The British leg of the FEI eventing Nations Cup series moves to Chatsworth in 2023 with long-standing host venue Houghton absent from next year’s calendar.

The 2023 British Eventing (BE) calendar was released this week (12 December) at the same time as news of a new qualification route to the grassroots championships.

The CCIO4*-S Nations Cup will run at the Derbyshire venue from 13 to 14 May, with Houghton’s spring long-format CCI2*, CCI3* and young rider CCI3* classes moving to Bicton Arena in Devon (25 to 28 May). Bicton will also run a short-format CCI4* at that spring fixture.

Notable fixtures missing from the 2023 calendar include Firle, Weston Park and Isleham. Tweseldown’s March date is not running next year, owing to Esso installing a pipeline (Tweseldown’s other fixtures are in the calendar).

The young horse championships, previously held at Osberton in the autumn, will move to Cornbury (7 to 10 September). Osberton will continue to run its regular CCI2*-L and CCI3*-L classes, and also has a pony CCI3*-S and CCI* on its schedule for this year as well as novice and intermediate masters national classes.

New BE events include Chard in the southwest (29 to 30 April), with classes from BE80 to BE100 open, and Oxstalls in Gloucestershire (17 to 18 June), running at BE80 to BE105. Returning to the BE calendar in 2023 are Littleton Manor in Surrey (14 to 15 October) at BE80 to BE105, and Brightling Park in East Sussex (1 to 2 July) at BE80 to open novice.

Also new for this year is the introduction of nine new six- and seven-year-old classes, which will be spread across the regions from April to August.

In other news, The Under-18 Youth Championships will be split in 2023. Bishop Burton in East Yorkshire will host the BE100 and novice championships (27 to 30 July) and Chillington Hall in Staffordshire will run the BE80 and BE90 championships (9 to 10 September). GoBE classes and stand-alone GoBE fixtures are also expanding this season.

• View the full 2023 calendar

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Swedish Olympian Therese Viklund celebrated the “best result ever” in having her one-eyed top horse Viscera back from injury and feeling “amazing” in the Barefoot Retreats Houghton International Horse Trials.

Therese and Viscera were the highest-placed international combination in the CCIO4*, jumping double clear and adding just 1.2 cross-country time-penalties to their 29.4 dressage to finish fourth. Their performance also helped the Swedish side to team third in the FEI Nations Cup leg at the Norfolk fixture (26 to 29 May).

It was the 14-year-old mare’s first run after sustaining a leg injury in 2021 and Therese credited vet Tom Campbell, of Bourton Vale Equine Clinic, for her recovery.

“It was amazing,” Therese told H&H. “It was her first event since August last year and obviously she was very, very happy to be out again.

“Her dressage was ok, she can generally score a bit better – she likes to show off a bit when she’s fresh, especially in trot. As she’s dressage-bred, she finds passage very funny, but the eventing dressage judges don’t so much!”

She added that for this reason, she had to keep it on the conservative side and the mare did a “really good test”.

“She showjumped really well, it would be her weakest phase. There were quite a few clears, but I thought it was a quite a technical course,” she said.“Cross-country I was quite nervous. I don’t have any other horses at four-star, so I hadn’t done one since last year. I thought it was quite big and she absolutely flew round. She was amazing – it didn’t feel like she hadn’t done it in nine months.”

Therese said having Viscera back and feeling amazing is “the best result ever”.

The partnership have a string of top-10 results at four-star and competed for Sweden at the Tokyo Olympics.

Therese, who produced the Fidertanz daughter from a six-year-old, said that all being well, the plan for Viscera is to stick at Nations Cup and short-format competitions. Haras du Pin in August is pencilled in as the mare’s next event.

The Hanoverian mare had her left eye removed in 2018, having contracted uveitis three years previously, and adapted seamlessly.

“She doesn’t find any problems,” said Therese. “She just loves her job. I thought when it was removed that she wouldn’t get back to four-star, but from day one she has been just like she was before. It’s amazing.”

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‘I heard my ankle crack’ – rider makes remarkable comeback for international success 10 weeks after fall

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Millie Juleff made a remarkable comeback from breaking her leg and ankle in a fall in March to finishing fourth at Houghton Horse Trials (26-29 May) just 10 weeks later.

The 19-year-old, who is second rider to Tim Cheffings at his Devon yard, fell off a horse at home in mid-March.

“It was a horse I was riding for the first time for someone and it was just a really unlucky fall – I landed on my ankle and heard it crack,” she told H&H. “I broke a bone on the inside of my ankle and my fibula. I had two weeks in a cast, then an operation – I had to wait for ages for the swelling to go down – then I was in a boot.”

Millie was told it would be three to four months before she would be back in the saddle, but she started riding her top horse, All We Need (“Monti”), after five weeks and jumped him over small fences a week later.

“I didn’t ride anything else for ages as I only trusted him and to start with I literally sat on him and walked him round. He can be a dobbin and he was a good boy,” she said.

Millie and Monti had won an open novice on their only run of the season before the accident, at Tweseldown, but the clock was ticking if they were to achieve their qualifications in order to compete in the young rider national championships at CCI3*-L level at Houghton and keep the dream of selection for the young rider Europeans alive.

“I’m quite a determined person and still wanted it to happen, but it was obviously quite a big setback,” she said. “We travelled six hours to Richmond to get my intermediate qualification and then eight and a half to Floors Castle to do a CCI3*-S, which was crazy.”

Millie finished fourth at both Richmond and Floors. She headed to Houghton, where the pair achieved a dressage mark of 27.7 and finished on that score to pick up another fourth place.

“Floors was pretty big and technical so it was good to go there before Houghton and made me feel more confident,” she said. “Houghton wasn’t as big as Floors, but it was the longest track I’ve ever done.

“Monti and I have such a good partnership and I know him so well. He flew round the cross-country at Houghton and made it feel pretty easy. I was nervous for the showjumping but also quite confident as he’s a good jumper.”

Monti, who has been with Millie Juleff since October 2019, will now have a few quiet weeks and Millie will wait to see how the young rider selection process progresses before she decides on his next targets.

Full report from Houghton in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine (issue dated 2 June).

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WILLIAM FOX-PITT and Little Fire made short work of the Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International CCIO4*-S to seal their win with a deceptively quick cross-country round.

The 12-year-old gelding, with whom William was ninth at Badminton 2019, breezed around Alec Lochore’s track to come home a comfortable four seconds inside the time.

William, who co-owns the horse with Jennifer Dowling, said to win was “a nice surprise”.

“I haven’t really ridden him fast since Badminton 2019, so today was quite a surprise,” said William.

“I thought I would be quick enough to win — he was in a good position and I was at the end of the class, but I thought I would fully use up all my points [in hand]. He is a quick horse and it was lovely ground and a nice course. We rather enjoyed ourselves!”

Selina Milnes and the 13-year-old Iron IV, owned by William Rucker, rose from 10th after dressage to claim the runner-up spot on their first phase score of 30.

“I thought with being up there after dressage, that I had to go for it. It rode really well, it was open, galloping and he is a big-striding horse — I just kept coming and it all happened nicely, I didn’t have one bad moment,” said Selina, adding she decided she “had to go for it”.

“I walked the line over and over again at the corners [8ab] and originally I was going to go on five [strides], but actually the horse is so much better if you don’t take a pull and he was really awesome through there.”

Those blue Howes Percival corners in front of the house proved the most influential fence on course, with seven combinations picking up 20 penalties here and one elimination.

The consistent combination of Bubby Upton and Magic Roundabout IV finished third on their dressage score of 30.7, with time penalties dropping overnight leader Alex Hua Tian and Jilsonne Van Bareelhof into fourth.

Eventing Nations Cup

Houghton was the opening leg of this year’s FEI Nations Cup series and was won by the home side, made up of Mollie Summerland (Charly Van Ter Heiden), Tom McEwen (Class Affair) and Georgie Spence (Halltown Harley), who all finished on their dressage scores.

Britain, Ireland and Australia all competed with teams of three, meaning the final result went right to the wire.

There was some drama as 2021, not satisfied with a pandemic, Brexit and challenging weather, had a few more surprises up its sleeve.

A withdrawal by Australia’s Sammi Birch meant Sophie Adams (Ridire Dorcha) had to be swapped in as a late substitution to ensure the competition could run.

Gemma Tattersall also withdrew Jalapeno III ahead of the dressage, with British chef d’equipe Philip Surl explaining the horse had knocked a splint.

