Latest from Horse & Hound in Greenwich

Olympic borough receives Queen’s Award

Sophia Heath — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:00:42 +0000

The community of the Royal Borough of Greenwich has been given the Queen’s Award in recognition of their support for the equestrian disciplines at the London Olympics.

The British Horse Society award, “for outstanding services to equestrianism”, is normally given to an individual but after the success of the Olympics it was decided that the entire community should be recognised.

The award was presented to the Borough at the Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead on Friday (2 August) in front of an audience which included riders who had competed at Greenwich and last year’s volunteer “games makers”.

“Greenwich Park was one of the iconic venues of the Games in London and it was only made possible through the support of the people of Greenwich,” said Lord Coe.

“Their contribution was outstanding and I am delighted that the Queen’s Award is being presented to this Royal Borough.”

Receiving the award on behalf of the Borough, councillor Chris Roberts said: “I am honoured and delighted to accept this prestigious award on behalf of the people of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

“The equestrian events resulted in Greenwich being called “the undisputed star of the Games” which showcased our Borough in a manner even we did not fully envisage.

“The Games will live long in the memories of all those who witnessed the events and we are so proud to have been honoured in this way.”

Queen Elizabeth II assented to the creation of The BHS Queen’s Award for Equestrianism in 2005. Previous recipients have been Jennie Loriston-Clarke FBHS MBE (2006), HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (2007), Lars Goran (Yogi) Breisner FBHS (2008), Jane Holderness-Roddam (2009) and Stephen Clarke FBHS (2010), Jane Goldsmith FBHS (2011) and Brenda Larmor (2012).

The other nominees for the 2013 award were: Sue Adams-Wheeler (Riding for the Disabled Association), David Leonard Gulley FWCF (Farriers), Carl Hester (British Dressage and the BHS), Hugh Thomas and Mike Tucker (British Eventing).

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Greenwich’s leaping horseshoe horses sell for £70,000

Amy Mathieson — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:16:33 +0000

Two life-size horses made of horseshoes that were a focal point in Greenwich Park have been sold for £70,000.

The leaping horses, which decorated the final fence of the Olympic cross-country course at Greenwich, were sold at Christie’s in London on Tuesday (20 November)

The horses, made by sculptor Tom Hill from Hertfordshire, were constructed entirely from recycled horseshoes. H&H had reported the guide price was £50,000-80,000.

Iconic equestrian Olympic sculpture for sale

Flora Watkins — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:28:08 +0000

The leaping horses that graced the final fence on the Olympic cross-country course at Greenwich are to be sold at auction in November.

Sculptor Tom Hill’s life-size animals – constructed entirely from recycled horseshoes – will be sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, London on 20 November, with a guide price of £50,000-80,000.

Tom, whose workshop is on a livery yard in Tewin, Herts – “ensuring a good supply of used horseshoes” – said the work had been the most exciting commission of his career.

“The course-builder [Sue Benson] called the jump the Olympic Horses, so I’ll stick with that for the title.

“It’s not very original, but it works,” he said.

For more information, visit www.christies.com.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (20 September 2012)

Olympic arena surface used at Greenwich for sale

Charlotte White — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:32:40 +0000

Fancy resurfacing your arena or gallops with an Olympic-grade surface or Polytrak? Then bargains may be had – but you need to move fast.

The 10,000tonnes of Andrews Bowen surface used during the Olympics at Greenwich is being sold off after the Games.

And Lingfield racecourse is selling off its Martin Collins surface in September.

Andrews Bowen and Lingfield say they have had a large number of enquiries already, so anyone hoping to invest needs to be quick.

Speaking before the first day of the equestrian competition at Greenwich, David Andrews of Andrews Bowen said: “We have two surfaces at Greenwich, our Prowax surface and the 2012, which we developed for the Games and have used in the main arena.

“We have had a lot of interest from people who want to buy what will be an almost brand-new surface, but some is left.”

Both surfaces will cost £100 per tonne second-hand.

The 2012 surface – which FEI expert Professor Lars Roepstorff described as the “most consistent” he has ever tested – will be added to the Andrews Bowen range.

Mr Andrews said he was not concerned that selling the second-hand surface would have an impact on new orders.

The other used surface on the market is 9,000tonnes of Martin Collins Polytrak installed at Lingfield Park in 2001.

The all-weather track is getting a new Polytrak surface – costing around £3million – so the 11-year-old track, which could also be used in an arena, is being sold off.

Lingfield spokesman Kate Hills said: “A significant portion will be used on gallops and schools locally, but we are still looking for buyers for the remainder.”

She said it will cost around £40 plus vat per tonne, with discounts for quantity.

“The surface is still in super condition,” added Ms Hills.

Martin Collins said: “We were obviously aware that there would be an increase in second-hand material on the market around September.

“However, new sales don’t appear to be adversely affected. We have increased production at our Lambourn and Cheshire plants to meet demand.”

If you are interested in buying either surface, contact Lingfield racecourse, tel: 01342 834800 or Andrews Bowen, tel: 01995 672103.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (10 August 2012)

Britain equal second in Olympic showjumping team competition

Horse & Hound — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:39:55 +0000

Britain’s showjumpers are in equal second place at the halfway point of the Olympic team competition.

They carry forward a score of four faults into the second round after both Ben Maher (Tripple X) and Nick Skelton (Big Star) jumped clear. Scott Brash just hit the final fence on Hello Sanctos, so the team was able to discard Peter Charles‘ eight faults on Vindicat.

Nick said: “Big Star is the most perfect horse. He has been jumping great all year. He is a freak, he really is. And the crowd are unbelievable. It won’t be their fault if we don’t win.”

Britain is tied with the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland in second, behind Saudi Arabi, whose riders carry forward a score of only one time-fault to tomorrow’s final round.

Canada is in sixth place on five faults — despite the loss of one rider, Tiffany Foster, whose horse Victor has been disqualified due to hypersensitivity.

Tied in seventh are Brazil and the United States on eight faults.

As the rules state that only the top eight team progress to the second round, several teams are now out of the competition — Mexico, Australia, Ukraine, Chile and, in a shock shake-up of usual form, Germany (12 faults), France (14 faults) and Belgium (16 faults).

But if individual riders from those countries are high enough up the rankings — the top 46 in this case — they can jump again tomorrow as part of their individual medal pursuits. So Germany’s Janne-Friederike Meyer, Marcus Ehning and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, France’s Kevin Staut, Simon Delestre and Olivier Guillon and all four of Belgium’s riders will appear tomorrow, even if their teams can progress no further.

Twelve riders remain faultless in the individual rankings, including Ben Maher and Nick Skelton. The others are: Saudi Arabia’s Prince Abdullah al Saud; Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander, Mexico’s Alberto Michan, Brazilian Alvaro Affonso de Miranda Neto, Dutch riders Maikel van der Vleuten and Marc Houtzager, Henrik von Eckermann and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Sweden), Switzerland’s Paul Estermann and America’s Rich Fellers.

Ireland’s Cian O’Connor hit two fences today on Blue Loyd but will jump tomorrow, while Billy Twomey is out after adding eights faults today to his four yesterday on Tinka’s Serenade.

“I’m very disappointed, and I can’t lay the blame anywhere other than with myself,” said Billy.

View full results

First H&H reports on the Olympic dressage and showjumping team contests in the magazine out FRIDAY, 10 August

Olympic blog: who wrote the jumping rulebook?

Jennifer Donald — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 19:21:52 +0000

Showjumping is, essentially, a very simple sport. You jump clear, you ride fast against the clock, you win.

But, at championship level, spectators, commentators — and even riders — are left frantically scanning the rulebook, reaching for the calculator and then sobbing gently at the unfathomable complexities of the format.

So why is it so difficult to follow?

Part of the problem lies in the fact you’ve got team riders, also competing as individuals, alongside individual riders from countries unable to field a full team. Both sets need to jump equal numbers of rounds so nobody has an unfair advantage but it all becomes a bit of a muddle.

Saturday’s opening round in Greenwich was billed as the “first individual qualifier” but followers were left asking: “What was the point?”

Essentially, this round is designed to separate the wheat from the proverbial chaff. As an aside, it also dictates the running order for round two. Of the 75 starters on day one, only the top 60 riders can progress to the more difficult round two on Sunday. The bottom 15 individuals, sadly, see their Olympic dreams disappear. Surprisingly, there were three shock exits at this early stage in Greenwich — USA’s Beezie Madden, Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Team GB’s Peter Charles.

However, the rules dictate that this trio can return on Sunday as team riders. And, because the teams all start on a zero score for the start of this two-round “Nations Cup” competition, all three could yet prove to be anything but the discard score for their respective teams.

For those of you scratching your heads, here it is in as easy terms as I can manage. Every rider has his or her own rolling tally of faults throughout. After each round the highest scoring individuals are eliminated until only 35 riders remain for Wednesday’s two-round final where they all start again on a clean sheet.

The team competition runs over Sunday and Monday and the best three of the four team riders’ scores decide the medals.

As of Sunday, there will be three types of competitors: those competing solely as individuals, those contributing only to their team’s scores and those jumping for both team and individual honours.

Still with me?

For those of you wishing to examine the finer points of the rulebook, you’ll find it here but I would only recommend it for insomniacs, code-breakers and anyone broadcasting live to the nation.

Showjumping needs to be attractive, simple and exciting to stand out from all the action happening in the Olympic Park, Aquatic Centre and Velodrome this week. Saturday’s action was gripping, but only because the unexpected happened.

