less daunting.

• Take advantage of the help that will be offered to you with affiliated membership.

For example, you can compete at BE80(T) on a £10 training ticket (price includes horse and rider, plus you have to pay the entry and start fee plus a £15 day pass) and get expert advice from an accredited trainer. And you can get training from BS too.

Visit these websites for more information:

www.britisheventing.com

www.britishdressage.co.uk

www.britishshowjumping.co.uk

Is it really possible to combine a full-time career with a fulfilling competition life? And if so, how? Some inspirational working riders who have achieved their dream share the key to their success.

Honesty, says sales manager and member of the dressage World Class programme Sarah-Jane Elmslie:

“Be true to yourself in knowing what you really want out of horses. Either be a leisure rider and enjoy it, or accept that life will be tough.”

Realism, says vet and Badminton event rider Tony Warr:

“Be realistic and keep it in perspective. Remember you have a job and a family — then you won’t get so hacked off if you don’t achieve everything.”

Prudence, says global accounts director and intermediate event rider Sharon Polding:

“Save as much as you can during the winter and put the money in an eventing account to spend during the season.”

Practice, says boarding kennels proprietor and HOYS show rider Pippa Moon:

“Use riding club events. The times are designed for riders with jobs and they’re great for getting young horses out in company.”

Five things every working rider should do

• Ask your employer for flexible hours or to work from home

• Check out if your company might sponsor you

• Keep your fitness up while at work. Walk up the stairs, run in your lunch break or cycle to the office

• Check you are complying with the driving hour regulations — www.dft.gov.vosa — or get a friend/parent/chauffeur to help out

• Ask the pros for help at competitions. Most are happy to share advice

For the full article on working and competing, see the current issue of Horse & Hound (4 March, ’10)