Philip added he was “very pleased” with the Brits’ performances.

“It’s always nice to finish on what you started with after dressage. It’s been a little bit of a testing week,” he said.

“I know it wasn’t the strongest of fields from the point of view of numbers, but it’s just great to have a team competition. It’s been a while, but hopefully we can all move on from here.

“There was enough to do out there, there were plenty of places just to have a silly 20 and they had to keep their brains on, so I’m very pleased.”

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Full report from Houghton International, including the CCI3*-L sections, is also available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 3 June 2021

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Ros Canter was in top form as she dominated both the CCI3*-L sections at Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International

WORLD champion Ros Canter kept her cool under pressure in Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International’s crucible of a main arena to win both CCI3*-L classes.

Ros cantered into the main arena as overnight leader and last rider to jump in both sections, and there was little room for error in the final phase.

Ros and the “really honest” nine-year-old mare Shannondale Nadia had one fence in hand in section B and she had just a handful of time penalties to play with in order to retain her lead in section C aboard Izilot DHI. But Ros is world champion for a reason, and that icy coolness she showed when she sealed gold in Tryon was there again on both her winning rides.

She produced two textbook showjumping rounds, stopping the clock a fraction of a second over the optimum time for 0.4 of a time-penalty with both horses.

“[Shannondale Nadia] has taken a little bit of working out, but she’s the most genuine, lovely, laid-back mare,” said Ros, adding the mare has “always promised a lot”. “She’s just a lovely person to have around at home, so she really deserves it.”

Ros and the mare’s owner, Sharon Bayston, bought her as a three-year-old from Shannondale Stud and she said it has been a “team effort” with a lot of help from Caroline Moore to find the key to her.

“She would naturally run long into a fence, which suits a lot of horses, but she’s not very effective from that canter — but that’s the canter she picks,” said Ros, explaining they’ve worked on getting her into a shape that is effective and she finds comfortable.

“I’ve learnt that I must communicate a lot more with her all the way around the course, whereas I would naturally just like to ride with a soft hand and a steady rhythm, with her she needs a bit of help after every fence.”

Section B incorporated the British under-21 championships, won by Oliver Jackson and Viktor Krum, who were also second overall (see subhead, below), with Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer third (29.9).

“I’m delighted with him, he was lying fourth at Le Lion last year, then didn’t trot up as he had pus in the foot, so it’s nice to finally have the three-star long on him,” said Laura.

“He jumped beautifully, he’s been a little bit hit and miss with his showjumping this year. He’s got all the jump in the world, but he doesn’t always focus, however he really focused in there and tried really hard.

“He’s taken until now to finish filling out and growing — he’s a beautiful horse and has just taken until now and will probably still even be a better horse again next year. Strength-wise, he’s just now building up, but he’s very easy and genuine.”

This was the first three-day event of the season, owing to Covid cancellations, and the first to have a decent crowd and atmosphere since the Government eased lockdown restrictions.

Ros added her section C winner, Izilot DHI, whom she co-owns with Nick and Alex Moody, is a “class horse” for the future.

“I bought him from Ian Woodhead as a rising five-year-old and he was pretty sharp from the word go,” she said. “He’s been one of these horses where he either wins, or it’s quite challenging, and it’s really come together this week.”

Oliver Townend and the dapple grey mare Cooley Rosalent followed up their Burnham Market CCI3*-S win with the runner-up spot behind Ros on 25.7. Nicola Wilson and new ride Coolparks Sarco were third, finishing on their 27.1 dressage score.

“James and Jo Lambert bought him from Andrew Nicholson and he was produced by Vicky Brake. He’s a lovely horse, he’s been an absolute gentleman and beautifully produced by Vicky and Andrew, as you would expect,” said Nicola.

“He is an absolute delight and has that lovely little bit of character, little bit of cheekiness about him, and is a pleasure to ride in all three phases.”

‘Over the moon’

EMILY KING and Imposant held their dressage lead to win the 109-strong CCI2*-L.

The pair produced two flawless jumping rounds to add nothing to their 23.9 dressage, with Laura Collett and Outback II in second on 25.1 and Piggy March with Cooley Goodwood third on 25.2.

“I’m absolutely over the moon with him, he did just what I asked. He’s quite an anxious horse and he’s never really jumped in a ring as big as that with the crowd, so I didn’t really know how he was going to respond,” said Emily of the Kerr-Dineen family’s eight-year-old.

It was certainly Emily’s turn to have some luck. The pair fell on the flat while in the lead at Osberton at Thoresby in 2020 and this was also Emily’s first event back since breaking her hand, without falling off, while cross-country schooling on another horse.

“He’s a real anxious thing, but has so much potential, he just needs to trust his ability,” she said, adding the three-day format has really helped him settle.

“I could feel he had the ability when he came, it was just whether his mind was going to be relaxed enough. But the more he’s done, the better he’s got.”

Such was the quality of the field that nobody in the top 10 could afford a rail in the final phase. Kitty King, who was lying second after cross-country aboard MHS Monbeg Junior, dropped down to 14th for clipping a rail at the downhill oxer at fence nine and the top 20 all had sub-30 finishing scores.

Fourth place went to Eliza Stoddart and the 2019 British five-year-old and 2019 Nexgen six-year-old champion Codebreaker.

“He really galloped and loved every minute of it and showed that he’s got the potential to hopefully go further, so we are really excited about him,” said Eliza.

“He’s got quite a big ego and seems to have all the talent, I would love to find a few more like him! He just loves his job.”

‘When he sees a jump, he goes for it’

OLIVER JACKSON took his first major title with victory in the under-21 championship. The combination has been knocking on the door of a big win, with third places at both Osberton at Thoresby CCI3*-L 2020 and Burnham Market CCI3*-S in April.

The teenager rode with a maturity beyond his 19 years in the final phase and could not find enough ways to praise his “perfect” horse.

“He’s just the sweetest boy, he just has such a kind nature about him, but when he sees a jump, he goes for it — he knows what he is doing,” said Oliver. “He just ate up the cross-country, was perfect on all the lines and didn’t put a foot wrong.

“He loves the atmosphere, he builds up to it, he loves these big events. I like to think I’m pretty good under pressure, but [having crowds back] always adds something. It’s always good to perform in front of a crowd, it makes the wins even better.”

Georgina Wood, 21, and Coronel MCJ were second in the young rider championship and fifth overall.

“We had a good test to start with, then cross-country I knew we had to go inside the time, luckily he is a really quick horse so he helped me out massively there,” said Georgina.

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Full report from Houghton International, including the CCIO4* and Nations Cup competitions, is also available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 3 June 2021

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“She announced I’d sold her mum a horse and she was happy with the way it was going. I asked if her mum was ready to buy a new one yet!” – Oliver Townend on getting more than he bargained for as he thanked the Pony Clubber manning the dressage arena exit at Kentucky

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“He got a bit distracted and drifted right at the first triple brush arrowhead, so I whacked the flag with my knee and it got stuck” – Ariel Grald on jumping the second two elements of a combination at Kentucky with a flag caught between her knee and the saddle

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“He’s not what you expect for a sports cob – he can be a bit of a neurotic bulldozer – but once you’re on him he’s a total pro” – Laura Greenhalgh on Stanhopes Travelling Man, winner of the BE90 Mitsubishi Motors Cup

“I don’t sleep much and I don’t sit down” – Jo Hales, second in the BE100 Mitsubishi Motors Cup, on how she fits in working two jobs, having two children and eventing three horses

“She’s always been an amazing jumper but very opinionated and mareish. She swears and bites you regularly, but we’ve learnt to manage her” – Katie Magee on her Chatsworth advanced winner Dollarney

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Germany proved unstoppable yet again to take their fifth British eventing Nations Cup title on the trot.

To say the Saracen Horse Feeds Houghton International Horse Trials (23-26 May) is a happy hunting ground for the German side would be an understatement, with the team making it five wins in five years.

The youthful team led from the start, with Ingrid Klimke and the exciting young mare Asha P in pole position after the dressage on 23.2 and team-mate Christoph Walher and Carjatan S in second.

Two rolled poles for Ingrid gave other nations a glimmer of hope that they could be caught. Clear showjumping rounds from all four of the Brits resulted in the team moving up from sixth to fourth ahead of cross-country.

Christoph, 25, and Carjatan S produced a masterclass in how to ride Alec Lochore’s influential track, coming home five seconds inside the time to win individually and secure Germany’s victory.