It’s going to be a smashing competition from here on in and already we’ve seen some wonderful combinations perform beautifully. So let’s not let the format detract from the greatest horses and riders in the world bidding for Olympic glory — stay tuned, it’s about to get very, very exciting.

Jennifer

Olympic blog: what will we do after the Games?

Horse & Hound — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:34:08 +0000

Reporting from the Olympics is something like reporting Badminton, Hickstead and Aachen all at the same time, but on fast-forward.

Many of the faces around us are the same — Badminton’s press officer Julian Seaman is also in charge here; Peter Morris is bringing us riders to speak to in the mixed zone, just like at Badminton. You can hear the familiar voices of John Kyle and Steven Wilde in your earpiece. Former H&H showjumping editor Penny Richardson is part of the team getting “flash quotes” from the riders. And pretty much everyone you know is in the Greenwich Tavern every evening.

But the pressroom is also a Babel of foreign tongues. I’m interviewing riders I’ve only seen before on the telly — who knew that American showjumper Rich Fellers looked so like Richard Gere? Or which riders you’d find enjoying a crafty fag in the beer garden of the aforementioned Tavern, which must be making a year’s profits in a fortnight?

It’s a unsettling mix of comfort zone and unknown territory.

Tuesday (the day that the eventing medals were decided) was sheer mayhem. Packs of journalists who know as much about horse trials as I do about handball descended, drawn by the Zara magnet.

Some were great, asking questions about the sport, trying to get a handle on the story as a whole and producing excellent copy. Some had clearly made up their minds before they got here to sneer at “posh horsey people” — riders and journalists alike. It’s a cheap score. I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t behave like that if I ever got sent to cover a story about handball.

It was the most intense day of my working life. A 5am start, a 2am finish and many thousands of words in between, underpinned by the rhythm of my heart beating twice as fast as normal with the excitement and pressure.

I can’t quite bear the thought of these Olympics being over. Most H&H editorial staff have thought — and talked — of little else for so long. “I’ll do that after the Olympics” is a seriously overused phrase.

What will we do “after the Olympics”? This event has put everything in our lives to the power of 10 — the speed we work at, the facts that we can retain, the demands we can make of ourselves. I think life will seem very flat for a while.

Thank God for the forthcoming hunting season!

Catherine

British showjumpers get underway at Greenwich

Horse & Hound — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:55:20 +0000

Britain’s showjumpers have made a positive start to their quest for an Olympic medal.

Both Nick Skelton (Big Star) and Ben Maher (Tripple X) jumped clear in the first qualifying round for the individual final, which also helps determine the draw for Sunday and Monday’s team competition.

“Big Star was fresh,” said Nick. “The crowd wound him up a bit — the roar was unbelievable.”

Tripple X, however, seemed to thrive on the cheering and stamping of the enthusiastic crowd.

“He felt great — it didn’t faze him at all,” said Ben. “And I know I can have him a lot better than that — we will need petrol in the tank for the bigger jumps later on.”

Scott Brash, who just tipped one pole on Hello Sanctos for four faults, said: “The track was technical, twisty, and had everything in it, but wasn’t massive, which was ideal to help everyone get going.”

Britain’s fourth team member, Peter Charles, had 10 faults — two fences down in the early part of the course and two time-faults — on Vindicat, who goggled, wide-eyed, at the packed stands as he entered the arena at Greenwich.

“Disastrous start, ended up fine,” said Peter. “Now I’ve got to use all my experience to work around it.”

There were 33 clears within the time today, and a further eight riders just collected one time-fault. Sixty-three riders will progress to the next round of the individual/team competition tomorrow — although Peter Charles will jump as part of the British team, he is now out of the individual competition.

Other surprise eliminations at this stage include Germany’s Christian Ahlmann, whose 15pen on Codex One included stopping at the final fence, and American legend Beezie Madden, individual bronze medallist four years ago in Hong Kong, who had two refusals on the 15.2hh Via Volo.

Both of Ireland’s jumpers are through to the next round. Cian O’Connor was clear on Blue Loyd 12, while Billy Twomey had four faults on Tinka’s Serenade.

View full results

First H&H reports on the Olympic dressage and showjumping team contests in the magazine out FRIDAY, 10 August

Olympic blog: Charlotte, we salute you

Alice Collins — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:43:59 +0000

I don’t cry. Really I don’t. I’ve seen Warhorse and I didn’t. But even from my dry ducts some salty liquid escaped as Charlotte Dujardin came down the final centre line today. She had already garnered eight 10s and went on to get four more on her way to breaking the Olympic grand prix record with 83.663% — smashing her own grand prix personal best by 2%.

Valegro makes dressage look easy. But there was nothing relaxed about the reception she got from her home crowd, the most delightfully biased lot I’ve ever heard.

I can’t remember feeling more nervous in recent times than I was during Charlotte’s test — but I, along with the rest of the spectators, jumped up when she nailed her final halt. We screamed like Justin Beber teens. We shouted, we cheered and then a noise like thunder swept round the stadium as 20,000 stamped their feet in appreciation of the coolest combo in dressage.

In the space of a week, I have turned from a grumpy Olymposceptic Londoner to the Games’ biggest, most patriotic fan.

So, ahead of the special — which will decide the team medals — Great Britain leads both the team and individual standings. That better get us some mainstream media coverage.

After Charlotte had so generously warmed up the 10 button for the remaining riders, beautiful tests from both Adelinde Cornelissen (Parzival) and Helen Langehanenberg (Damon Hill) reaped the benefits. What timing on Helen’s part to smash her personal best by 3%.

The other ride of the day (a new accolade I’ve just invented, and I belatedly award yesterday’s to Denmark’s Anna Kasprzak) has to go to Edward Gal. He made Undercover look like a seasoned grand prix horse; in fact, the Totilas stand-in has only been competing internationally for four months. The heavens opened as they came down the final centre line and a rash of umbrellas blossomed around the stands, but he never looked like blinking. That man can ride.

Aside from the inimitable Fuego, who entered the arena in free walk, cool as you like, Patrik Kittel had an impressive ride; the best “save” of the day. Early mistakes saw him trending on 68%, but such was the quality of the later work that he and Scandic clawed the marks back, eventually posting plus-74%.

This was my third trip to Greenwich and each time I’ve been thoroughly drenched by showers (showers, pah, more like torrential downpours) and got sunburnt. Perhaps I should stay away on Tuesday to manufacture some reasonable weather? Yeah right, like that’s going to happen.

With 30 combinations scoring above 70%, including our own Richard Davison (who was lapping up the home-crowd cheers, grinning and making vigorous hand-gestures to ramp up the volume), expect a sensationally high standard in the special. I might even cry again.

Alice

Britain leads team and individual dressage after grand prix

Horse & Hound — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:17:07 +0000

Britain’s Olympic dressage team are in gold medal position at the end of the first part of the team competition.

Charlotte Dujardin, 25, set a new Olympic grand prix record by scoring 83.784% on the 10-year-old Valegro.

“It is an amazing opportunity to ride here, and I really wanted to enjoy it,” she said. “I would hated to have gone in there, put too much pressure on myself and made mistakes. I just wanted to go in and do what I do normally and have fun. Having the crowd behind me like that was amazing.

“I was hoping for an 80%, so to come to the Olympics and smash that is a little bit crazy, but I had such fun. Valegro was just unbelievable. He is only 10 and we only started grand prix last year.

“Carl [Hester] said to me to enjoy it and have fun, and I did.”

Added to Carl Hester’s first-day score of 77.72% and Laura Bechtolsheimer’s mark of 76.8%, this means that the British team’s total of 79.407% has them in first place.

Germany’s final rider, Helen Langehanenberg, managed 81.140% on the little Damon Hill, giving them an aggregate score of 78.845% and second place.

A great test for 81.687% from Adelinde Cornelissen and Parsival means the Dutch are in bronze medal position on 76.809%.

The fourth-placed team is Denmark with 73.835%, while the USA are in fifth.

While Charlotte is in first place, Carl Hester is in fifth, Laura Bechtosheimer seventh, and Britain’s individual rider Richard Davison is 18th, meaning all four riders will compete in Tuesday’s grand prix special, after which the team medals will be decided.

Adelinde lies second individually, Helen is third and her German team-mate Kristina Sprehe is fourth. American rider Steffen Peters is sixth behind Carl Hester after scoring 77.948% on Ravel.

Full results

Full 13-page report on the team dressage in H&H out next FRIDAY, 10 August

H&H Live: Olympic dressage freestyle to music

Horse & Hound — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:25:26 +0000

Excited about the Olympic freestyle dressage competition on Thursday 9 August? The H&H team certainly are!

Whether you are lucky enough to be in Greenwich in person, watching the action on TV or trying to stay abreast of what’s happening while busy at work, come and join in the interactive fun with our popular free H&H Live service.

H&H website editor Carol Phillips will be joined by H&H Live regular dressage expert Anna Ross Davies from 12.15pm to share our thoughts on each and every rider as they ride their freestyles. Readers can submit their comments, ask questions, take part in our fun online quiz and send in their own pictures through the interactive service.

This service can be accessed for free from around the world on your smart phone or computer, so why not come and join us? Register for a reminder below to make sure you don’t miss a moment.

NB: This is a live interactive written commentary service, NOT a live video stream

Olympic blog: number crunching and Greenwich gripes

Horse & Hound — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:40:10 +0000

Filling the top two spots on the leader board after day one of team dressage at the Olympic Games is a fairytale start, right? Well actually it’s not quite that simple.

