Latest from Horse & Hound in Heythrop

6 times top dressage riders have done things you might not expect

Polly Bryan — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:24:16 +0000

The sport of dressage often comes with certain stereotypes, but outside the pristine white boards of the arena, there are plenty of dressage riders getting up to antics you might not expect...

1. An Olympic gold medallist goes hedge-hopping

A break from dressage…Posted by Laura Bechtolsheimer Dressage on Monday, November 30, 2020

Olympic gold medallist Laura Tomlinson has been known to swap the dressage arena for a spot of hedge-hopping recently aboard her trusty hunter Dan. And, perhaps unsurprisingly given that she is married to England polo player Mark Tomlinson, Laura also enjoyed indulging in some polo over the summer, explaining that a change of scene helped her remember what a blessing it is simply to spend time with horses in any capacity.

2. A different type of horsepower

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Gareth Hughes is not quite your typical dressage rider in many ways, having grown up in Australia and having a passion for reining, and this year he tapped into his wild side again by introducing a new ride – this time in the shape of a Harley Davidson motorbike!

3. Combining eventing with dressage – literally

New Challenge ?Alice Oppenheimer Sara-Jane Lanning Nathalie Kayal Kirsty MephamPosted by Dannie Morgan on Sunday, November 4, 2018

Dannie Morgan juggles eventing with grand prix dressage, so it was inevitable that sooner or later he would combine the two sports. Dannie famously began a trend among dressage riders of attempting a line of tempi-changes into a fence, and also took it a step further himself, with this impressive canter zig-zag into a skinny.

4. Swapping the arena for the hunting field

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Dressage legend and five-time Olympian Carl Hester enjoyed a change of scenery when he spent a day out trail-hunting with the Heythrop last year, and wrote about it afterwards in H&H. Although he admitted it had been 10 years since he last left the ground, Carl said his day out with hounds was “totally exhilarating”.

5. Dressage rider to jockey

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Dressage rider and trainer Ali Dane took on a huge challenge in 2017 when she took part in the Champions Willberry Charity Race at Cheltenham. Ali swapped her Pikeur breeches and dressage saddle for racing colours and short stirrups and after only 60 days of training finished the 1 mile 5 furlong race well riding Miss Inga Sock.

6. Taking on a marathon

Posted by Alice Oppenheimer Dressage on Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Several well-known riders have added the impressive achievement of running a marathon to their sporting CVs, with a fair few dressage riders among them, such as Andrew Gould, Judy Reynolds and Olivia Oakeley. Grand prix rider Alice Oppenheimer (pictured during a training race) is set to run the postponed London Marathon in October 2021, raising money for Brooke.

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

Hunting’s leading ladies win over the hedges

Catherine Austen — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 12:43:04 +0000

The hunt race season kicked off on Sunday (19 November), with Zoe Gibson winning the 8 Outdoor Melton Hunt Club Ride in Leicestershire and Yvonne Goss taking the Daylesford Hunt Cup in Gloucestershire.

Zoe, who was riding her own Jaffa, a thoroughbred she bought in Ireland as a four-year-old, has now won the Melton race five times.

Second was Ollie Finnegan, riding Rivage D’Or, and third was Jack Quinlan (Easter Meteor). Full report in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 23 November.

The Daylesford Hunt Cup, held on Sir Anthony and Lady Bamford’s Daylesford estate in the Heythrop country, is now in its second year. Three races were run over a course of rails and newly laid hedges, designed by Daylesford “countryman” George Hyatt.

Yvonne Goss leading with Jaffa, second Pandora Bailey and Offshore Account and eventual fifth place finisher Maurice Linehan on Kitney Wood. (Image credit: xcphotos.co.uk)

Yvonne Goss won the open race, also riding a horse called Jaffa. The pair were fresh and fit after an autumn team chasing campaign and they held off Pandora Bailey on ex-racehorse Offshore Account. Iona Hoare came third and won the best Heythrop prize. Retraining of Racehorses sponsored prizes for the good number of ex-racehorses that competed.

“The course gave a great ride and the cup is amazing!” said Yvonne. “I must remember to add it to the house insurance!”