But the result was close, with just 0.6 of a penalty separating Germany (90.6) and second-placed Sweden (91.2), who are chasing Olympic qualification this year.

The Swedes showed their team’s consistency, with three riders inside the top 10, headed by second-placed Louise Romeike and Waikiki 207.

The British side, made up of three senior team debutants and Badminton winner Piggy French, continued their strong performances to record four clear jumping cross-country rounds and finish third on 99.2.

“We like it here!” laughed German chef d’equipe Hans Melzer.

“Every time we have come with a different team and everybody is so motivated to compete here.

“I thought in the beginning that the course was more twisty than in the past, but once we had walked it two or three times you could see it and in the end it was good to ride so I think Alec did a super job.”

Ingrid, 11th individually, added it is “always a pleasure” to win as a part of a team.

“It was really worth coming as it was a wonderful competition and I had two really lovely cross-country rounds with my two young mares,” she said, adding her horses “learned a lot” from the design of the course. “They showed me their quality and were a pleasure to ride.”

Jerome Robine (Quaddeldou R), who finished seventh, and Felix Etzel (Bandit 436), 19th, completed the winning side.

British team anchors Piggy French and Cooley Monsoon enjoyed a beautiful cross-country round, with the 10-year-old gelding’s ears pricked the whole way. The pair added nothing to their dressage score of 29.2 to finish fourth.

Civil engineering student Richard Coney was among the trio making their first British team appearance. The 20-year-old and his junior horse Kananaskis gave a confident performance to finish ninth individually.

“A huge amount of people put their names forwards, so to get picked is very nice, especially considering the calibre of the people here,” said Richard.

“You can never be sure how they are going to perform on the day, but he is pretty consistent across country, so he had it in him to go fast and clear, which is what he did. He was really on form.”

Bubby Upton, 20, added it was “a real honour” to be selected with Fernhill Rock Star.

“I said at the beginning of the week that I wanted a run that was fault free in every phase and that’s exactly what he did,” she said.

“He was quite feisty at the start of the cross-country and I was thinking, ‘come on, let’s concentrate on the fences here’, but he knows his job so well and really helped me out, especially in the water when I lost a rein. He just said, ‘I’ve got it, Mum’. He knows exactly what he is doing and I love him so much.”

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Eliza Stoddart was “absolutely thrilled” with the consistently improving Dick O Malley and said being part of the team was “an amazing experience”.

“It’s my first team appeareance and it was a huge honour to be selected,” she said.

“I’ve had the horse for just over two seasons now, so this is amazing for his owners [the Flint Syndicate]. This was brilliant preparation for Luhmühlen, where he heads next, I hope I can build on this in the future.

“He is an unbelievable jumping horse and he really travels and gallops. His dressage is improving all the time. When he came to me he didn’t know anything on the flat, so there was a lot of work to do there and I’m sure there’s still lots to come from him.”

For the full report from Houghton, plus all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday, 30 May

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

A rider who was kicked in the face at an eventing trot-up and needed 20 stitches is calling for all competitors to wear hats at horse inspections.

“I will be wearing my hat at every trot-up from now on,” said Rebecca Page. “I think they should be compulsory, especially at the lower international levels as the horses aren’t experienced with that sort of set-up.

“It doesn’t take a lot to spook them — they’re live animals, we can never truly say we have full control. It was a freak accident, but it’s something I could easily see happening again as there are so many horses in such a small space.

“It could have been so much worse and quite frankly I am lucky just walking away with 20 stitches and a scar on my forehead.”

*Warning graphic image*

View Rebecca’s wound

Remarkably, Rebecca went on to complete her CCI* after the accident, which happened when she was kicked by her ride Liberty Bell II at the first horse inspection at Houghton last month.

“It was only our second event at this level so we are by no means professional — we both still find the atmosphere of the international events very overwhelming,” said the 19-year-old.

“The trot-up is the place you least expect accidents — I did not expect to be laid out surrounded by people, waiting for an ambulance to take me to Kings Lynn hospital.

“By no means was Libby being nasty, she just got excited and bucked and caught me on the head. I suffered a 10cm laceration down to my skull just above my right eyebrow. I don’t know how I wasn’t knocked out and I haven’t suffered any headaches — it was an absolute miracle.”

Rebecca’s mother Sarah trotted up Liberty Bell, who passed with no problems, but the rider admitted the first thing she said after the accident was: “Well, that’s the end of my one-star!” But she was wrong.

‘I didn’t think I’d actually be riding the course’

Having been given the all-clear by the hospital, Rebecca also had to be checked by the on-site medic at the event, Nicola Wallace-King, who was happy to sign the rider off to compete.

“It was pretty swollen the next morning, but I got my hat on and, while it was by no means comfortable, it was definitely bareable,” she said. “I was delighted even to be allowed to do my dressage test, but for Libby to do the best test she has ever done was even better.”

The pair scored 53.5.

“I walked the cross-country several times — it was tough, but I didn’t think I would actually be riding it,” said Rebecca. “I had to be assessed again on Saturday so it wasn’t until my last walk that morning that it kicked in that I was actually going to ride round my toughest track to date with 20 stitches in my head — nervous would have been an understatement.

“But I learnt that day that my little Libby should never be underestimated — we went clear and inside the time.”

Rebecca made it through the final horse inspection without drama, wearing a hat.

“Showjumping is both of our weakest phase,” she went on. “Libby was tired and it was a big track. We never expected a clear. However, Libby had other things in mind and jumped a foot perfect round to bring home a double clear.

“It was a huge achievement and no words can describe what it feels like to get this result on a horse you have produced yourself. It was an amazing end to the week that had the most horrific start. I was very lucky and I cannot express my thanks enough to the people that made it possible for me to ride.

“Against all the odds, we completed Houghton Horse Trials with a double clear to finish 33rd out of 76 starters.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

The rain that hit much of the UK in the lead-up to Houghton missed Norfolk, so the sandy going was very firm when we arrived. But the organising team did a great job on it and by Saturday it was more than acceptable though still fast.

The going contributed to the number of clears inside the time across country in all classes, as well as the high percentage of fault-free showjumping rounds, attributable in part to the fact the horses were jumping off a good, consistent surface.

Houghton director Alec Lochore demonstrated to riders a couple of the bits of kit used. One is a verti-drainer, which works in a different way to the traditional agri-vator in that it penetrates deeper and lifts the ground, without breaking up the surface.

The other is a Clegg Hammer, which measures the going by firing a pad into the ground and giving a reading. This is very useful for showing which areas of the course need the most work. Although this shouldn’t replace the feel of the ground underfoot, it’s great to have a quantifiable, scientific measure. This technology has been used in other sports, including racing and cricket, but well done to Alec for bringing it to eventing.

The Germans continued to flex their muscles at Houghton, winning the Nations Cup without their top squad.

Pippa Funnell’s win in the CCI2* was a good confidence boost after her serious fall last month, particularly as she wasn’t feeling 100% and was unsurprisingly tentative.

Olympic selection is looming and, after disappointments at the Blair Europeans last year and Badminton, Nicola Wilson had a point to prove and she did so well, with first and third in the CIC3*. The final scrabble for Rio slots is now in full swing for all nations and while some riders have all but secured their places, there are others who will be relying on a last-ditch big result at Tattersalls, Bramham or Luhmühlen over the next three weeks.

Saluting our grooms

On a personal note I was very sad to hear Karen Hughes had lost her battle with cancer. She was with me for three years and was a real old-fashioned head groom of the best sort.

Karen carried on working for as long as she could, which epitomised the way she devoted her life to the horses she looked after. She was vastly knowledgeable, an inspiration and role model to the next generation of grooms and will be much missed.

I believe grooms work harder than anybody in any sport — I’d be surprised if any role can beat it for dedication, hours and physical toil, not to mention emotional involvement.

My current head girl, Jess Errington, adores the horses and does her job out of genuine compassion for them. She is always cheerful and I know no corners are ever cut because she loves the horses so much.

Riders develop a strong bond with their grooms — we rely heavily on each other and they’re usually the first to receive a bear hug, whether it’s for joy or disaster.

Jess was besotted with Wild Lone and one of my greatest concerns when we lost him at the 2014 World Equestrian Games was how she would cope — making that journey home with an empty lorry was just as hard for her as for me. While there’s a lot of support in the short term, there’s still an empty stable in the weeks and months that follow. The love and dedication that makes grooms so great at their job means it’s horribly painful when something goes wrong.

