British Olympic medallist Jeanette Brakewell is recovering following a cross-country schooling fall that brought her season to an early close.

Jeanette shared the news over the weekend that she had a “very uncharacteristic fall” while cross-country schooling in early September and is “recovering well at home” following a “fairly lengthy stay in hospital and going through a necessary operation”.

She thanked everyone at Somerford Park Farm, adding that they were “so quick to respond and get the necessary help”, her head girl Katy Mousdale, the surgeons and nurses at Stoke Hospital “for their care and attention”, and all those who visited, messaged, called and have sent cards.

“I’m staying positive and determined and ready to put my all into rehab and recovery over the next couple of months. Onwards and upwards and looking forward to next season,” said Jeanette.

“All the horses are thoroughly enjoying their holidays, albeit a little earlier than usual! A huge thank you to my owners for being so supportive and understanding and my sponsors for another year of support.

“Thank you to my team for all their hard work despite the less than ideal circumstances but they’ve all pulled together and completed their own seasons with brilliant results.

“Onwards and upwards to 2026.”

Jeanette is a double Olympic team silver medallist, best known for her incredible partnership with the legendary Over To You in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The pair were pathfinders for the British team for years, helping the side to four European team golds, a brace of Olympic medals and team bronze and individual silver at the 2002 World Championships.

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Are you an eventer looking to sharpen your showjumping skills so that clear rounds become your new norm? We speak to international event rider Jeanette Brakewell and accredited trainer Cameron Beer to discover how to improve both horse and rider’s reactions and make sure you leave the coloured poles in their cups

It’s easy for event riders to neglect training over coloured poles in favour of cross-country schooling practice. But whereas a little rub on a fixed fence or brushing through a hedge is part and parcel of efficient cross-country riding, most of us need to adjust our skills to learn how to stop a horse knocking down jumps when each one costs four penalties. We need to sharpen our showjumping reflexes (both horse and rider’s) so that our hard-won, speedy clear across country is not nullified by rails down.

The boldness of a natural cross-country horse doesn’t always translate to the jumping ring, where a careful bascule, pinpoint accuracy and a good jumping technique are required. This is tested to the utmost at a three-day event, with the showjumping phase on the final day, when the horse may jump flatter and feel a little more fatigued than normal after his efforts on the cross-country.

Of course, it all starts long before you even get into the competition arena. A good warm-up is crucial to securing those fault free rounds so make sure you use your time wisely, ensure your horse is listening to you and that you’re in the correct canter.

How to stop a horse knocking down jumps: warm-up exercises

1. “Shoulder-in is a good warm-up exercise to sharpen your reflexes for showjumping because you’re positioning the shoulders, so the horse has to work around your inside leg more,” says Jeanette Brakewell, who won individual silver at the 2002 World Equestrian Games.

“It’s important that the rider’s doing shoulder-in correctly. Put the horse on a nice angle and let them carry themselves on that line, don’t hold them there. If you apply too much pressure and hold the horse there, they tend to slow down and switch off.”

2. British Eventing UKCC level 3 accredited coach Cameron Beer suggests doing a warm-up exercise called 4-4-4 which works on changes of pace within the canter to help sharpen both horse and rider reflexes.

“Do four strides in collected canter, four in working canter, four in medium canter, then back to working, then back to collected,” he suggests. “If 4-4-4 is too much, start with 6-6-6 but not more than six because that defeats the point of the exercise.

“It’s a simple warm-up exercise but it’s helpful as it works the gears. Often riders have stayed in one gear forever and it takes them 10 strides to change to another gear. In this exercise you’ve only really got one stride to change it.”

Training quick reactions for the horse

Ensuring your horse responds to your aids in a timely manner is also important.

“As a rider, it’s important to be aware that you’re always training the horse to be reactive to your aids. That means using your aids with good timing and the correct amount of pressure,” says Jeanette.

“Some horses are naturally more reactive than others. For horses that aren’t reactive enough, it’s important to sensitise them. That doesn’t mean riding with loads of leg and loads of pressure. You want your horse going in a reactive, fresh way – not a dull, bored one.

“To get a better reaction from your leg, you don’t necessarily apply a stronger leg aid – you might use a quicker, sharper aid and then relax your leg. If the horse thinks, ‘Oh, you’re not telling me to keep going so I’ll slow down,’ you give them another quick reminder with your leg saying, ‘Come on, stay in front of me’.