Both Carl [Hester] and Laura [Bechtolsheimer] would have hoped to post closer to 80%, if not the other side of it, to ease the pressure off Charlotte. With two strong German combinations to come tomorrow, the Brits have no room for complacency.

Things looked dire for Laura for the majority of her test: the scoreboard froze and when it came back to life, it showed her trending at 69%, prompting gasps from the crowd. Surely her minor mistake in the one-times and the early flying change in the extended canter — a mistake also made, uncharacteristically, by Carl — weren’t so bad? Luckily, it was simply a technical glitch and normality was quickly restored, but her score still lagged behind what she expected.

Number crunching

If you take the two British and one German team scores from today and combine them with the best international grand prix scores to date of the team riders yet to compete here, Germany’s scores equal 236.554 and Britain’s 236.219 — just 0.33% behind.

But — bear with me — add in all the combination’s best special scores to date, and the tables are turned, with Britain leading the Germans: 487.506 to 476.532. In a nut shell, it’s tight at the top, but we’re still well on track for gold.

Here comes the rain again

And it may be boring and very British but, again, the weather deserves a mention. Poor Anna Kasprzak had the brunt of the the torrential downpour (rain drops landing the size of 50p pieces) riding Donnperignon, but this happy little horse was so focused on Anna that they scored more than 75%, keeping them them right in the mix.

Canada’s David Marcus wasn’t so.lucky. A spook at a camera while trotting round the edge heralded what was to come. Half way through their tidy test in bucketing rain, Capital was spooked by a poncho-sporting camera man and totally lost the plot, spinning round in fright until the bell was rung, signalling his elimination.

Greenwich gripe

After a great day’s sport, I have one Greenwich gripe… Well, two actually.

The scoreboards are not showing individual judge’s marks, where in the eventing they were. What a shame.

And the big screen is blank during tests. In the eventing dressage the screen offered spectators the opportunity to watch more closely, or from a different angle. As it is not close to the arena or directly behind any of the lines in the test, please turn it back on!

Alice

Full 13-page report on the team dressage in H&H out next FRIDAY, 10 August.

Olympic blog: be proud to be British

Horse & Hound — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:25:29 +0000

I don’t do buses. But to get from my London borough to Greenwich’s Royal version, the best option is by a lengthy bus journey to Lewisham, then the DLR. This – ahem – epic journey proves surprisingly easy. I had hoped to steal a bit of a march on the uninitiated Games goers by getting off the DLR at Cutty Sark rather than Greenwich, as it’s much closer to the park, but am scuppered because Cutty Sark is shut.

Once at Greenwich, however, it’s a breeze. Everything is clearly signposted, and the “Games Makers” (no sniggering at the back) are a delight – smiling, friendly, helpful, waving giant pink foam hands and high-fiving youngsters. I even pat a horse – not a dressage contender, sadly, but a police remount on “meet and greet” duty with its charming rider.

Getting into the Olympic park is much easier than expected. Yes, there are queues, but not long ones and everything is quick and slick. Someone is overheard to ask: “Do I need my passport?” No comment. As we file past Army personnel manning the metal-detectors and baggage X-ray, someone mutters: “It’s like going through a bloody airport.”

No, it isn’t. Going through an airport takes considerably longer and no one smiles and hopes you have a lovely day.

And it is lovely, at least to start. Not too hot, but the sun is shining and the arena looks magnificent. The already immaculate surface is being raked as I take my seat, a good hour and a half before the action begins.

Perched up in “the gods”, I feel rather lonely so start taking snaps of the arena. A Games Maker appears and offers to take my photograph. Hell no! But it is sweet of him to offer and many spectators happily hand over their cameras for once-in-a-lifetime group shots.

Nikki Crisp and Passoa “test drive” the surface and are given a rousing cheer. But then the commentator asks the crowds to keep their applause to the minimum as competitors enter, so as not to spook the horses. We obey, of course, until Carl Hester comes in with Uthopia, then the audience erupts. “Shush!!!!” admonishes the competitor and we all look slightly guilty.

Carl and “Uti” are unfazed, however, and perform a wonderful test for 77.720. Perhaps not the best they’ve ever done, but good enough to propel them into the lead. They’re not caught, either, but their closest rival is fellow Brit Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris on 76.839.

Later the heavens open and everyone gets soaked, but very few people leave and the atmosphere remains one of good cheer. How very British.

So at the end of the first day, Great Britain is leading the team dressage – that’s an Olympic first in itself. And there is a long way to go before the dressage medals are sorted out. But for the Greenwich experience, the fabulous atmosphere, the happy, friendly people, the equestrian venue itself – we can all be proud to be British.

Full 13-page report on the team dressage in H&H out next FRIDAY, 10 August

Britain takes early dressage lead at Greenwich Park

Horse & Hound — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:36:58 +0000

Britain’s dressage team are in gold medal position after the first day of dressage.

Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer are first and second on 77.72% and 76.839% respectively.

But Laura was disappointed with her mark, which is her lowest for a long time on Mistral Hojris.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said. “I felt like I had a good ride, bar a little mistake at the end of the canter extension. Alf dealt with the atmosphere well — he stayed with me and did some great work.

“To be honest, I need to go and watch the video of it and try to figure out what must have looked different to what I was feeling.

“It is a pretty low score as far as Alf goes, and not a score we needed to give us a good start in the team standings. I am gutted.”

Earlier, Carl Hester said of his test on Uthopia: “That felt like a good performance and I’m very happy.”

Britain is the only one of the main medal hopes with two team riders on the first day. Both Germany and the Netherlands’ second and third riders are due to compete tomorrow, while Britain only has Charlotte Dujardin — and individual rider Richard Davison — to look forward to.

In third behind Carl and Laura is the first German team rider, Dorothee Schneider, who scored 76.277% on Diva Royal. Kristina Sprehe and Helen Langehanenberg are due on at 12.24pm and 3.20pm tomorrow.

Richard Davison will ride at 12.15pm while Charlotte Dujardin will be on at 2.10pm.

The other big scorer this afternoon was Denmark’s Anna Kasprzak, who is in fourth with 75.289 on Donnperignon.

Full 13-page report on the team dressage in H&H out next FRIDAY, 10 August.

Team GB’s dressage riders prepare to take centre stage

Flora Watkins — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:48:24 +0000

All four Team GBR horses have today (31 July) passed the trot-up and will go forward to the first phase of the Olympic dressage competition – the grand prix – on 2-3 August.

The riders have also been given their times for Thursday and Friday.

The Dutch and the Germans – the teams most fancied aside from Great Britain – have both chosen to run their individuals on the first day, but the British camp has made the slightly unusual decision to run their individual, Richard Davison, on the second day.

Carl Hester and Uthopia are first to go down the centre line at Greenwich – at 11.54am on day one (Thursday, 2 August).

They will be followed in the afternoon session by Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris at 3.11pm.

On the second day of competition (Friday, 3 August), Richard Davison – competing as an individual – and Artemis are on at 12.15pm.

The third team member, Charlotte Dujardin, with Valegro, will start at 2.10pm, straight after the Spanish crowd-pleaser, the grey stallion Fuego.

The grand prix is followed by the Olympic special (7 August), which decides the team placings. The freestyle to music (or kur) – which decides the individual medals – closes the equestrian competition on 9 August.

Michael Jung wins Olympic individual gold at Greenwich

Horse & Hound — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:46:52 +0000

Germany’s Michael Jung has become London 2012 Olympic eventing champion and the first rider ever to hold individual world, European and Olympic titles simultaneously with his top horse Sam.

Michael completed on his dressage score of 40.6 with a faultless performance in all jumping phases, moving up from 11th place after the dressage.

“It was a big dream for me to ride in my first Olympic Games,” said Michael. “I had hoped that if it all went perfectly we would have a medal coming to these Olympic Games, but never in my dreams did I think I would take home two golds!”

With the jumps raised to 1.30m, the final showjumping round for the individual medals kept the crowd on the very edge of their seats until quite literally the final fence.

Having jumped an excellent double clear in the team jumping round, Wega didn’t look like touching a fence for Sweden’s Sara Algotsson Ostholt. But the individual gold slipped from her grasp when they got a deep stride to the last oxer and Wega tapped out the front rail preventing Sara from becoming the first female Olympic eventing champion.

Germany also collected the bronze as 25-year-old Sandra Auffarth, riding the 10-year-old Selle Fran §ais gelding Opgun Louvo, added just 4.8 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score of 40.

Sandra said: “My horse and I were both very concentrated. I did not worry because we have such a good relationship.”

Andrew Nicholson missed out on another individual Olympic medal at his seventh Olympic Games finishing fourth with Nereo after an agonizing fence down in the final round.

Mary King and Tina Cook had two fences a piece to finish in fifth and sixth places respectively, while Zara Phillips improved on her four faults in the team round to go clear with High Kingdom and finish in eighth.

One of the performances of the competition must go to Ireland’s Aoife Clark, who leapt up from 32nd after dressage to finished seventh on Master Crusoe, an 11-year-old gelding by Master Imp. The partnership jumped two great double clears today after a stylish cross-country round with just 3.6 time penalties.

Top 10 results

1. Sam (Michael Jung) GER 40.60;

2. Wega (Sara Algotsson Ostholt) SWE 43.30;

3. Opgun Louvo (Sandra Auffarth) GER 44.80;

4. Nereo (Andrew Nicholson) NZL 49.00;

5. Imperial Cavalier (Mary King) GBR 50.10;

6. Miners Frolic (Tina Cook) GBR 51.00;

7. Master Crusoe (Aoife Clark) IRL 52.50;

8. High Kingdom (Zara Phillips) GBR 53.10;

9. Mr Medicott (Karen O’Connor) USA 53.80;

10. Clifton Promise (Jock Paget) NZL 53.90.

View full result

Don’t miss H&H’s full report of the Olympic eventing, in the issue on sale FRIDAY 3 August – 23-page special report, with comments from Ruth Edge, Pippa Funnell and Mark Phillips, pictures of every cross-country fence, stunning photos and full analysis.