The top competition grooms deserve huge respect — riders get much of the credit for success, but the grooms are the real stars.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 2 June 2016

The Houghton Hall International Horse Trials held in Norfolk last weekend (26-29 May) drew some of the world’s leading event riders.

The CICO3* Nations Cup section was the feature class. Nicola Wilson claimed individual spoils, taking first and third place riding One Two Many and Annie Clover respectively. Frenchman Matthieu Vanlandeghem was second riding Trouble Fete Ene HN.

The course caused problems at a number of different fences. In total 72% of cross-country starters completed the cross-country course with no jumping penalties.

15% of cross-country starters finished inside the optimum time while 88% of starters completed the course.

Here are pictures of the fences riders faced on the cross-country. The course was 3880m in length with an optimum time of 6 minutes 49 seconds. Find out which fences caught most riders out with our fence-by-fence analysis.

Start box

Fence 1: EHOA Brush Roll0 faulters

Fence 2: Morgan Evans Equestrian Hay Rack0 faulters

Fence 3: Events & Tents Veg Stand0 faulters

Fence 4a: EQ Life Podium0 faulters

Fence 4b: EQ Life Medal0 refusals

Fence 5abc: Spillers Quarry Logs

Fence 6: Horsezone.co.uk Laptop0 faulters

Fence 7: APMS Dray0 faulters

Fence 8ab: Newmarket Equine Hospital Corners3 refusals resulting in one retirement

Fence 9: Ben Burgess Flower Box0 faulters

Fence 10abcd: Askham Bryan College Water and Treasure ChestsOne rider fall and 17 refusals resulting in one elimination

Fence 11ab: Suzuki ATV Running Track Hedges0 faulters

Fence 12: Devoucoux GateOne frangible pin broken

Fence 13ab and 14: Smith & Williamson Meridian Line and Sundials2 horse falls and 2 refusals

Fence 15: Hatters Events Picnic Table0 faulters

Fence 16ab: Shadwell Estate Company Rails1 horse fall

Fence 17: William Mason Fine Wines Kent Seat0 faulters

Fence 18: Shearwater Insurance Open DitchOne unseated rider

Fence 19ab: Howes Percival Brush Arrowheads4 refusals resulting in one retirement and one elimination

Fence 20: Bedmax Saw Bench1 elimination

Fence 21ab: Barefoot Estates Houses0 faulters

Fence 22: Walking with the Wounded Olympic Diamond0 faulters

Read the full Houghton Hall International Horse Trials report in Horse & Hound magazine (2 June 2016).

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The German team scored a narrow win over Australia in the eventing Nations Cup CICO3* at Houghton Hall Horse Trials, Norfolk this weekend (26-29 May).

The team made up of Josepha Sommer (Hamilton 24), Peter Thomsen (Horseware’s Barny), Josephine Schnaufer (Sambucca 10) and Bettina Hoy (Seigneur Medicott) led the dressage on a team total of 127.5.

Australia was a close second after the first phase on a team total of 130.9, a squad made up of Sam Griffiths (Beaurepaire Nemo), Andrew Hoy (Rutherglen), Kevin McNab (Wonham What Next) and Tim Boland (GV Billy Elliot).

New Zealand was in third after the dressage but faults in the showjumping and time-faults on the cross-country put paid to their chances to finish in eventual fifth.

The British team, comprising Izzy Taylor (Call Me Maggie May), Laura Collett (Mr Bass), Coral Keen (Wellshead Fare Opposition) and Sarah Bullimore (Valentino V), finished the dressage in fourth place. Despite their best efforts in the showjumping where they carried forwards three clear rounds, a run-out for Izzy Taylor at the open corners at fence eight on the cross-country course, plus the 14.4 time-faults clocked up by Coral Keen, meant the team had to settle for eventual fourth on a total of 152.3.

In the end, Germany finished on a total of 137.1 and Australia, who were second, on a total of 143.5. France finished in third thanks to a couple of speedy double clears.

Chef d’equipe of the Germans, Chris Bartle, described the win as “a great team effort”.

The mixture of experienced riders Peter Thomsen on his seasoned campaigner Horseware’s Barny and Bettina Hoy, albeit on the relatively inexperienced Seigneur Medicott, with two less exposed riders, Josepha Sommer and Josephine Schnaufer seemed to be a winning one.

“Josepha and Josephine were both making their team debuts this week,” Chris said. “They have also both been based on my yard in Yorkshire recently so it’s nice to see them going well. We’re also very excited about what the future holds for Bettina’s horse.”

Chris was quick to praise event organiser and cross-country course-designer Alec Lochore’s cross-country track. “He produces excellent questions and the beautiful setting is why we come here each year. It also works very well with our preparations for the rest of the season.”

Wilson is a winner

Nicola Wilson put some recent bad form at Belton, Badminton and Chatsworth well and truly behind her when clinching individual first and third places in the CICO3* on One Two Many and Annie Clover respectively.

One Two Many finished on his impressive dressage score of 36.3 with a showjump in hand.

1.2 time-faults across country on Annie Clover meant that Nicola had to settle for third on the mare but the result was something Nicola described as “a huge relief” following her run of bad luck.

Second place went to French rider Matthieu Van Landeghem riding Trouble Fete Ene HN. This was the nine-year-old gelding’s first attempt at CIC3* level so his rider was understandably happy and excited about what the future might hold.

Andrew Hoy finished fourth on Rutherglen and Oliver Townend was fifth riding Dromgurrihy Blue.

Dressage leader Gemma Tattersall withdrew her ride Chico Bella P after an impressive test to score 32.7. Gemma said at the time of her withdrawal: “It was always my plan not to go cross-country here, because Bella is going to Bramham for our final trial. I’ve withdrawn before the showjumping because the ground is slightly firm for her, and there’s a small event down in South America this summer that we hope to go to!”

Sam Hobbs was taken to hospital and was being kept in for observation after a horse fall with Treblare at the first of the two Shadwell Estate Company rails. Treblare walked away.

Read the full report from Houghton in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out on Thursday 2 June

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A four-star horse whose competitive career took him across the world has been put down at the age of 15.

Easy Tiger IV, who started his eventing career in New Zealand, was put down on June 13 after sustaining a leg injury on the cross-country at Houghton Hall CCI2* (28-31 May).

The 16h2 bay gelding was taken up to CCI4* by Kiwi eventer Kate Wood, who partnered him at Adelaide in 2011 and finished 27th at Luhmuhlen with him last year (pictured, credit: Jon Stroud Media).

Known as Tiger, he notched up an impressive nine top 10 finishes at international events, including a sixth place in the CIC2* at Ballendenisk with Zara Phillips in 2013.

As well as Kate and Zara, Tiger was also competed by Clarke Johnstone, Juliet Wood and Tim Cheffings.

Most recently he was piloted by Pixie Thomas, who co-owned him with her mother Corrine.

Pixie, who has competed up to three-star level, took over Tiger’s reins just before Barbury last year.

Pixie had sat on him just seven times before heading to the CIC2* at the Wiltshire event, where they jumped clear across country.

Tim then took on the ride while Pixie was pregnant with her son, Alexander, and rode Tiger at his first couple of events this season.

Houghton was Pixie and Tiger’s first international this season and it was on landing after the third fence from home that Pixie pulled him up as he suddenly went very lame.

“He flew all the way round,” Pixie told H&H.

“He was cruising up until that point.”

She added there was no warning about what was about to happen.

Musketeer Event Management organised transport to vets in Newmarket where an x-ray showed he had broken his leg.

Despite efforts from Rossdales vets, two weeks later the fracture worsened and Tiger was put down.

The talented jumper, who had 187 British Eventing points, was described by Pixie as a “complete professional” in his work, but was not friendly in the stable.

She remembered how he once ripped a vet’s shirt with his teeth when he was having his vaccinations and had to wear a muzzle in the stable.

“He was just a world-class jumper,” she said.

“He didn’t want cuddles, he just wanted to get on with his job.”

Pixie added that he “never reached his limits” and received more than 200 comments on Facebook when she broke the news that he had been put down.

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It’s amazing to think this year was Houghton’s (pictured) ninth international competition. I was the first person to complete the three-day here at the inaugural event in 2007 — which sounds like an honour, except that as three-day events showjump in reverse order, I actually finished last.

The event at this beautiful estate attracted 17 nations this year. The strong entry despite the clash with Tattersalls is testament to the fixture’s popularity and the team’s work on the ground and courses.