“That should help activate the hindlegs so they can carry their own balance, rather than dropping onto the forehand and ignoring the leg.”

Building “A frames” on fences as well as using gridwork exercises can be a useful tool to hone accuracy, rhythm and confidence.

“The key to gridwork is to ride with good balance and enough energy, so the grid does the work in teaching the horse to use its body properly,” says Jeanette. “The distances are all set, so once you’re in you can focus on your position and your balance.”

Jeanette recommends adding ground poles or dressage boards (positioned wide enough for the horse to easily work out and go between) in front of the middle of the fence if you’re struggling with straightness.

Training quick reactions for the rider

Working to sharpen showjumping reflexes is not all about the horse. To test rider reactions, Cameron likes to change the profile of fences – although they don’t need to be big or difficult.

“I would use an ascending oxer, with the back rail three to five holes bigger than the front, and with a ground rail,” says Cameron. “I’ll do that off the turn, and then an unrelated related distance to a double of verticals on a short distance, or a bounce, or a plank with no ground rail.

“It’s about the rider having to come in brave to that ascending oxer – they can’t cheat and come in quiet – and then put the horse back to the correct gear for the different fence coming up next.

“Then mix in lots of blind turns and rollbacks. With the blind turns make sure you put a wing in to go around as that breaks up their eye. Then they come around that wing and suddenly pick a distance. You have to think about the canter quality, trust your eye and be more reactive rather than just counting canter strides.”

Cameron also believes in applying pressure to riders during training to mimic the competition environment, providing it’s a safe time in their stage of training to do so.

“Sometimes I will say, ‘We’ve warmed up. We’re going to jump the course once and I’d like you to jump a clear round’,” explains Cameron.

“That makes the rider feel a little more nervous, but it’s important to put the rider under pressure in that situation because then their reactions might feel a little blurrier, and they have to deal with that – which then puts them in that competitive mindset.

“If you train too safe with no pressure, then the rider may not have the right reaction when pressure’s put on – but that only comes when you know they’re comfortable with all the questions being asked, you have all the building blocks, and they have in their head what the priorities would be for them and their horse.”

From frustration to riding club champion

Following a frustrating spell in the showjumping phase for event rider Esther Bowness and her 13-year-old Irish grey mare Blackwater Grey Lady (Polly), straightness was a key part of their homework with trainer Catherine Vale.

“Catherine’s favourite phrase is ‘straightness is greatness’, because it doesn’t matter what angle you’re coming into the fence, you’ve got to be straight,” says Esther.

“Catherine gave me a few simple tips like keeping my body upright and tall, lowering my hands and riding straight and I found that my mare wasn’t fighting me into the fence, and she was much more relaxed over it.

“I was also told to balance the canter. I started leg-yielding Polly to make sure she’s listening and off my leg on both reins and then did a few teardrop shapes in canter to ensure we’ve got that uphill canter that you need for showjumping.

“Those tweaks were massive in terms of what they’ve achieved because I was thinking about them rather than micromanaging Polly into the fence. We’ve gone from knocking fences down to consistently jumping clear and we recently won the senior 80 showjumping competition at the British Riding Clubs National Championships.”

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What can you do if you have a horse who makes light work of jumping cross-country fences but is easily distracted and spooks at everything from crowds to trade stands and shadows to the tannoy? We speak to international event riders Ginny Elliot and Jeanette Brakewell to find out how to train focus and bravery outside the flagged fences

For some riders, it’s not the cavernous trakehners or ultra-skinny arrowheads that pose a problem out eventing. Instead, it’s the worry about their horse spooking on the cross-country course, not at the obstacles themselves, but other distractions, such as flags, noises, crowds – or even a different shade of grass colour.

Once you get within range of the fence, your horse might jump happily over, but it’s an issue you need to get to the bottom of. Spooking means time-faults, a less smooth round and sub-optimal preparation for the fences. This might be surmountable at the lower heights, but as you move up the levels, your horse needs all his focus on the job in hand.

How to stop your horse spooking on the cross-country course

“I would always try and figure out what is it that’s spooking the horse, is it noise? Is it sight? Is it both? Then I would try to find a way in which I could help the horse adjust to that environment,” says five-time Burghley winner, Ginny Elliot.

“You have to be sensible, if a plastic bag jumps across the road and they spook at it, well, who wouldn’t? So you have to figure out, is the horse being naughty or is it a genuine fright? Use your brain, try to look at it from their point of view and try and do everything you can to remove that problem.”