Continued below…

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Want to look as glamorous as Martha Sitwell on the hunting field? Of course we do

When it comes to elegance and hunting there’s one real benchmark — Lady Martha Sitwell. Which is why her new

When equine royalty hits the hunting field: how many of these stars do you recognise?

For these horses, as one door has closed, another has opened. We take a look at the equine stars that

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Four-star eventer Beanie Sturgis’ 11 top life-hacks for fellow equestrians

Gloucestershire-based eventer and field master Beanie Sturgis, shares her tips for saving time and money around the yard

The intermediate class was won by another team chaser, the Hair Raisers’ Larry Brown, ahead of Amber Bradshaw. The best Heythrop trophy went to third-placed Jessica Fleming, who runs Red Barn Stud near Northleach.

Rory Richmond-Watson took the junior cup, which was judged on hunting etiquette by John and Jane LLoyd, over whose land part of the course ran. Not only did he ride really well and competitively to come in fourth behind Isla Hughes, but he also thanked the “field master” for the race, Emily Seal, daughter of Heythrop Saturday field master Nick Seal.

There were 70 entries in total for this new raceday, organised by Heythrop Tuesday field master Tom Gittins. As the hedges mature and the course develops, it will become an exciting addition to the hunt race calendar.

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

Advice for field masters in their first season

Horse & Hound — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:46 +0000

Last summer Heythrop joint-master Nessie Lambert came round to see me and asked if I’d like to do some field mastering for the Heythrop during the coming season. I instantly answered: “Yes.” “How difficult can it be?” I thought.

I came to hunting pretty recently (the past three seasons on a regular basis). Being an event rider, my winters can be slow and bleak, with not many goals on the horizon to keep me motivated. So I started hunting mainly to sort out naughty eventers.

From the beginning, the season had a different feel for me. I was trying to take in a lot; it was not just a case of staying on the lairy four-year-old having his first day autumn hunting!

I started thinking about the position of the field and what I would do if I were field master.

Knowing the country like the back of your hand holds massive value.

But it is something you can’t do in a week. The best field masters in the country have normally hunted there all their lives. So I had a lot to catch up on.

Advice for new field masters

Say hello to as many people as you can at the meet.
Keep the field in contact with the hounds as much as possible.
Know the country. Walk as much as you can and look for sneaky short cuts, big or small.
When walking the country, get the landowner to take you round where possible, as you can then avoid going to the places where he doesn’t want you.
Be careful around livestock; make sure you know who is gate-shutting.
Keep off and to the edge of any newly seeded fields.
Try and keep a smooth flow to the day.
Have only one glass of port at the meet!

To read the full feature about field mastering and Mike’s experiences see the current issue of H&H (18 April 2013)

Parliament to debate the role of the RSPCA

Flora Watkins — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:58:12 +0000

MPs are to debate the role of the RSPCA as prosecutor, in the wake of the charity’s controversial court case against the Heythrop.

The debate was requested by Simon Hart MP.

Mr Hart, a former chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, is among those to have heavily criticised the RSPCA for spending £326,000 on prosecuting the Heythrop.

He told H&H that the purpose of the debate, the first of its kind, “was to question whether a charity that acts as a prosecutor, and which claims to comply with the Crown Prosecution Service’s guidance on prosecutions, is conflicted by the fact that it also has a political and commercial interest in the cases that it takes.”

The debate will be held next Tuesday (29 January) in Westminster Hall.

Mr Hart told H&H that he also wanted to highlight that the charity’s good work “on the ground” was compromised by “an increasingly animal rights-based agenda being pursued by the RSPCA leadership”.

The Heythrop was fined at Oxford Magistrates Court on 17 December 2012 after admitting unlawful hunting.

Former huntsman Julian Barnfield and former senior master Richard Sumner also pleaded guilty.

But District Judge Tim Pattinson said the £326,000 the RSPCA spent on the case was a “staggering” figure.

He said: “Members of the public may feel that RSPCA funds can be more usefully employed.”

Judge ‘staggered’ by £326K RSPCA prosecution of hunt

Flora Watkins — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:11:05 +0000

A judge has questioned the “staggering” amount of money spent by the RSPCA on prosecuting the Heythrop.

The Heythrop was fined yesterday (17 December) at Oxford Magistrates Court after admitting unlawful hunting.