Among the riders was Germany’s Sandra Auffarth, who rode world champion Opgun Louvo in the combined training, an appearance that slipped under the radar of most. The pair will now stay with German team trainer Christopher Bartle until Bramham CIC3*.

Selection conundrums

Being a selector must be a nightmare, with little praise if you get it right but plenty chipping in if it doesn’t work out.

If selecting for a three- or four-star championship is difficult, spare a thought for those choosing teams for the Pan American Games in July. The event is at two-star, meaning they can take anything from successful campaigners at that level with no experience above it up to four-star performers.

Choices will be informed by a nation’s aims. For the Americans, this means Olympic qualification through finishing best of the unqualified teams. But the pressure is now slightly off as their strongest competitors, Canada, qualified after the elimination of France from the World Equestrian Games team results following Maxime Livio’s doping case.

The American selectors have picked a quartet including two championship debutants (Marilyn Little and Lauren Kieffer), plus a combination with a top-10 four-star placing (Phillip Dutton on Fernhill Fugitive or Fernhill Cubalawn).

For those with their qualification — Brazil, as hosts, have theirs, as well as Canada — national pride is still at stake. And for many nations, medals mean funding.

Canadian team coach Clayton Fredericks was at Houghton checking out British-based pairs. Kathryn Robinson could well get the trip with Let It Bee, who was seventh at Pau last year. They await the selection announcement which was due to be after Bromont last weekend, while the Brazilian list is also expected imminently.

Horses of a different colour

I love seeing unusual coloured horses eventing. Two caught my eye at Houghton. Tim Cheffings contested the CICO3* on the spotty Colby II, who heads to Luhmühlen CCI4*, while the palomino The Milky Bar Kid was in the CCI2* under Australia’s Camilla Neil Martin. Watch out for them if you share my penchant for a kooky coloured.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 4 June 2015

We are so lucky to have such an incredible venue as Aston-le-Walls in Northamptonshire.

The all weather surfaces there are truly enormous and as if the current one is not big enough, they are extending it – my jaw dropped on seeing the work being done, but what a facility it will be.

I took three horses for the midweek British Eventing (BE) event there with all contesting the intermediate.

King (Traveller Royale) and Splash (Drumbilla Metro) were having their last run before Houghton CCI** and both jumped well so I was happy that they were all set for last weekend’s fun and games in Norfolk, which I will update you on in my next blog.

Chatty (The Loudest Whisper, pictured top) jumped an immaculate clear round in the tricky and up to height showjumping which was really pleasing but then on the cross-country, we ended up walking home again as she was very backwards over the first few fences (thinking towards the lorry) and, almost inevitably it seemed, ground to a halt before fence six. Oh fiddle – back to the drawing board.

A few days later, and we were off to Chatsworth International Horse Trials in Derbyshire.

Many would refer to this event as the jewel in the crown of the one day eventing calendar. It oozes class. The house is majestic, the parkland spectacular and the courses are beautifully presented with the emphasis on big and bold.

I took Chapman to contest the CIC***. He did a super dressage test in the electric atmosphere and I was really pleased with how hard he tried for a score of 55. The showjumping was up to height but the sort of track that Chapman eats for breakfast. Unfortunately he didn’t jump with his usual gusto for two fences down, so we decided to withdraw and save him for another day.

Restoring my mojo

I was feeling a tad dejected with not completing my last two events so I needed something to perk myself up. If there’s one thing that will always cheer Grievesy up, it’s taking a load jumping so Charlie (Trewardale), Bob (Wish He Was Yours) and Bobby (Bobby Brown) stepped up to the mark and very kindly put me back on track.

Mojo reworked and regained, I took ‘the old bag’ (Chatty that is) cross-country schooling the following day. She really enjoyed herself, as did I, so we decided to put our previous outings behind us and crack on with her Rockingham Horse Trials CIC** entry the following week. Go for it Grievesy!

In between time I took Gemma Hill’s Bobby to Rockingham for the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier. A super series designed to find eventing stars of the future, the concept receives positive and negative opinion in equal measure. Some consider it a showing class and that if your face does not fit then you are at a disadvantage. I however, think they are a brilliant way of exposing a young horse to new environments in a positive way and it’s obviously commercially very useful.

Bob is a very green but rather beautiful four-year-old and he finished an easy second which qualified him for the final at Burghley – very exciting!

Hugo (Woodland Rock) and Ed (Edison) contested the Novice and both jumped brilliantly albeit with the handbrake on a little and finishing just outside the top ten. These boys are such fun and I’m really enjoying riding them for their lovely owners.

Onto the CIC**. Amazingly Chatty pulled her socks up and stormed round the cross-country in fine style, making it all feel incredibly easy to pick up 15th. She really is amazing when she’s on her game and in that moment I find myself forgiving her quirks (and of course her making me look stupid) – but I’m sure she’ll have something up her sleeve to surprise me next time. It would seem she’s a woman that likes to keep her men guessing!

Grievesy

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Britain took second place in the eventing Nations Cup at the EQ Life Houghton Horse Trials yesterday (30 May).

The team consisted of Pippa Funnell (Billy The Biz, third), Sarah Bullimore (Conpierre, 10th), Francis Whittington (West Side, 12th) and Georgie Strang (Ascot H, 16th).

“Coming into the event we were lacking a bit of choice,” admitted Nations Cup team manager Philip Surl, explaining that many of the usual Nations Cup riders were at the big Irish event at Tattersalls this weekend. “But the young horses came out and did a great job.”

Germany took top spot, fielding a much more experienced team consisting of Andreas Ostholt (So Is Et, second), Niklas Bschorer (Tom Tom Go, fourth), Dirk Schrade (Hop And Skip, fifth) and Sandra Auffarth (Ispo, 20th).

Three of the four German riders have championship mileage — Pippa Funnell is the only one of the British quartet who does — and all their horses have contested four-stars. Three of the British horses have not even done a CCI3*, with West Side being the only one with a four-star run under his belt.

“To be second to a team like that is no mean feat,” said Francis, who added: “The track [designed by Alec Lochore] had great questions and rode very nicely. And all the work the team put into the ground gave perfect conditions.”

Pippa Funnell is not usually a member of the Lottery-funded World Class Nations Cup squad, as it consists of up-and-coming riders, but she was called in this time as there was a gap in the team due to the clash with Tattersalls. She lay second after dressage with her own and Carol Toliver’s Billy The Biz and finished third after 1.6 time-faults across country.

“When horses are coming up to this level you have to nail some of those lines, while with an old pro you can take a bit more of a liberty,” she said of her four seconds over the time. “I’m chuffed with him — he’s never run that fast in his life.”

Full report of Houghton in H&H this Thursday (4 June issue).

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

Take a virtual walk round the CICO3* course at the EQ Life Houghton Horse Trials (28-31 May 2015).

The course, designed by event director Alec Lochore, is 3990m long and the optimum time is exactly 7 minutes.

As well as being an individual competition, this three-star contest serves as the British leg of the FEI Nations Cup. There are six nations competing this year: Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany.

This is the ninth running of the international horse trials at Houghton Hall in May. It takes place at the Marquess of Cholmondeley’s beautiful Norfolk estate.

The event started with a CCI* and CCI2* competition in 2007, with the CIC3* being added in 2010. The event added the Nations Cup team element in 2012.