Olympic blog: team silver’s not too shabby

Horse & Hound — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:39:31 +0000

My heart has just about stopped trying to burst out of my chest and resumed its normal rhythm. If the pressure was getting to me, what must it have been like for William Fox-Pitt, Zara Phillips, Mary King and Tina Cook in the final showjumping rounds for Olympic eventing medals?

Alas, I wasn’t at Greenwich, but watching on a giant TV screen borrowed for the duration of the London Games and located in pride of place at H&H Towers. Lord knows what will happen to it after the Games; I have kindly offered to take it home for safekeeping…

Anyway, it was almost as good as a ringside seat. And back to that pressure on Zara. Unusually, most of the national press — redtops and quality alike — have embraced eventing enthusiastically for the first time. Purely coincidence that The Queen’s granddaughter happens to be on Team GBR, I’m sure.

With members of her illustrious family present, the burden on Zara’s 31-year-old shoulders must have been heavy indeed in the team rounds. She and High Kingdom rolled a pole — and the entire staff of H&H groaned along with the audience in Greenwich — but she held her nerve and got home with four faults plus three time-penalties.

The time was pretty tight, but William Fox-Pitt nipped inside and was clear with Lionheart. Mary King, like the consummate professional that she is, produced a copybook clear with seconds to spare on Imperial Cavalier. What a woman! We think she should run for Prime Minister.

Tina Cook had just one time-penalty, but was otherwise clear. Good enough for team silver behind the mighty Germans, favourites from the off and 2008 Olympic gold medal holders. How we’d have loved gold, but silver is not so shabby.

Zara was, if anything, under more pressure in the individual — her first at an Olympics and on home turf to boot. But she produced the goods this time, clear inside the time. A magnificent effort — the entire office burst into spontaneous applause. Now who can say the selectors shouldn’t have picked her for the team?

Tina and Mary both had two down, but finished fifth and sixth. Just outside the medals, but pretty good results nonetheless.

Can you imagine if we’d have won gold? We would have heard the cheers from Greenwich in H&H Towers – and they would probably have heard ours.

Nicola

Britain wins Olympic eventing team silver at Greenwich

Horse & Hound — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:41:09 +0000

Britain’s event riders have won Olympic team silver.

They couldn’t quite reach the Germans, who have led throughout the competition in Greenwich Park, but they held off New Zealand, who took bronze, and Sweden, who dropped to fourth.

Tina Cook, who jumped clear with one time-fault on Miners Frolic, said: “Of course it’s brilliant to win silver. I’m a lot more excited than I look! The scores are so close — it could have been a gold, it could have been nothing — but every competitor here wants gold.”

She sits in fourth place going into the individual medal decider this afternoon.

One place above her in bronze position is Mary King, who jumped a brilliant clear inside the time — which proved hard to get — on Imperial Cavalier.

Britain’s third clear round came from William Fox-Pitt, foot-perfect on Lionheart. But after his nine time-faults across country, unfortunately William was the lowest placed of the Brits and his score did not count towards the final standings.

Nor did Nicola Wilson‘s, who hit one fence on Opposition Buzz. Neither Nicola nor William will jump in the individual final, despite both being in the top 25 — Nicola 19th and William 15th — as only the three highest-placed competitors from each country are allowed through.

Zara Phillips will jump again. She and High Kingdom had four faults plus three time-penalties, and are in 14th place currently.

Sara Algotsson Ostholt holds pole position for Sweden on Wega, but looming just 0.7pen behind her is Germany’s Michael Jung, whose first round clear on Sam clinched team gold.

View the results

Olympic blog: thank you, Greenwich

Horse & Hound — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 08:10:05 +0000

Readers [not to mention the editor] will be relieved to know I’ve taken a few deep breathes and downed a cup of herbal tea to still my beating heart to the point I’m less likely to use any expletives here. But boy, that was jolly exciting, that cross-country at Greenwich there, wasn’t it.

H&H’s girl in Greenwich, Catherine Austen, has already told you about the competition, so I’ll stick to sharing the experience, for those who weren’t among the 50,000 of us lucky enough to get tickets.

First up, getting there. I vote we have the Olympics here more often, because never has the M25 Kent stretch been so quiet at 7am, never has my partner got a seat on the 8:30 into London Bridge, and I took a bus to and from something bigger than a football match in just 30min. Result. If you were one queuing for the tube at half seven tonight, I’ll give myself a slap on your behalf. But I’d still argue it takes longer to get into Badminton…

We were through security in a jiffy, too, and walking past the Maritime museum to reach the arena you get that, ‘yes, tourists, this is my hometown, damn I’m proud of it’, feeling.

If lack of queues and the initial view weren’t enough to convince you it was definitely the right decision to hold the equestrian events in London, trotting up the hill to the observatory and watching a horse jump over the moon into the city skyline would have broken you. That’s special.

The course was beautiful and apt, from the squirrels perched on chestnut logs to the luscious hanging baskets in the Rose Garden. The grass was like something out of Disneyland — unfeasibly green and soft and springy.

It turns out it was also sticky and slippery in places, with some horses losing shoes and others slipping to the point of elimination. Although perhaps they’d lost shoes already? I struggle to see how a studded horse would have slipped when so many before him hadn’t. I saw Miners Frolic slide, but then he was going at a lick round a corner with adverse camber… that’s physics. It was galling for Sam Griffiths to fall on the flat this way though.

Talking of Disneyland, they’ll be looking to recruit the Greenwich volunteers. Never have I met a friendlier and less officious group of officials. And not since my last visit to the States have I been told at such regular intervals to have a good/nice day.

This may seem irrelevant, but combined with the enthusiasm of the crowd, whether they were knowledgeable or not, it made Greenwich a truly happy place to be this afternoon. Yesterday I blogged in despair that an opportunity had been missed to enlighten and garner support from non-horsey ticket holders. Today, I take it back. Commentator John Kyle did an incredible job of both, calling for fans to raise the roof/sky, and they did. To the point I couldn’t hear him any more, but knew Zara or William were coming from the Mexican soundwave of delirium heading straight for me.

Among the joy, there was sadness. Yoshi’s fall from overnight leader to elimination, the Australians’ demise, pocket rocket Gin N Juice appearing at the crescent moon without his rider, and Camilla Speirs’ brave, diminutive Just A Jiff falling.

My heart went out to The Netherlands’ third and last rider, too, who was popped out the saddle at the water, putting herself and her team out of contention. She clung on like a limpet, way past the point gravity had beaten her, until relenting, she slid down into the lake, and rather than beating the ground in understandable frustration, went and patted her horse. It’s these Olympic heartbreaks that make the successes more poignant — there but for the grace of fortune go any of them.

It was a day I’ll never forget — Britain, forging silver, in my hometown. Thank you, Greenwich. Thank you very, very much.

Sarah

Sarah Jenkins is the deputy editor of Horse, Horse & Hound‘s sister monthly magazine, and a former dressage editor of Horse & Hound. She has her own personal blog at giddyandup.blogspot.co.uk

Olympic blog: Greenwich rocks

Horse & Hound — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:34:47 +0000

Still buzzing.

It’s two hours since William Fox-Pitt nursed a very tired Lionheart home – to the sorts of whoops and cheers usually reserved for rock stars – and I’m still fizzing with excitement.

I’ve been babbling about it to anyone who will listen; people on the Tube, the man in the corner shop, my non-horsey husband.

It was, quite simply, the most thrilling day’s sport that most of us who got the ‘golden ticket’ for Greenwich have ever seen.

Five storming rounds from Team GBR. Three of William’s ‘gorgeous blondes’ romping home within the time, with the fourth – Mary King – just a few seconds over.

The naysayers were proved wrong; the course – ‘tiddly’ I heard someone call it first thing – proved the undoing of many, the slippery conditions decimating the Australian team and sending the overnight leader, Japan’s Yoshi Oiwa, tumbling down one of Greenwich’s vertiginous hills.

Nor did the Germans and Swedes get away from us as so many had predicted.

Yes, Michael Jung and co. delivered their usual clinical clears – but hey, so did we. As we go into the final phase, Team GB are in silver medal position with fewer than two poles separating the Germans, Brits and Swedes.

For too long, eventing has been marginalised as an elitist minority sport – a friend was invited onto the BBC Breakfast sofa the other day, only to be asked, ‘why are all riders rich?’ They just don’t get it – I read in the Evening Standard on the way home that Zara Phillips took part in the ‘horseriding’ today.

But maybe this is when it all changes. Hell, we even had the Duchess of Cambridge at Greenwich today. Maybe she can do for our sport what she did for the profile of the high street fashion label LK Bennett.

But for now, I’m going to kick back with a glass of wine and Sky Plus and watch it all again, reliving that festival atmosphere and the party in the park.

Yes, there were lengthy queues for food and I’ve see pleasanter loos at Glastonbury. And yes, some stalls ran out of bottled water, so we drank cider instead and sat in the sunshine in front of the big screen and screamed ourselves silly whenever one our fabulous five cleared a fence.

Greenwich 2012. I was there. And it rocked.