Former huntsman Julian Barnfield and former senior master Richard Sumner also pleaded guilty to the same charges.

District Judge Tim Pattinson fined the hunt £4,000, Sumner £1,800 and Barnfield £1,000. He ordered the hunt to pay £15,000 towards the legal costs incurred by the RSPCA, which brought the case.

But the judge questioned whether the £326,000 the RSPCA spent on the case was a sensible use of the charity’s funds.

He said the sum was a “staggering figure”.

He continued: “Members of the public may feel that RSPCA funds can be more usefully employed.

“It is not for me to express an opinion but I merely flag it up, but I do find it to be a quite staggering figure.”

The court heard that the hunt was filmed in the Cotswolds during November 2011 and February and March this year by members of the Protect Our Wild Animals group.

Heythrop’s former huntsman retires

Flora Watkins — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:54:15 +0000

Heythrop kennel-huntsman Julian Barnfield is retiring from hunt service.

In a statement, the hunt said that after 21 seasons as a professional huntsman, Mr Barnfield had not enjoyed his new position as kennel-huntsman and was leaving immediately, by mutual agreement.

It continued: “Julian and the Heythrop will continue vigorously to combat the charges that have been laid against him and others by the RSPCA.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (1 November 2012)

RSPCA’s actions questioned following charges against the Heythrop

Flora Watkins — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:05:04 +0000

An MEP is calling on the Charity Commission to investigate the “political activities” of the RSPCA – which he believes are in breach of its charitable status.

Roger Helmer, who is the UKIP MEP for the East Midlands, made his comments after the RSPCA issued summonses on 52 Hunting Act charges against the Heythrop, which hunt in the Prime Minister’s constituency.

“When the RSPCA engages in contentious political campaigns, it calls into question its right to charitable status,” said Mr Helmer.

A spokesman for the Charity Commission said it would assess his concerns.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (24 May 2012)

Anger as RSPCA targets the Heythrop as a whole

Flora Watkins — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:14:56 +0000

The RSPCA is being accused of pursuing a political agenda after launching an unprecedented prosecution against the Heythrop.

The animal charity has long spent large sums campaigning against hunting, but now – in a case that is expected to cost over £1million – it has issued summons on 52 charges against four officers of the hunt.

The Heythrop as a whole has also been summonsed to face 10 charges – the first time this has happened since the ban came into force in 2005.

Those charged – in relation to alleged incidents in the 2011-12 season – are recently retired senior master Richard Sumner, joint-master Nessie Lambert, kennel-huntsman Julian Barnfield and whipper-in Duncan Hume.

Mr Barnfield is already being prosecuted by the RSPCA on two charges relating to the 2010-11 season. They all deny the charges.

Tim Bonner, campaigns director of the Countryside Alliance, told H&H that the case was an “abuse of the court system“.

“It should be for the police to investigate alleged crimes and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring cases – not for campaigning organisations to use the courts to make political points,” he said.

The Heythrop is the only pack hunting in the Prime Minister’s constituency.

Mr Bonner added: “The expenditure of such huge sums of money on a political campaign by a registered charity – especially one that is claiming to be at ‘breaking point’ [financially] – is highly questionable.”

The RSPCA is currently consulting on 130 redundancies.

A spokesman for the charity defended its actions.

“Any agency can bring a prosecution,” she said. “It just happens that we have been provided with the evidence on this one and have taken the decision to prosecute.”

Nessie Lambert told H&H that the hunt “firmly rejected” the allegations.

“We are amazed that the RSPCA has the staffing, money and time to pursue what is clearly a politically motivated campaign against a hunt that happens to operate within David Cameron’s constituency,” she added.

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

Ginny Elliot recovering after hunting fall with the Heythrop

Flora Watkins — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:21:07 +0000

Ginny Elliot is recovering from a fall in which she fractured

two vertebrae.

The former world and European eventing champion – who trains the Irish squad – was injured while out with the Heythrop on 28 December.

Ginny’s husband, Heythrop chairman Mikey Elliot, told H&H that her horse caught its feet in a hole, “catapulting” her into the ground.

“She is much better, though not riding yet because she is wearing a neck brace,” he said.