The start box, sponsored by Peden Bloodstock

Fence 1: EHOA Brush Roll

Fence 2: APMS Hay Rack

Fence 3: Dabbling Duck (vegetables will be added to the top)

Fence 4a: Shadwell Rails & Sundial (first element)

Looking over fence 4a (rails) to fence 4b (sundial)

Fence 4b: Shadwell Rails & Sundial (second element)

 Looking over fence 4b (sundial) to fence 5 (narrow sundial)

Fence 5: Devoucoux Sundial

Alternative fence 5

Fence 6: Norfolk Cordial Picnic Table

Fence 7: Wordingham Plant Hire Parallel

Fence 8a: Spillers Hanging Logs (first element)

Looking over fence 8a (hanging log) to fence 8b (hanging log) and 9 (corner)

Fence 8b: Spillers Hanging Logs (second element)

Fence 9: Smith & Williamson Corner (view of the front showing both right-hand and left-hand routes, plus individual pictures of each side — the right-hand side, being checked out by a member of the French team, is the fastest way)

Fence 10: William Mason Fine Wines La Maison du Poulet

Fence 11: Askham Bryan College Podium

View over fence 11, showing the left-hand turn to fence 12

Fence 12: Blair 2015 Partners Podium

Fence 13abc: EQ Life WaterFirst element (fence 13a)

View over fence 13a to fence 13b (house into water)

View over fence 13b, showing right-hand turn to fence 13c (house in water)

Alternative fence 13b (narrow white house facing away from water)

Fence 14: Weatherbys Private Banking Flower Box

Fence 15abc: Elveden Estate Angled Hedges (three photos)

Fence 16: Horsezone UK Laptop

Fence 17: Bedmax Shavings Saw Bench

Fence 18: Ben Burgess Trakehner

Fence 19a: Howes Percival Corners (first element)

View over fence 19a (first corner), showing left-hand turn to fence 19b (second corner)

Fence 19b: Howes Percival Corners (second element)

Fence 20: Events & Tents House

Fence 21: Hatters Events Quarry Log

View over fence 21, showing right-hand turn to fence 22abc (steps up to cottage)

Fence 22ab: Newmarket Equine Hospital Steps & Thatched Cottage

Fence 22c: Newmarket Equine Hospital Thatched Cottage

Fence 23: Green Home Energy Solutions Open Ditch

View over fence 23 to fence 24 (two options)

Fence 24: Suzuki ATV UK Narrow Brush Panels (competitors can jump either panel)

Fence 25: Bacon.co.uk Olympic Diamond (the brush will be raised for the three-star class)

Full report of Houghton in H&H next week, out Thursday, 4 June 2015.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Get the lowdown on this fixture from Eventing magazine's horse trials guide — including what riders say about the event, plus vital statistics

Date: Thursday 28 — Sunday 31 May 2015

Organiser: Musketeer Event Management

Contact: 01485 210070; info@musketeer.co.uk; www.houghtoninternational.co.uk

Location: Norfolk

Entries open: 23 April

Ballot date: 7 May at 12 noon

Entries close: 18 May

Link to Houhgton entries: www.britisheventing.com/houghton

How to get there

Houghton Hall is situated 10 miles east of Kings Lynn, just off the A148.

What the organisers say

Houghton is a spectacular event set in the shadow of the incredible Houghton Hall.

The dressage takes place on flat grass arenas; the showjumping is situated in front of the hall and the cross-country runs through the beautiful deer park.

The ancient turf — which is sandy, free-draining loam — and the use of machinery such as an agri-vator, creates the best possible ground conditions.

The cross-country courses, designed by Alec Lochore, are free-flowing, making the best use of the variety of natural features and topography. They aim to test, encourage and prepare all types of horses for the next level.

Houghton has a lot on offer, with a vast array of additional classes, including Burghley young event horse sections and affiliated British Showjumping. There will also be an owners’ marquee by the main arena with complimentary light refreshments, plus evening entertainment including a drinks reception, hog roast and disco.

What the riders say

Dressage & showjumping — “Dressage warm-up is limited, but the arenas are superb when you get there in a quiet location.” “Showjumping is up to height and well built.” “The three-star showjumping took place in torrential rain this year — they coped well!” “Large showjumping arena in tradestands, with ample warm-up.”

Cross-country — “Brilliant courses.” “Bold and galloping and the ground held up remarkably well although it was particularly wet for the two-star.” “Well presented courses with good technical questions which can suit a first-timer at the levels.” “Ground can cope with wet but can also dry extremely quickly from good to firm, but machinery is used as necessary.”

Percentage of cross-country clears 2014

CIC3*: 70%

CCIYR2*: 80%

CCI2*: 69%

CCI*: 65%

Download part one of the horse trials guide for just £1.49: Eventing horse trials guide part one

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H&H eventing editor Pippa Roome started her three-day reporting stint at Houghton Horse Trials in monsoon-like conditions and ended up with a burnt and peeling nose. Enjoy her highlights of this popular event, where the British team won the Nations Cup competition...

• Most thrilling Houghton cross-country moment: watching the end of the FEI Nations Cup with the result coming down to the final rounds from riders from each of the three leading nations: Britain, Germany and Australia. Gemma Tattersall put her foot to the floor on the inexperienced Chico Bella P to seal victory for Britain with a fantastic clear in the time.

• Only in England: on Friday morning, it rained so hard I did wonder whether I could possibly fulfil my entire reporting duties without leaving the marquee. Happily, it did let up and on Saturday, I managed to get sun/windburn because it was so bright, but still so chilly I forgot the suncream (I’m paying for it now, my nose is peeling). By Sunday, the temperature was positively tropical.

• Unsung heroes: the scorers, for letting me sit in their portacabin with my laptop plugged in when it ran out of battery while I was writing on Sunday.

• Most scary cross-country moment: seeing Tim Rogers’ one-star ride Nota Bene get stuck in the Suzuki elephant trap, a big parallel two-thirds of the way round the course. The pair missed their stride and went through the rails. The frangible pins did their jobs and broke, so the poles dropped, but Nota Bene somehow ended up with his off fore on the ground on the landing side and his near fore hooked up over the back rail. Happily, he remained calm and managed to get himself back into the middle of the fence. The course-builders were then swiftly on the scene to move the rail so he could walk away.

• Horse I most wanted to take home: Alex Liddle’s Romeo Z (pictured), who was third in the CCI**. He looks like an overgrown pony — he is part-Connemara — but he’s a really careful jumper with bags of ability and looks fun to ride.

• Drink up: now, we know eventers like to enjoy themselves, but did you have to drink the bar completely out of Pimm’s?

• Bad luck story: Logan Rawlings, who had to hang on tight during an awkward leap with S Prit Coeur Volant in the CCI* showjumping. She stayed on and recorded a clear — but her efforts were in vain as she was eliminated for failing to go through the timing markers.

• We’re concentrating, honest: some members of the press were seen to be slightly distracted by an iPad during the closing stages of the CCI** showjumping — which coincided with the end of the showjumping at Saumur. I won’t name the Bill Levett fan club, but congratulations to the winning British-based Australian, and his ride, Clare Prentice’s Shannondale Titan, as well as to the Houghton winners.

• Poetic justice: in finishing second in the CCI*, James Sommerville’s ride Talent gained his qualification for the British Novice Championships at Gatcombe. He should actually have gained it in a recent novice regional final at Floors, but his dressage sheet was added up wrong, giving him 32 instead of a correct 27. By the time connections realised, it was too late to object. Happily, the seven-year-old now has his ticket.

• What a setting: Germany’s Ingrid Klimke said she “felt her heart open” walking the course in the beautiful park, with the deer. It’s easy to start to take our access to grand estates for granted in eventing, but we are always privileged to be there. From Houghton Hall providing a backdrop for the main arena, to the lovely converted stable block by the dressage arenas, to the glimpses down avenues of trees on the cross-country course, this is a real gem.

Pippa

Read a full report from Houghton in H&H this Thursday, 30 May. 

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Houghton International Horse Trials is searching for a title sponsor after Subaru ended its association with the event after six years.

The Norfolk event runs from 23-26 May 2013.

“Admittedly it is late on, but we are hopeful of finding a new title sponsor for 2013 onwards,” said Houghton organiser Alec Lochore.

For more information visit: www.houghtoninternational.co.uk

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (10 January 2013)

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Hello everyone,

I am delighted to say that after not being able to go to an event for weeks, we’ve been to three in the past six days! It feels great to get back out there and the horses are fresh and loving it too.

We headed to Subaru Houghton International Horse Trials on Wednesday last week for the CIC*** with Mikey (McFly), and Gentel Lux came along to do some jumping classes. Mikey did a great test and a good showjumping round, but a complete rider error on the course three from home meant we had to circle in a combination, so picked up 20 penalties. It was only our third event together and I love riding him so I’m sure it’s just getting to know one another!

Lux competed in the eventer’s grand prix, which is a class I have always loved – it is quick and brilliant to watch. This was Lux’s first one, so I was really pleased with her third place. She is so quick and nippy, I think this class could be a specialty for her in the future.

Di Wass, the wonderful secretary at Houghton, had emailed me before the event asking if I wanted to do the AmTrust high jump competition, and although Lux has never done a class like this either I figured it’d be a bit of fun. Only me, Lawrence Hunt and J-P Sheffield contested it, but it was a huge buzz to jump such a big fence!

It got up to 1.80m, which is by far the biggest I’ve ever jumped, and I finished second to J-P after clearing 1.75m – we couldn’t quite do the 1.80m. When you have a fence down in this class, you have to take a layer of clothing off, and luckily J-P and Lawrence had to do it before I did! It was a fun class to do and it made me fall in love with Lux a little bit more, as she was four and five years younger than the other horses there.