Flora

Olympic video: Your Greenwich experiences

Horse & Hound — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 20:45:57 +0000

After the first day of the Olympic equestrian competition, Horse & Hound deputy news editor Charlotte White caught up with spectators to find out what they thought of their Greenwich experience.

Don’t miss H&H’s full report of the Olympic eventing, in the issue on sale FRIDAY 3 August – 23-page special report, with comments from Ruth Edge, Pippa Funnell and Mark Phillips, pictures of every cross-country fence, stunning photos and full analysis.

What you can and can’t take with you to Greenwich

Amy Mathieson — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:10:18 +0000

Thousands of equestrian fans are going to descend upon Greenwich Park in south-east London to watch the Paralympics, starting on Thursday 30 August.

But are you prepared for your visit?

Forget the picnic hamper, dog, Pimm’s and waterproof rug you’d pack for Burghley. Greenwich will not be like any other top equestrisn event.

Olympic visitors are advised to bring “as little as possible” with them, due to security checks, similar to those at airports – including no liquids in containers of more than 100ml.

There are no storage facilities so if you bring a prohibited item, it will be taken away and you won’t get it back.

You’ll also have to queue – so arrive early.

“It’s very simple – imagine you are going on an international flight,” said a spokesman for LOCOG, the London organising committee.

And be nice to both the soldiers dragged into service because security firm G4S failed to meet its obligations, and those G4S staff who have turned up!

What you can bring

One medium-sized soft-sided rucksack or handbag that can fit under your seat or in your lap
An empty plastic water bottle to fill up within the venue
Food that can fit in your bag
A Visa card and cash – no other forms of payment will be accepted

What you can’t bring

Liquids or aerosols in containers over 100ml
Dogs
Alcohol
Flags or banners bigger than 1x2m
Oversized hats
Large golf-style umbrellas
Folding chairs
“Excessive amounts” of food
Balls or Frisbees
Airhorns, drums, whistles, vuvuzelas or hunting horns
Photographic equipment, other than a small camera. No tripods over 30cm long
And various obvious items likes guns, knives or spray paint

And don’t forget . . .

Our Paralympics preview from 23 August magazine
Sweets/throat lozengers (in case your cheer yourself hoarse!)
Lightweight waterproof coat (but you don’t need us to tell you that)
Small camera, so you can share your best shots on the H&H Facebook page or email them to hholympicpics@ipcmedia.com

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (26 July 2012)

Read all the latest Olympic news

Olympic horses arrive at Greenwich Park for London 2012

Flora Watkins — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:53:42 +0000

The first horses are settling into their stables at Greenwich Park, ahead of the Olympic equestrian events which start on Saturday (28 July) with the eventing dressage.

These equine athletes have to undergo an even stricter screening process than the one the human competitors go through.

On arrival at the ‘equine staging facility’ at Greenwich University, the 219 Olympic horses horses have a health check to make sure have no signs of infectious disease or injury.

The trunks of equipment that come with the horses must undergo the equivalent of the ‘airport-style’ security checks on every person attending the Olympic Games.

At the same time, the lorries that have brought the horses to Greenwich are checked inside and out using sniffer dogs and the cargo is unloaded and scanned, before being loaded onto separate trucks for delivery direct to the stables.

Once the lorry has been screened – which takes around 20 minutes – the horses are reloaded and the ramps and doors sealed with tape from the outside. However, they can be opened in an emergency.

Then the horses are taken off to the Olympic stables at Greenwich Park, with an escort vehicle leading the way through the London traffic in one of the specially-designated Olympic lanes – a journey of around five miles.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Once in their new stables, the horses’ passports are checked and they have a more comprehensive health check carried out by vets from horse sport’s governing body, the FEI.

The stables are all raised off the ground, to protect the grass in Greenwich Park. There are 200 stable units, plus wash boxes and a purpose-built 24-hour veterinary clinic on site.

Olympic equestrian team says Greenwich is ready for rain

Charlotte White — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:13:18 +0000

As rain continues to fall across the UK – and with more forecast – it could be a soggy experience for anyone going to London 2012.

But the Olympic equestrian team is confident rain will not stop play in Greenwich.

“Greenwich has very freely draining turf, more so than many other horse trials sites,” said Tim Hadaway, the equestrian competition manager for the 2012 Games.

“Our work for the past two years has been in trying to keep moisture in the ground.”

Mr Hadaway told H&H that when Badminton Horse Trials was cancelled in April, he went around the London course with turf specialist, the Sports Turf Research Institute.

It told him that, despite all the rain, it would only take seven days of dry weather before they would have to irrigate again.

“That rain – we had 60 or 70mm in a couple of days – allowed them to identify any areas of standing water, which needed further work. These guys know every inch of the course,” he said.

However, if the rain continues to fall, wellingtons may be sensible wear on cross-country day, because 50,000 people on the course might cause a few pinch points to become muddy.

But Mr Hadaway said these can be fenced off if necessary.

“I feel we have done everything possible to design risk out of the site and mitigate all possible issues,” he said.

General venue manager Jeremy Edwards said a spare day – 1 August – has been worked into the equestrian timetable, to be used if the rain causes delays to eventing.

FEI rules state “competitions must not take place in extreme weather conditions, if the welfare or safety of the horse may be compromised“.

The ground jury can halt a competition in such conditions.

But spectator tickets will remain valid for the event – even if it is rescheduled.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (12 July 2012)

Hugh Thomas resigns over decision to bar public from Olympic ‘trot-ups’

Flora Watkins — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:10:44 +0000

Badminton director Hugh Thomas has resigned from his technical role at London 2012 over organisers’ decision to bar spectators from the horse inspections.

In a letter to Greenwich venue manager, Tim Hadaway – seen by H&H – Hugh said he was “horrified” to hear that organisers, LOCOG, would not be admitting the public to the eventing horse inspections.

“I truly think this is a disgraceful decision,” said Hugh.

“It particularly upsets me since, when I was course designer, technical delegate and then chairman of the FEI eventing committee, I personally ensured at previous Games – despite the wishes of the organisers – that the great tradition within eventing that the inspections are open and transparent should be upheld,” he added.

Hugh told H&H that it was important the inspections remained open to ensure the integrity of the process.

Badminton final scores

“It is also a traditional and hugely enjoyed part of three-day events,” he added.

LOCOG said a number of operational factors precluded the inspections from being open to the public.

In a statement, it said: “The horse inspection happens on the day of London’s Olympic opening ceremony and the final day of the torch relay so there is a lot of Olympic activity in the capital and a big demand on police resources and public transport.

“An operational decision was taken not to open this to the public for these reasons.”

But Hugh said that was a “very bad decision”.

“They’re not even allowing people to see the final horse inspection on the morning of the showjumping, which is beyond a joke,” he told H&H.

“It only means they’ve got to open the venue a little earlier – there is a huge number of enthusiasts who want to come,” he added.

LOCOG said it accepted Hugh’s resignation. He was a member of the Ad Hoc committee, which exists to referee major disputes and investigate serious accidents.

Hugh told H&H he and his wife had tickets and would be attending the event in a personal capacity.

Horse & Hound’s guide to a great day out in Greenwich

Horse & Hound — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 11:01:22 +0000

Thousands of equestrian enthusiasts are going to be descending on London this summer to watch the Olympic equestrian events in Greenwich Park, so the H&H team has produce a short video guide of the best places to visit and things to see in the Greenwich area during your visit.

The map below shows the location of each of the places mentioned in the video and includes information about entry costs and when the venues are closed to the public.

We hope you enjoy your trip!

View What to do in Greenwich in a larger map

Arrive early to avoid Greenwich Park queues this summer

Charlotte White — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:01:33 +0000

Queuing times to get in are expected to be as short as 20min for this summer’s Olympic competitions in Greenwich Park.

But spectators are advised to arrive as early as they can, organiser LOCOG has said.

Jennifer Impett, LOCOG’s city operations manager, has told H&H that the park will open from 8am, 2hr before the start of competitions, on dressage and showjumping days (28, 29 and 31 July and 2-9 August) and 8.30am, 4hr before the first rider, on cross-country day (30 July).

“We estimate it will take 20 minutes to walk to the park from Greenwich station and will take another 20 minutes to queue up at the security gates,” said Miss Impett.

LOCOG will close roads and impose a one-way traffic system in Greenwich during the Games to allow for the influx of visitors on foot that the competition will bring.

Equestrian competition manager Tim Hadaway told H&H: “Ticket holders should arrive as early as they can.

“We shall have four big screens around the park so they can sit down and watch footage of the day before’s competition and possibly a recorded course-walk.”

Rules as to what spectators can bring into the park will be released soon, said LOCOG spokesman Fran Edwards, but she added that the rule of thumb was “the smaller the better”.

“For example, we will allow a packet of sandwiches, but not a picnic basket,” she added.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (29 March 2012)

Venue for Olympic equestrian competitions honoured by the Queen

Horse & Hound — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:45:44 +0000

The London borough where the equestrian and pentathlon competitions of the London 2012 Olympic Games will take place becomes a Royal Borough next week.

The Queen will bestow the status of Royal Borough upon Greenwich on 3 February – making it the first borough to be granted Royal status in more than 80 years.

The borough will receive its “letters patent”, a legal document signed by the Queen, that day.

The equestrian competitions start in Greenwich Park on 28 July with the Olympic three-day event, and run until the final day of dressage on 9 August.

Greenwich surface for equestrian Olympic events approved

Amy Mathieson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:57:58 +0000

The arena surface to be used for the equestrian Olympic events has finally been approved – after two rounds of additional testing following criticism.