Ginny has first-hand experience of mastering a spooky horse as Night Cap II, her 1984 Burghley winning partner and the 1987 European champion, was initially reactive to noise, banners and any quick movement from somebody in a crowd.

“Night Cap II was such a fabulous horse, but he was not fabulous to start with,” says Ginny. “The first time he reacted was when he was at Blenheim, which was the first time he knew grandstands and that kind of thing. We had to figure out how we were going to help him with his issues.”

As best she could, Ginny replicated the sights and sounds Night Cap II was afraid of at home.

“We put some banners up in the arena and when I was schooling him, we played loud music or a football match on the radio,” reveals the former world and European champion.

“One day, we asked local people from the village to come up and clap while I did my dressage test in the arena. We called it ‘rent a crowd’ and we all enjoyed tea and biscuits. I think they quite enjoyed being involved and took a genuine interest in his improvement.

“I also remember taking Night Cap II to the Three Counties Show and spending three days there, just walking around. On the first day he was in a muck sweat because of all the noise and people but by the third day he was chilled and happy.”

Slowly, after months of meticulous planning, patience and determination, Ginny managed to overcome the fears and anxieties that Night Cap II had.

“At the European Championships in Luhmühlen I took him up to the main arena early in the morning and schooled him for a bit. Then I took his tack off and let him graze until the time I had to get back on him. That way the crowd came to him, as opposed to him going to the crowd.

“Gradually, he saw more people and heard all the clapping and the noise. He ended up doing the best test of his life and he won the competition,” says Ginny.

“It took about six months of pretty hard work. I thought about it all carefully but it worked as by the next spring he was at Badminton and was a different horse. All horses have their issues, it’s our job to find a way to help them overcome those issues.”

Jeanette Brakewell supports Ginny’s theory that exposure is the best medicine for a spooky horse.

“Spooky horses tend to get better as they do more,” says Jeanette, who won the individual silver medal at the 2002 World Equestrian Games. “I’ve got a very spooky horse who as a four- and five-year-old was very reactive to anything but then the more they saw things the less spooky they became.”

“Ros Canter’s horse Izilot DHI was very reactive but now he’s a bit older and he’s has seen and done a lot more and Ros has worked out a good routine for them he’s coming into his element.”

Jeanette stresses the importance of having a good relationship with your horse and training them to listen and respond to you and your aids.

3 practical steps for helping a horse spooking on cross-country

1. Connect and distract

“With spooky horses, it’s very important that you ride them with a good connection between leg and rein, because then you can feel if they’re about to spook or do something,” says Jeanette. “Ideally, you can then put the horse into leg yield or a shoulder in position, so that you are distracting the horse and putting their focus on you.

“Leg yield is a great exercise to practise at home. If your horse has spooked at something it’s not a case of making them approach it it’s a case of being able to move their bodies around it, so that they accept what it is, realise it’s not going to hurt them and they don’t need to be frightened of it.

‘Try to keep their legs moving. By getting them to cross their hindlegs over and move their body sideways then they don’t get stuck and go rigid.”

2. Course-walk and prepare

If you have a spooky horse you need to walk a cross-country course with that in mind. Be aware of the things that your horse might spook at so that you are prepared and ready for what might happen.

“Don’t forget that often when you walk the course the fence judges aren’t there yet, the fences may not have been dressed and there might not be any crowds. Think ahead and bear this in mind when you are thinking about what your horse may spook at,” adds Jeanette who also suggests hunting as a good way of training bravery.

3. Build confidence

“As a rider, don’t do anything stupid or over face them, not just hunting, but in anything. You should always be working on the horse’s confidence, because the more confident they are the less they question things.

“If you do have a blip in confidence, it’s important to go back a step and make things dead easy for them to help them overcome that confidence issue.”

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The most capped British event horse of all time, the renowned pathfinder so often provided the start the team needed. Pippa Roome charts his brilliant career as we celebrate Horse & Hound’s 140th anniversary in 2024

It is a marker of the consistent brilliance of Over To You that rider Jeanette Brakewell struggles to isolate his best cross-country performance.

“I came home many times thinking that was his best round ever,” she says, her mind jumping to the chestnut gelding’s individual silver at the 2002 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Jerez de la Frontera (pictured). “Jerez would be the most memorable because of his own medal, but he did have some amazing rounds at Badminton.