On Sunday, it was back on the road to Bishop Burton and Lux showed that she can go from high jump classes back to eventing very quickly, with a great 32 dressage and a double clear, to finish sixth in her intermediate section.

Then yesterday we headed to Shelford Manor, where a couple of my students were competing in the BE100. Shelford was a lovely atmosphere to finish off the week of eventing because it is so chilled out and the ice cream van was nearby!

So now it’s time to get Crunchie (Kilcannon Credit Crunch), the six-year-old owned by Watling JCB, to her first intermediate this weekend, in preparation for our next three-day, Balcarres. As I write this, the sun is shining into the house, and it finally feels like we are going to have a brilliant summer’s eventing.

Lauren

Full report from Houghton – including pictures of Lauren jumping the fence – in H&H this Thursday, 31 May.

All Lauren’s blogs for H&H

Lauren’s website

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Two event riders have been arrested after an incident at Subaru Houghton International Horse Trials.

Matthew Wright and Matthew Heath were involved in the incident at a party on the horse trials site on Saturday night (26 May).

“Unfortunately I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Matthew Wright told H&H. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”

Matthew Heath added: “I don’t want to make any comment as yet, but I feel it has been blown out of proportion.”

A spokesman for Norfolk Police told H&H: “Two 29-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of assault. They were questioned and released on bail on Sunday 27 May.”

An investigation is ongoing.

Rider Oliver Smith was reportedly injured in the incident. H&H was unable to reach Oliver.

Full report on all the eventing action at Houghton Horse Trials in Thursday’s magazine, on sale 31 May

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Australian eventer Stephen Way is appealing against a decision to disqualify him after he won the CIC*** at the Subaru Houghton Horse Trials (27-30 May).

British Eventing’s Paul Graham notified the Australian federation that Stephen’s ride Secret Picnic was not qualified for the class by email on 11 May — national federations have to approve riders’ international entries and should have notified Stephen, but instead they approved his entry.

The problem with Secret Picnic’s qualifications was noticed when horsesport’s international governing body, the FEI, received the results after Houghton.

“I accept it’s the riders responsibility to make sure qualifications are met, but other riders in the same situation were all notified,” said Stephen. “My mare is 14 and I don’t know how many more runs she’ll have in her at that level.”

Paul said: “This is a good example of how riders find the FEI qualifications difficult to understand — they could be made clearer.”

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First of all, I’d like to apologise to everyone for missing out a week! No one told me that Houghton Hall in Norfolk is a total black hole for any signal! People also neglected to mention that Norfolk would be about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the country, so leaving Hampshire in glorious 30 degrees sunshine; it was a severe shock to the system arriving at Houghton and having to don layers of jumpers and coats.

Apart from the minor temperature shift, Houghton is a beautiful event on stunning parkland. Jeans was entered for the CIC*** for a nice confidence giving run after his fall at Badminton and we brought Fiddle up for the combined training and the Eventer’s Grand Prix for a bit of fun and as a preparation for Bramham this week. However, nothing can start at a big three day event until after the champagne reception! With a momentary break in the clouds Houghton Hall looked particularly picturesque basking in the sunshine with the who’s who in eventing congregating on the lawn.

First up was Fiddle’s combined training on Thursday afternoon. Fiddle has been getting naughtier and naughtier in his tests recently, and so I was looking forward to having the opportunity to really confront him in a competition that didn’t matter. Well it didn’t end up being a confrontation as such; more like full on world war three, four and five broke out! Fiddle went into the main arena looking for an excuse to spook. Unfortunately, he chose the judges car, reared and nearly came down on top of her bonnet. As I looked over, the judge was pretty much sitting on her writer’s lap! At this point, looking for the positives in the situation, I thought, “oh well, at least it can’t get any worse”. Regrettably, that was just the beginning! I won’t go into all of the details but, I am pleased to report that I won the battle and Fiddle did a correct canter down the centre line and halted, albeit rather sullenly. He then went on to jump a super clear round in the showjumping. I just wish his natural athleticism and grace over a fence would somehow embrace his dressage!

Friday midday was the Eventer’s Grand Prix. I had been lucky with the draw and was picked last. The course wasn’t particularly big, but the course designer had been very clever and given rider’s the opportunity to take the time consuming outside line or the very tight but fast inside line. Fiddle is such an incredible jumper that I was very confident pushing him around the tight turns and god he jumped! The better he jumped the more I pushed him and we ended up going faster and faster… and winning! So redemption for his badly behaved dressage test!

Jeans did a really nice test in the three-star for a fair mark of 50.5pen. Unfortunately, an incident in the show jumping soured the weekend for me somewhat. Jeans was jumping beautifully, giving a big track miles of room. However, as I was on my way around the corner to the treble, the course designer was still adjusting the fence from the last competitor! So I took a few pulls to make sure he was out of the way and ended up being under powered to the fence. Consequently I had the first two fences down in the treble. Jeans then went on to jump clear over the remainder of the course, which was very frustrating indeed. However, to add insult to injury, a couple of fences later, the arena party ran across the back of an upright I was three strides away from. It’s annoying when episodes like this happen at a normal BE one-day event (when they have hundreds of horses to get through in a day) but it’s particularly frustrating at these big three stars, when the horse and rider’s careers are determined by such results. Furthermore, it wasn’t an isolated occurrence and happened all day!

Anyway, less whinging from me! Jeans then jumped clear around a relatively stiff cross-country track with slippery and greasy ground from the last minute rain. We only started slowly to try and get each others’ confidence back after Badminton, but after the water we put our foot down and galloped home. We ended up 12th, just out of the prize money. Without those two fences down we would have been 7th! Oh well!

Alex

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Mark Todd won the CCI** at the Subaru Houghton International Horse Trials, his first British three-day event since his comeback last year.

“Although it’s only a two-star, it’s nice to know I haven’t lost my competitive edge,” he said.

The New Zealander rode 17.2hh nine-year-old Walk The Line, who belongs to Belgium’s Bruno Goyens De Heusch, with whom Mark is based.

“I was impressed with how well he jumped today and he’s very easy to ride,” said Mark.

Walk The Line gave Mark two scary moments — one on the cross-country when he jinked badly left approaching the water, and one in the show jumping when he spotted something beyond the arena. Mark had to throw everything at him to clear the planks, but the old Toddy skill shone through as he held on for victory.

The top four in this CCI** remained unchanged throughout the competition, with only the leader, who was three seconds over the cross-country optimum time, adding anything to his dressage score.

Chris King was second, just 0.1 of a penalty behind Mark, on Jane James’s 11-year-old Rudolf III, a new ride for him this year.

William Fox-Pitt kept up his excellent Houghton record with third on the French-bred eight-year-old Neuf Des Coeurs, second in the CCI* here last year.

Read H&H’s full report from Houghton International in this Thursday’s magazine, on sale 28 May, ’09

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This year’s British Eventing (BE) under-18 championships will be held at Subaru Houghton Horse Trials (21-24 May) the Norfolk three-day event that runs for the third time this year.

The championships have previously been held at Chepstow Horse Trials, but the event is not running this year as the racecourse will be closed for maintenance work.

Current under-18 champion Evie Paterson is looking forward to defending her title at Houghton.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge of contesting the championships again this year. Houghton is a fantastic venue and I’m eager to ride round the CCI* course.”

The under-18 championships will run alongside the CCI* and CCI** classes, where top riders such as William Fox-Pitt and Lucy Wiegersma regularly compete.

Event organiser and course-designer Alec Lochore said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to host the under-18 championships. It is a welcome boost, and I’d like to thank Subaru for their continued support. I’m looking forward to meeting all the riders and owners.”

British Eventing (BE) said it is thankful to Alec and his team for hosting the event at such a late stage.

“I’m sure they will do an amazing job and produce a fantastic championship competition,” said BE sport manager Paul Graham.

The championships will return to Chepstow in 2010, with a new early summer date.

The under-18 championship has always been a prestigious title. 2007 champion Emily Llewellyn went on to take double gold at the 2008 young rider European Championships in Germany.

www.houghtoninternational.co.uk

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Oliver Townend has scored numerous victories in his career but this year’s Subaru Houghton International was his first ever three day event win. He took the CCI** riding Andrew Cawthray’s Waterview on his dressage score of 35.1pen.