At the official test event in Greenwich Park showjumpers complained that the surface was “pudding-like”, “tacky” and “dense” (news, 14 July 2011).

And last year H&H reported showjumpers still found the surface “too heavy” after more tests in Birmingham in October.

The mix, which is supplied by Andrews Bowen, is composed of non-waxed sand, felt and fibre. Around 8,000 tons of surface are required for the arena and warm-up areas.

The final tests took place near Preston last month (20-21 December). And the FEI finally signed-off the surface last week.

Showjumper Geoff Billington and H&H dressage columnist Richard Davison tested the surface.

International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) representative John Whitaker and fellow showjumpers Peter Murphy and David McPherson were also there but not jumping.

A spokesman for Olympic organisers LOCOG added: “The IJRC was given the opportunity for John to ride on the surface but were happy he watched.”

The FEI’s Ingmar de Vos said: “The riders gave some very positive feedback and this was backed up by the technical reports from the officials.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (19 December 2012)

Jumpers still unhappy after new surface tests for 2012

Amy Mathieson — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:22:56 +0000

Showjumpers are still not happy with the surface to be used at the 2012 Olympics after a second round of tests suggested the going was still “too heavy”.

Olympic organiser LOCOG confirmed work will be done before the surface is tested for a third time later this year, at a private venue. It will be again tested on a raised platform to replicate the Games conditions.

At the official Olympic test event in Greenwich Park in July showjumpers complained that the surface was “heavy” and “pudding-like” (news, 15 July).

And at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) last month the surface was tested again, this time by eight top showjumpers – who LOCOG declined to name – where the feedback was similar.

The surface, provided by Andrews Bowen, was tested the day after competition at HOYS – and was a “slightly deeper” surface than the one used throughout the show. A spokesman for HOYS said they had been happy with its surface.

A spokesman for LOCOG said: “Further work was requested to look at the composition of the surface. We have listened to this feedback and will continue to work with the FEI and representatives of the international riders’ clubs to achieve the best possible solution for 2012.”

Around 8,000 tons of surface are required for the arena and warm-up areas at Greenwich next year.

At the test event in July top rider Laura Kraut described the ground as a “little bit tacky and heavy” but added: “I don’t think this will be the final product.”

Nick Skelton said: “It is heavy and dead to ride on, but if this isn’t the ground we’re jumping on next year, why are we here? I’d like to see horses move across it more easily.”

William Funnell said jumping 1.45m felt like 1.55m. But rider David O’Brien said: “It felt solid and secure to me.”

Contrary to speculation, LOCOG said it is not currently looking for a new supplier.

John Roche, FEI’s jumping director, said: “We have full confidence in LOCOG’s ability to produce optimal footing for London 2012.”

Andrews Bowen declined to comment.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse and Hound (3 November, 2011)

Greenwich riding school gets the go-ahead

Charlotte White — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:02:40 +0000

Plans for a £1.6m riding school and equestrian rehabilitation centre in south east London have been give the go-ahead by Greenwich Council.

The stables, in Shooters Hill, Plumstead, are part funded by the British Equestrian Federation’s Hoof project, to create a lasting legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games.

It will be run as a satellite campus of Hadlow College, based in Tonbridge, and facilities will include stabling for 20 horses, an indoor and outdoor arena, horsewalker, a therapy centre and hay barns.

But the chairman of the neighbouring property, the Woodland’s Farm Trust, plans to appeal the permission granted by Greenwich Council’s planning committee last week.

Airport-style security for Greenwich Park during London Olympics

Charlotte White — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:50:16 +0000

Olympic ticket holders will be hoping for cool weather next August as organiser LOCOG has banned them from bringing larger bottles of liquids – including water and sunscreen – into Greenwich Park and other Olympic venues.

In similar anti-terrorism rules to those in use at airports, liquids in bottles larger than 100ml will not be allowed through the security checks.

But LOCOG said it is still considering the rules, including the current total ban on bringing food into the park.

A LOCOG spokesman said: “We are still finalising the arrangements, but for security reasons bottles over 100ml will not be allowed into the park.

“There will be a number of free water points within the park, so ticket holders will be able to refill their bottles once inside.”

She added that smaller items of food may be allowed through the security checks but picnic hampers will be banned.

“All the rules will be very clearly set out in the paperwork that goes out with Olympic tickets, so there should be no cause for concern,” she added.

LOCOG hopes to finalise spectator numbers for the cross-country day in Greenwich Park by the end of the month. Further tickets may go on sale if the current 50,000 capacity

is increased.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (20 October, 2011)

Olympic equestrian legacy centre plans delayed

Horse & Hound — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:51:37 +0000

A decision about whether to build a £1.6million Olympic equestrian legacy centre in south-east London has been delayed until October.

Greenwich Council’s planning committee unanimously voted on 15 September to defer the decision until they had visited the Shooters Hill site near Plumstead.

The plans have met with local opposition.

Barry Gray, chairman of the neighbouring Woodlands Farm Trust, likened the proposed development – with its potentially high fencing – to a “horse concentration camp”.

Permission is being sought for an indoor and outdoor arena, horsewalker, therapy centre, hay barns and 20 stables.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (29 September, 2011)

Extra cross-country tickets for London 2012 hinge on travel

Charlotte White — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:44:53 +0000

London Olympics organiser LOCOG still hopes to release further cross-country day tickets, despite concerns from transport bosses that traffic chaos will ensue if non-Olympic travellers don’t stay off the trains.

So far 55,000 spectator tickets have been released for cross-country day (30 July 2012), and equestrian sport manager Tim Hadaway and his team had suggested more would go on sale closer to the Games.

But in a report leaked to the London Evening Standard, Transport for London (TfL) warned of waits of more than two hours at stations serving the Greenwich site if the full 75,000 person capacity of the park is used.

The report, which forms part of the planning application for the site, states: “Day three (cross-country) has the potential for two-hour-plus waits for the DLR [Docklands Light Railway] and Southeastern [stations] if the 75,000 [person] capacity is utilised. We recommend venue size at 50,000.”

A TfL spokeswoman told H&H the projection did not include a predicted 30% reduction of non-Olympic travellers on the London rail network during the Games.

“LOCOG has not made a decision on the sales of extra ticketing for this event, but we are in active discussions with them and when that decision is made we will make the appropriate travel arrangements,” she said.

“We’ve been clear that at certain times and places the transport network will be much busier than usual and are working with businesses and Londoners to ensure they have plans in place to enable us to manage demand on the transport network.

“We’re confident we’re on track to support a great London 2012 Games and keep London moving.”

LOCOG said it will present the latest planning information for the site to the London Borough of Greenwich Council’s planning department at the end of October, and that will include up-to-date attendance figures.

“We can’t say much more ahead of that meeting, but we are still doing a lot of work on crowd modelling and spectator movement,” a LOCOG spokesman said.

“We still hope that ticket numbers can be increased – but we do have to take TfL’s views very seriously.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (22 September, 2011)

New equestrian centre to form London’s 2012 Olympic legacy

Horse & Hound — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:19:05 +0000

The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) plans to invest £250,000 in a new training and rehabilitation centre in south-east London, in a bid to create an enduring physical legacy from the otherwise “pop-up” 2012 Olympic equestrian events.

The BEF received £750,000 from Sport England in 2009 to spend on legacy projects — with £250,000 for this centre, £250,000 for the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton’s new riding centre and the rest to fund smaller Hoof projects.

David Gadsby of the BEF’s Olympic legacy project, Hoof, said that if granted planning permission the new centre will cost around £1.6m.

“Hadlow College will provide the expertise while Greenwich Council and the BEF will create the hard facilities,” he said.

Greenwich Council has applied to build on council-owned land at Shooters Hill on the Greenwich and Bexley borough borders.

Permission is sought for an indoor and outdoor arena, horsewalker and 20 stables.

It would be run by Hadlow College, based in Tonbridge, and open to students in September 2012, offering equestrian training from BHS stages to degree courses.

“It will be 95 per cent equestrian use,” added Mr Gadsby. “People can get their first experience of riding, then follow that up as a career.”

The College was unable to comment on the plans.

The project is joint-funded by Hadlow College, Greenwich Council, the Olympic Development Authority, 2012 organisers LOCOG, the London Mayor’s Fund and the £250,000 grant from the BEF.

Cllr Chris Roberts, leader of Greenwich Council, said: “This will introduce thousands of London children to the thrill of horse riding and provide future educational opportunities.”

The site was used as a horsebox park, or equestrian staging post, during the equestrian test event and is likely to be used in a similar way for the Games.

A LOCOG spokesman said: “It will be a brilliant facility.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (18 August, 2011)

Piggy French wins London 2012 Olympic test event

Horse & Hound — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:37:08 +0000

Piggy French jumped a double clear round on the final day of the London 2012 Olympic test event at Greenwich, London to give Britain a welcome victory ahead of next year’s Games.

Riding DHI Topper W, Piggy led the invitational CIC** from start to finish and completed on her dressage score of 34.7, comfortably ahead of second-placed Michael Jung from Germany.

“It’s great to put a British stamp on Greenwich – now I want to come here and be on top again,” said Piggy. “This horse has come on so much in the past couple of months that he could be a contender for here next year.”

Michael Jung also jumped two clear rounds – the organisers followed the Olympic format of two showjumping rounds to decide the team and then individual medals – on River Of Joy to end on 41.8.

Britain scored another place on the podium when Pippa Funnell rose from fifth to third with a double clear on Billy Shannon.