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

Charles Frampton to hunt the Heythrop next season

Charles Frampton — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:46:14 +0000

The Heythrop will be hunted by Charles Frampton, currently senior joint-master and huntsman of the Portman, next season.

His appointment follows a split at the Heythrop over the future of current huntsman Julian Barnfield.

The wrangle went public after Countryside Alliance chairman MP Kate Hoey intervened on Mr Barnfield’s behalf, writing to Heythrop chairman Mikey Elliot.

An extraordinary general meeting was held on Sunday (30 October) in Chipping Norton, and the vote as to who should hunt the pack was 207 to 163 in favour of Mr Frampton. Farmers had two votes and subscribers one.

Mr Frampton, who will also join the mastership, told H&H: “I am looking forward to coming to the Heythrop next season.”

Two Heythrop masters declined to comment on the situation.

Mr Barnfield, who appeared in court last month accused of breaking the Hunting Act, has hunted the Heythrop since 2005 and was at the Cotswold before that.

He said: “I’m pretty devastated. I have hunted hounds for 21 years and I don’t know what I am going to do next. It’s been a bloody battle – now I have to weigh up what’s best for my wife and kids.”

Mr Barnfield has been asked to stay on as kennel-huntsman but has not yet given the masters his decision.

He pleaded not guilty to breaching the Hunting Act, when he appeared at Banbury Magistrates’ Court on 25 October.

The case was adjourned until 9 December.

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

Prosecution sensationally dropped against Heythrop huntsman

Horse & Hound — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:04:13 +0000

Charges of illegal hunting have been dropped against Heythrop huntsman Julian Barnfield.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has today dropped the high-profile case against Mr Barnfield. The huntsman was charged with four offences of hunting a fox, relating to incidents between November 2008 and February 2009.

The decision comes after the CPS announced it had no plans to appeal a High Court ruling that effectively weakened the Hunting Act 2004.

Mr Barnfield told H&H: “It’s now becoming apparent that it’s an unworkable law, that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

The High Court ruled in February that “searching” for a mammal was not hunting, and that hunting could only be an “intentional” activity.

Mr Barnfield’s solicitor, Tim Hayden, said: “My client had been engaged in lawful trail hunting, which had been wrongly interpreted to be unlawful hunting by the prosecution.

“Hopefully the recent High Court decision will help to ensure those people who take part in lawful hunting will not be wrongly suspected to be unlawfully hunting in future.”

Julian Barnfield added: “Hunt staff are under a lot of pressure, and when you’re filmed day-in-day-out, it’s not easy to do your job.”

Heythrop huntsman pleads not guilty to charges under the Hunting Act

Charlotte White — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:40:41 +0000

Heythrop huntsman Julian Barnfield has pleaded not guilty to three charges of hunting a wild mammal with dogs contrary to the Hunting Act 2004.

Mr Barnfield, of the Heythrop Kennels in Chipping Norton, did not appear at Cheltenham Magistrates Court for the hearing on 4 August, but entered the pleas through his solicitor.

The case was adjourned for a pre-trial review on 3 November at the same court.

A High Court judicial review into where the burden of proof lies in hunting cases — whether a hunt must prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was not hunting illegally or whether it is for the prosecution to prove the reverse — will have a bearing on Mr Barnfield’s and other cases involving hunts.

MFHA and Countryside Alliance slam BBC hunting investigation

Horse & Hound — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:58:39 +0000

The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) and Countryside Alliance (CA) has dismissed as “second-class, emotional journalism” a BBC investigation that followed monitors trailing the Heythrop hunt.

BBC’s Inside Out programme on Good Friday followed Penny Little and Judy Gilbert while they “monitored” the Heythrop over four weekends last month.

MFHA chairman Stephen Lambert told H&H: “At one point, a fox was pictured running towards hounds, with the monitors trying to allege that hunting with intent was taking place. How you can hunt a fox when it’s running towards hounds, I don’t know.”

CA spokesman Tim Bonner said the BBC showed the hunt laying and following a trail, and an emotional outburst by monitors.

He said: “There’s no evidence to support any allegations — which the Heythrop deny.”

Gloucestershire police could not confirm that an investigation was taking place, despite reports in local papers that it was.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (27 March, ’08)