The Leicestershire-based rider lead from start to finish but it came down to the wire in a tense final show jumping phase when he finished just 3.6 penalties ahead of Matthew Wright and Hugginstown. Last year’s winner William Fox-Pitt had to settle for third with Chuckelberry and was also fourth on Bee Animas.

Oliver said: “Waterview wouldn’t be the most careful horse in the world but this is the best he’s ever jumped. I knew the time allowed was tight but I also knew how carefully I had to ride to stay clear!

“It means a lot to secure my first win — I feel like I’ve been second at just about every other event in the country — Houghton will always be special to me now.”

Don’t miss Horse & Hound full report from the Subaru Houghton International Horse Trials, including the two CCI* sections, in this Thursday’s issue (29 May, ’08)

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Eventing fans will be able to enjoy increased television coverage throughout 2008, via the Sky channel Horse and Country TV.

The first event to be shown on the channel will be Burnham Market International, which is held on 28-30 March.

Also set to be filmed is Houghton International, the country’s newest international horse trials that runs from 22-23 May at Houghton Hall, North-west Norfolk.

The filming at these two events is part of Horse and Country TV’s plan to extend horse trials coverage over the next 12 months.

Nick Ludlow of Horse and Country TV said: “We are delighted to be covering Burnham Market International and to have Houghton International in the schedule.

“Eventing makes great viewing from the precision and elegance of the dressage arena to the accuracy of the show jumping ring and the fast excitement of cross country.”

Horse and Country TV is available on Sky Channel 280.

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How to keep a non-horsey husband and 15-year old stepson happy: Don’t take them to watch a horse trials! So why are they trailing around after me on the cross-country course at Houghton International Horse Trials you may well ask?

It seems that one was stricken with guilt as a result of his recent poor work/life balance record. Once my spouse heard that my friend couldn’t come after all, he activated self-sacrificing mode, and then there was no way I could convince him that I could have a perfectly wonderful time on my own. And the other, I suspect, would rather have chewed off his own arm than spend the afternoon revising for GCSEs. ANY excuse for getting out of it would do. ANY!

So here we are. Two blokes who don’t know a fetlock from a forelock, an over-enthusiastic mut (securely anchored on her lead at heel) and me. The entire domestic zoo. For two able-bodied sports enthusiasts – one even has a shelf full of medals and trophies – forward motion is painfully slow. And they seem more interested in the trees, mounds and buildings in Houghton’s graceful park than the action.

When we do manage to arrive at a jump in time to catch some action, I am denied the post-fence in-depth expert analysis of each rider’s performance normally indulged in with horsey companions. Instead I am required to answer bewildered questions such as “Why was that one snoring so much?” and “Since she seems to find it so difficult to keep her feet in the pedals, why doesn’t she have them fastened in like I do on my bike?”

After crawling round merely a quarter of the course in this fashion I am beginning to get desperate. I just can’t enjoy myself. My beloved sport is under direct attack and I am being forced to defend it rather than have a lovely afternoon doing what every Riding Club eventer enjoys most; inspecting every single towering advanced fence with slack-jowled awe, then mentally riding it better than Jeanette Brakewell, Pippa Funnell and Mary King put together and agreeing with companions that the rider ‘dropped the horse at the last minute’, ‘asked too much going for a big no-hoper’ or ‘got her line completely wrong’.

In moments when I get carried away and forget who my party consists of, I blurt out a phrase or two like these. They are met with a perplexed silence or a nervous smile. The sort of response one might give if unlucky enough to have Jasper Carrott’s ‘nutter on the bus’ come and sit next to you.

We struggle on for a few more fences. I try to feel some of the usual excitement as my heroes thunder past. I even try to pass on some of my passion and great knowledge. “Look, that’s William Fox-Pitt. He’s represented Britain in the Olympics.” Short silence. “Should he be riding that horse? He looks much too tall for it,” comes the reply.

It’s no good. I don’t have the mental strength to see this through. I admit defeat. “Shall we go to the beach?” The dog’s ears go up at the mention of beach, and there is a metaphorical pricking of ears and wagging of tails from the rest of the party. As the dog hurtles joyfully across the expansive sands at Hunstanton, and we laugh ourselves silly playing boules and frisbee while attempting to defend our sandcastle from the incoming tide, I can feel the afternoon’s frustrations ebb away.

Dining on the freshest battered haddock and chips that evening watching the sun sinking beyond The Wash, I think I must be hearing things: “What a great afternoon. When’s Burghley? Shall we go together this year?” Barely quelling the rising panic, my mumbled reply is lost in layers of newspaper chip wrapping, but if it was audible, you would have heard the words ‘years .. not … million .. in a..”, but maybe not in that order.

William Fox-Pitt won both the CCI** and CCI* at the inaugural Houghton International Horse Trials, and was placed second in the CCI* on his third ride.

Piggy French led the CCI** right up until lowering the penultimate show jump on Lemington Lett Dance, which dropped her to second ahead of Jeanette Brakewell and Take It 2 The Limit (pictured).

Jay Halim, who show jumped full-time until three years ago and still rides for H&H columnist Graham Fletcher, used all his experience to go clear and finish fourth, sneaking ahead of four-faulters Oli Townend (fifth) and Laura Collett (eighth).

Tor Brewer (Upleadon) and Emily Gilruth (Ashdale Cruise Master) finished on identical clean sheets on 53.7, to climb up from 22nd to sixth and seventh respectively.

Nigel Taylor conjured an immaculate test out of Oscar Knight in the CCI* to score an untouchable 34.3 and retained this lead with a fast clear cross-country. William Fox-Pitt was lying slightly off the pace in third (Bee Animas) and fourth (Cool Mountain). But when Bumble Thomas withdrew second-placed Face The Music IV before the final trot-up, and Nigel Taylor (Oscar Knight) rattled two to slip to third, William’s clears once again landed the top spoils.

Piggy French franked her form in fourth place, on a clean sheet, with Chase The Moon, and Chloe Newton made the most lucrative hike up the order — from ninth to fifth — with Eva Peron. Nigel Taylor had a day to forget over the coloured poles, as his Animator II also lowered one to slide from sixth to 10th.

Read this report in full, including photos and further analysis, in this Thursday’s Horse & Hound (31 May, ’07)

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Event riders have the chance to take home £1,000 in the North Astor Group Open Eventers Grand Prix, which runs alongside the three-day event of Houghton Horse Trials (24-27 May).

The class is at 10am on Thursday 24 May and competitors will tackle between 20 and 26 1.15m show jumps and portable cross-country fences. The winner will be the person with the fastest time, with 5sec added per knockdown.

There will be a similar 90cm novice class on the Saturday at 2pm with a £400 first prize.

Houghton Hall is running its first three-day event this year, organised by Alec Lochore’s Musketeer Event Management company. Entries for the CCI** have closed at 137 horses, although there are still a few spaces in the CCI*, which currently has 57 runners.

British World Equestrian Games squad members William Fox-Pitt, Mary King and Oliver Townend all have horses entered in the three-day event.

For more information and Eventers Grand Prix schedule visit: www.houghtoninternational.co.uk

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Event riders can look forward to competing against the beautiful backdrop of Houghton Hall in Norfolk in a brand new CCI** event next spring. The stately home of the seventh Marquess of Cholmondeley is set in more than 800 acres of sandy soil parkland, which should ensure good ground for the early season event.

Yogi Breisner and Mike Tucker, assisted by Jonathan Clissold, visited four sites around the country before reporting back to the BE board. Each site was evaluated on its suitability to develop young horses, attract public interest and sponsorship and be an asset to the sport in this country.

Yogi Breisner said: “The location and setting of Houghton Hall provides an opportunity to run a world class event in more than 800 acres of parkland, on sandy soil with a truly stunning backdrop for spectators and sponsors.”

The event will be managed by Alec Lochore of Musketeer Event Management and will run for an initial period of three years (2007-2009). The date for the event is still to be decided.

A delighted Alec Lochore said: “The sport of horse trials is lucky to have access to such wonderful estates and this is a great opportunity for the sport. Houghton is the sort of site that an organising team dreams of running a horse trials at, with a spectacular back drop, masses of room, excellent going and a very co-operative estate. The pressure is now on to deliver an event that befits the venue.”

Peter Durrant, chief executive of British Eventing added: “We are thrilled that another prestigious and beautiful location has come to British Eventing and congratulate the team who put together such a strong bid. The quality of all the applications was extremely high and the sport was spoilt for choice in making this decision.”

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