“I’m thrilled to bits with her,” she said. “The whole event has been fantastic – the vibes from everyone are so positive.”

Fourth was Clayton Fredericks for Australia, riding the experienced Bendigo, who lowered a pole in the first round but jumped clear the second time.

Sweden’s Sara Algotsson Ostholt was fifth on Mrs Medicott on 46.6 with a fence down in the first showjumping round but a clear with one time-fault at the second time of asking.

Virginie Caulier (Belgium, Nepal Du Sudre) finished sixth on 50.8, ahead of Italy’s Vittoria Panizzon, who rose from 22nd after dressage to seventh, adding nothing to her 56.4 dressage mark on Borough Pennyz. Ireland’s Joseph Murphy also kept a clean sheet to stay on 58.6 for eighth place.

The eventers seemed happy with the arena surface, which several showjumpers, who rode in a two-round competition in the morning to test the venue, were not, describing it as “heavy” and “dead”.

Tim Hadaway from the organising team said: “That’s why we were here – to test the conditions. We have taken these comments on board and will work with the contractor and the specialists we have to improve that for next year.”

Final results

1 Piggy French (GBR) on DHI Topper W 34.7

2 Michael Jung (GER) on River Of Joy 41.8

3 Pippa Funnell (GBR) on Billy Shannon 44.9

4 Clayton Fredericks (AUS) on Bendigo 46.1

5 Sara Algotsson Ostholt (SWE) on Mrs Medicott 46.6

6 Virginie Caulier (BEL) on Nepal Du Sudre) 50.8

7 Vittoria Panizzon (ITA) on Borough Pennyz 56.4

8 Joseph Murphy (IRE) on Chuckelberry 58.6

9 Donatien Schauly (FRA) on Pivoine Des Touches 60

10 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) on Gaucho 60.3

More about the test event in H&H this Thursday, 7th July issue, and next week, 14th July issue.

Duchess of Cornwall guest of honour at BEF Olympic test event reception

Horse & Hound — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:38:56 +0000

The Duchess of Cornwall was the guest of honour at a British Equestrian Federation (BEF) reception in the Queen’s House, Greenwich, during the London 2012 Olympic test event this week.

The Duchess spent a couple of hours chatting to members of the British eventing team, including William Fox-Pitt, Piggy French and Pippa Funnell (pictured right).

She was also introduced by the BEF’s performance director Will Connell and chief executive Andrew Finding to foreign riders, such as New Zealand’s Mark Todd — who was sporting a very short new haircut — test event officials and FEI representatives.

The Duchess is known to have been a keen hunting lady before the ban, subscribing to the Duke of Beaufort’s in Gloucestershire, but it is not known whether she ever evented in her youth.

Other familiar faces spotted by Horse & Hound at the party included Lucinda Green, Eric Smiley, Richard Davison — accompanied by the Countess of Derby, who owns his top horse Artemis — Jane Holderness-Roddam and her sister Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Alice Plunkett.

London 2012 Olympic test event blog: where’s the legacy?

Horse & Hound — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:59:46 +0000

Today I got as close as I’m likely to get to watching the Olympic cross-country live (like most people, I failed in the ticket ballot). Today’s two-star track for the invitational test event was interesting, entertaining (though not very problematic), attractive — and hot.

Packs of local school children brought a new perspective to the event. No respectful hush for them as horses approached the water — they squealed encouragement as the riders cantered in, creating a real buzz (well, until they got bored).

Aside from them, the mostly invited crowds boasted an extraordinary density of ‘equestrian personnel’. Progress round the course was therefore interrupted by endless encounters with fellow media, event organisers, riders, owners, equestrian PR people, equestrian sponsors and more.

Without question Greenwich 2012 will clearly offer challenging terrain (few people were prepared for just how undulating it is), wonderful going, a splendid main arena and great television.

The bigger challenge will be giving ticket holders a similarly first-class experience. The park is dense with trees. Will there be scope over next year’s course (roughly twice the length of this one) to see more than one fence at a time? And the typical ‘pitch up in your 4×4 and do a spot of shopping’ horse trial visitor will need re-educating about what to expect.

It was interesting to gauge the opinions of people on the course and venue (see next Thursday’s H&H).

Where’s the legacy?

But if one thing riles me viewing the impressive ‘pop-up horse trial’ that’s been built at Greenwich, it’s the lack of legacy.

Curiously, I’ve never before been bothered by the legacy issue. I’ve always felt that if a largely portable course keeps costs down and thus helps retain equestrianism in the Olympics, that’s fine with me.

But the initial projected budget of £6million has been shot to smithereens. The cost now is believed to be nearer £40million. For that sort of sum, it would have been great to have world-class facilities after the Games, besides the London-focused equestrian projects being created under the ‘Hoof’ programme.

Get more reaction and analysis of Greenwich Park at the London 2012 equestrian venue in next week’s H&H magazine

British riders confirmed for Olympic test event

Horse & Hound — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:14:55 +0000

With the Olympic test event in Greenwich Park less than two weeks away, details of the British squad have been announced.

William Fox-Pitt riding Gaucho, Pippa Funnell with Billy Shannon and Piggy French on DHI Topper W will be representing Team GBR at the two-star event.

Other senior riders, such as H&H columnist Tina Cook and Mary King, will be attending as spectators to get a feel for the venue.

And although the test event is only for eventers, the British Equestrian Federation told H&H that “most of the senior World Class performance athletes from all disciplines” have been invited.

Horse & Hound will be on site at Greenwich for all four days of the test event with daily reports, blogs and photo galleries published online. A full report packed with expert analysis, plus reaction from the riders, will be published in Horse & Hound magazine (14 July issue)

Protests planned for Greenwich Olympic test event

Horse & Hound — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:57:28 +0000

Activitists are planning an orchestrated on-site protest during the Olympic test event (4-6 July) at Greenwich Park.

Members of the campaign group NOGOE — No to Greenwich for Olympic Equestrian Events — are planning to protest twice daily in a bid to target riders and officials and convince them of the unsuitability of the site.

NOGOE’s Sev D’Souza said: “We are holding these peaceful protests to get riders to see some of the shortcomings of the venue. We are hoping we can get them to think again and to ask questions of [Olympic organisers] LOCOG. The equestrian community is our last hope [to get the Games moved].”

The protestors intend to convene at St Mary’s Gate, where riders and officials will enter the venue. NOGOE is concerned about damage to the park and how its use will impact on the local community.

Work starts in Greenwich Park for London Olympics

Horse & Hound — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:15:49 +0000

Work on the cross-country course for the London 2012 Olympics has started in earnest in Greenwich Park.

Specialist contractors from the Sports Turf Research Institute have begun to de-compact, irrigate and reseed the planned path route, using GPS markers to pinpoint their progress.

Equestrian competition manager for the Games Tim Hadaway told H&H:

“Good going is paramount in eventing. We have begun work to improve the turf, which will be ongoing from now until the Olympics.

“We first put down white tufted markers to define the course, then plotted all those points with GPS. This was overlaid on a map of the park and each of the tractors has GPS to allow us to see exactly what work has been done.

“It’s all progressing well and we are glad to have been able to start work as it has taken a while to get to this point.”

But the commencement of work in the park has not pleased everyone.

A Greenwich man appeared in court earlier this month accused of cutting the 100-plus markers showing the path of the cross-country course out of the ground.

Edward Hill, of Creek Road, pleaded not guilty to criminal damage at Woolwich Magistrates Court on 7 October, (bad week, 14 October).

And another local, Rachel Mawhood, has written to the chief executive of the Royal Parks, Mark Camley, claiming that work is “obliterating the rare and protected acid grasslands”.

She also claims a chestnut tree has been damaged by the machinery.

A London organising committee (LOCOG) spokesman said: “We have planning permission for everything that is taking place.”

She added that the chestnut tree had been damaged by the wind, not the turf improvements.

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (21 October ’10)

Vandalism alleged to planned Olympic XC route at Greenwich

Charlotte White — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:53:38 +0000

A Greenwich man appeared in court yesterday (Thursday) accused of cutting around 100 white tufts, used to mark the planned path of the Olympic eventing course, from the ground in Greenwich Park.

Edward Hill, of Creek Road, pleaded not guilty to criminal damage at Woolwich Magistrates Court and has elected for jury trial at crown court.

It is alleged that Mr Hill, a photographic artist, spent around two hours removing the artificial grass tufts on 23 September.

Olympic organisers LOCOG confirmed that the markers were cut out of the ground in an attack of vandalism but did not wish to comment further.

“We have planning permission for all the work we are doing in Greenwich Park,” said the LOCOG spokesman.

Mr Hill will appear at Woolwich Magistrates Court on 19 November to be committed to crown court.

Equestrian groundworks start at Greenwich for 2012 London Olympics

Horse & Hound — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:11:08 +0000

Preparation of the Olympic equestrian site at Greenwich Park began this month.

Groundwork started on 9 August and will focus on soil decompaction to stimulate grass growth and reduce the hardness of the ground, daily irrigation and mowing and fertilising to encourage quality grass growth.

“We have to turn a municipal park usually used for football and dog walking into an Olympic sports surface,” said Olympic eventing manager Alec Lochore.

“Not many events are run in parks in the UK, but the Adelaide three-day event is in a city, so it’s not unique.”

The course route has been marked out using artificial tuft markers, but there will be no major earth movement works.

“We have used the ground [conditions] at Burghley as our benchmark and are aiming to make the Olympic site as good as that,” said Mr Lochore.

A spokesman for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) confirmed: “Greenwich Park will remain open and fully accessible to the public while work takes place.”

The test event takes place next July. The Olympic cross-country fences are being built off-site and will be installed nearer July 2012.

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (26 August, ’10)

Alec Lochore is eventing manager for London Olympic Games

Charlotte White — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:06:43 +0000

Alec Lochore, the organiser of Burnham Market, Houghton, and Blair Castle horse trials, will be the eventing manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Mr Lochore, from Brancaster in Norfolk, will work with London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), equestrian manager Tim Hadaway to ensure that a first class event is delivered at Greenwich Park.

He will also manage the planning and development of the cross-country course working closely with course designer Sue Benson and builders London Eventing.

And he will plan the Olympic test event, an eventing competition to be held in Greenwich Park in July 2011.

Mr Lochore said: “I am thrilled to be taking on this role, working in Greenwich Park, with its unique history, setting and undulations.

“It is wonderful to be part of an Olympics on home soil and I am honoured to be part of such a unique event and being part of a team that is working hard to deliver a first class equestrian event.”

Mr Lochore has ten years experience running more than 50 national and international horse trials.

He has also been a member of the board of British Eventing (BE) and chairman of BE’s national safety committee, an FEI technical delegate and course designer.

Pony rides in Greenwich to mark two-year Olympic countdown

Amy Mathieson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:54:28 +0000

A day of sporting activities, including pony rides, has been organised for residents of Greenwich next month.

The day in Greenwich Park, on Saturday 24 July, is to mark the two-year countdown to the start of the London 2012 Olympics.

It will run 11am-4pm and there will be a range of activities including pony rides around a fixed course, with the ponies provided by the British Horse Society.

It is part of the Greenwich Community Games (GCG) Programme, the year-round project, which aims to transform people’s lives through sports-based activities such as swimming lessons, gymnastics, wheelchair football and martial arts.

There will be a host of sports available at the event including tennis, table tennis, athletics, volleyball, trampolining and martial arts.

The day is free and is being run jointly by Greenwich Council and the Charlton Athletic Race & Equality (CARE) Partnership.

For more information tel:: 020 8293 5355.

Greenwich gets the go-ahead for 2012 Olympic Games

Horse & Hound — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:08:01 +0000

The final hurdle to holding the equestrian competitions of the 2012 Olympic Games in London’s Greenwich Park was removed tonight (Tuesday 23 March).

During a marathon five-hour meeting of Greenwich Council’s planning committee members voted 10 to two in favour of the application submitted by the London Organising Commitee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

But the councillors imposed around 40 conditions on LOCOG’s preparations to transform the 87 hectare park into a venue for showjumping, dressage and cross-country and the Modern Pentathlon.

Speaking after the meeting LOCOG equestrian competition manager Tim Hadaway told H&H: “We have every confidence that we can comply with the conditions in the year and a half before the test event.

“We are very pleased by tonight’s decision but we have a lot to do. It’s full steam ahead.”

Hundreds of local people for and against the application crowded into Woolwich Town Hall for tonight’s meeting.

Pressure group NOGOE (No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events) opposes the holding of the competitions in the Royal Park.

At least six of their supporters spoke at the meeting, citing concerns about ecology, archeology, transport and lack of amenity to local people among their reasons for opposing the application.

But a large number of supporters also addressed the committee, including Will Connell and Andrew Finding of the British Equestrian Federation (BEF).

Protestors hope to derail Greenwich Olympic plan using Victorian law

Charlotte White — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Campaigners opposed to the use of Greenwich Park during the 2012 Olympics claim to have found a law that renders the recent planning application for the park unlawful.

It refers to a piece of land — known as Circus Field — which borders the park and would be used for logistics during the Games.

Retired solicitor Lionel Lewis told H&H: “The management scheme for Blackheath [dating from 1871] not only prohibits enclosure [of the heath] generally but limits enclosure by those managing the heath to the purpose only of repair of the grasses.”

He said there is “no means for obtaining permission to build any fence or structure” on the land.

But a spokesman for LOCOG said: “Greenwich Council has confirmed it will be considering our planning application in the normal way.”

She said LOCOG would seek consent for use of the land in due course.

And a spokesman for Greenwich Council confirmed the information from No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) would not affect the planning process.

Portable cross-country jumps ease Olympic impact on Greenwich Park

Charlotte White — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:07:49 +0000

The majority — if not all — of the 40 jumps on the three-star Olympic cross-country course in Greenwich Park will be portable structures, built off-site and installed within four weeks of the Games in July 2012.

Course-designer Sue Benson (pictured) believes they will form an exciting and varied course for the world’s top eventers.

“Cross-country design has incorporated portable obstacles for many years and designers are used to working with them,” said Mrs Benson.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) submitted its £42m plan to hold the equestrian elements of the Olympic Games in Greenwich Park to Greenwich Council earlier this month (news, 17 December).

It announced that the park would be totally closed to the public for a month, except for a children’s play area and flower garden.

This would be much longer if the cross-country elements were built from the ground in the park, said Mrs Benson.

“Groundwork will be done on the site prior to the test event [4-7 July 2011] and we shall have all the normal features, like drops and ditches, which you would expect from a course. But I shall be using the natural features of the park, the fabulous slopes and hills, and the treed acres as well as galloping areas.”

She said the fences will be fixed to the ground using Spirafix “ground anchors” — an ecologically friendly alternative to posts — and added that she would be able to be “flexible” with her design “up to the last minute”.

British eventer Mary King said she was all for using portable jumps if they look natural.

“I’m very positive about the competition and totally understand why they need to use portable jumps,” she told H&H. “The best temporary jumps can look very natural and, if it is necessary because of the venue at Greenwich, that’s fine with me .”

But New Zealand rider Andrew Nicholson said a course comprising all temporary fences would be tough on the horses.

“Horses have to work very hard to jump solid portable fences because they don’t like to touch them. With natural fences they are able to rub the jumps a little and save a bit of effort.

“It will be hard on horses when they [the organisers] are trying to introduce the maximum number of jumping efforts in the course.”

Equestrian competition manager for the Games Tim Hadaway (pictured above) said: “Portable jumps allow us to deliver the course quite quickly, reducing the impact on the park and its users.

“It also allows us to clear the course quickly. There will be a wide range of structures, although the final designs are still being worked on by Sue and the course-builders.”

Greenwich Council’s planning committee is due to decide on the application by March 2010.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (24 December, ’09)

New riding schools to be built in London as Olympic legacy

Charlotte White — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:05:22 +0000

New riding schools being built in the London boroughs of Greenwich and Brixton will each receive £200,000 of funding as part of the sports projects surrounding the 2012 London Olympics.

The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) announced today (17 December) that £750,000 will be ploughed into equestrianism in the capital in the run-up to the Games.

Launching the three-year project at Olympia today, BEF chief executive, Andrew Finding, said: “The Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events in 2012 will take our sport right into the heart of London.

“Now is the time for us, in partnership with all our member organisations, to exploit the publicity that will follow, by encouraging more people to get involved and creating better facilities and opportunities for all to ride in London.”

The equestrian legacy project — Hoof — is donating £200,000 to Ebony Horse Club, which is trying to raise £1.5million to build itself a permanent base in Brixton.

Currently the charity buses youngsters from some of the most disadvantaged council estates in the UK to riding centres across London for lessons.

The new facility — boasting 11 stables, turn-out and a floodlit arena — will enable Ebony to expand the number of children it teaches from 40 to 160 a week.

Rose Spearing, development director of the Ebony Horse Club told H&H: “We are absolutely delighted that the BEF is taking such interest in our very urban project.

“We have already raised £160,000 and have more money pledged, but we still need to find another £500,000 to hit our £1.5m target.”

Another legacy of the Games will be a riding centre in Shooters Hill, which is being built within Greenwich borough by the local council.

Hoof has pledged £200,000 towards the project.

A spokesman for Greenwich Council said: “The borough is very keen to see the development of the proposed equestrian centre and is presently discussing this with relevant landholders.

“Greenwich is also keen to develop an equine and land-based skills academy at the site. The intention is to promote riding to inner-city children who might otherwise never have the opportunity try the sport.”

A feasibility study is currently underway to identify the types of facilities needed, and will be completed in March 2010.

The British Horse Society is working with Hoof to offer equestrianism to more children as part of their school sports programme.

And the final part of the legacy project will be Hoof it to Health — “a new campaign to get people off the sofa, away from the computer and out into the open air to enjoy the exercise that horse riding can provide” says the BEF.

Hoof will continue to work with Sport England and BEF member bodies to maximise opportunities for children and adults across London to enjoy riding for the first time, with a series of cut-price lessons at London stables and a website with information about the 70 centres in the capital.

For more information visit www.hoof-in-town.co.uk

Equestrian 2012 Olympic venue planning permission submitted

Horse & Hound — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:05:11 +0000

Details of how the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) plans to transform Greenwich Park into a top-class equestrian venue have been unveiled.

LOCOG submitted a planning application for the use of the park to Greenwich Council, and expects a decision by March 2011.

Among the key elements detailed in the application are requests to build a 23,000-seat temporary arena, 6km cross-country course, stabling and spectator facilities.

At the same time, local pressure group No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) issued a further challenge to the plans.

It claims LOCOG’s use of nearby Blackheath (for additional stabling) contravenes the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866, which rules that Blackheath must be open to the public at all times.

If permission is granted, work will begin on the temporary structures in Greenwich during April 2012.

The 180-acre park will be shut to the public from 6 July until 3 August, before some sections re-open while the Modern Pentathlon and then the Paralympic dressage take place.