“I watched one a few weeks ago that someone had highlighted on Facebook. You forget how easily he galloped and accelerated, he covered the ground effortlessly. If you were down on your minute markers and you had some galloping stretches, you knew you could make the time up.”

Over To You’s cross-country prowess as Team GB’s reassuring, reliable pathfinder will live long in the memory – few will forget him tackling courses all over the world, nippy and light on his feet, chestnut coat gleaming, his head with its little star held high, Jeanette perfectly in sync in the familiar red, white and blue colours.

Over To You (Jack) is a thoroughbred by Over The River, out of the Gala Performance mare Another Miller, who is a granddaughter of Native Dancer. His Co Wexford-based breeder, Mary Lett, sold him at six months old to racehorse dealer Tom Costello, who in turn sold him to Tony Clegg in England as a two-year-old.

A year later he went to racehorse trainer Tom Tate, but as he wasn’t showing much promise, he was sent to Doncaster Sales, where he failed the vet. As well as a heart murmur caused by a leak in a valve, Jack normally misses two heart beats in every five, rather than the one in every four or five that’s routine in horses.

Irish event rider Jonty Evans, who was working for Tony Clegg, took on the task of re-breaking Jack, finding him well-behaved and curious.

At the end of Jack’s fourth year, Tony’s daughter Fiona brought him for a lesson with renowned trainer Chris McGrann, at whose yard Jeanette was based. The lesson didn’t go to plan – Jack reared up and cracked Fiona’s cheekbone before going over backwards – but it resulted in one of the great eventing partnerships of all time when Chris took a lease on the horse and Jeanette became his rider.

The pair started competing when Jack was five, and a year later, Richard Holdsworth – whose partner Lindsey Marsh had liveries with Chris – bought him for Jeanette to ride.

“When he was a young horse he didn’t give you a brilliant feel – it was a case of, ‘I wish you’d put a bit of effort in’,” remembers Jeanette. “He was like that all the way until he reached advanced. He wasn’t a flamboyant jumper, he didn’t have a big bascule, but he always had a good enough technique.”

Jack’s characteristic high head carriage was already in evidence.

Jeanette says: “He was always like a teapot! It didn’t concern me. I was as naive as he was. It was always difficult to get him to the end of the contact because he was light in the mouth and didn’t grab the bit at all. But he was easy to steer and always looking for the fences.

“His walk and canter were very good, but he was a little like a sewing machine in trot. It improved as he became stronger over time.

“He did Bramham as an eight-year-old and I felt then that he could definitely go all the way because he sprang round there.”

After finishing 16th at their first Badminton, Jeanette and Jack were chosen for their first championship, the 1998 WEG at Pratoni, where they gained useful experience as individuals, finishing 25th with one refusal across country.

In 1999, the pair returned to Badminton, for a very wet cross-country day. Watching the early riders on the monitors, Jeanette’s trainer John Bowen realised the lines the pair had walked were no longer rideable. When she came into the 10-minute box, he sat her down and drew on the fence drawings in the programme to show her where she should go.

“It rained a hell of a lot and I hadn’t walked the fences well enough on the long routes,” admits Jeanette. “I learnt that year to walk every single route just in case.”

Ninth place – the first of five top-10 placings the pair would go on to rack up at Badminton – earnt them selection for the European Championships in Luhmühlen.

“We were under pressure to get a team qualification for the Olympics,” remembers Jeanette. “I’d had a good run at Burghley on Melford Bell the week before and Chris Bartle, the chef d’equipe, decided to put me first. I’m pleased he did.

“The last person I saw at the start of phase A was [chair of selectors] Mandy Stibbe and she gave me a lot of confidence, saying, ‘I know you can do it,’ with a lovely big smile.”

The British team took gold – the first of four European team golds in a row for Jack – and the pair’s place as pathfinder became part of the blueprint for success. The only time Jeanette was asked to take a later slot was the 2003 Punchestown Europeans, when they fell at the water near the end of the course, the only blip on their team record.

“I didn’t like being asked to go later – it put me on edge from the second I was told,” says Jeanette.

In another departure from routine that went wrong, the only time Jack fell at Badminton, in 2002, was the year Jeanette forgot to ask for their normal place in the Portcullis stabling area, so they were in the Clock Tower yard instead.

Jack’s championship record includes two team silvers at Olympics.

“The flight was the main worry before Sydney – we thought the horses might get infections or travel sickness, flying for that long and having their heads up,” recalls Jeanette.

“The weather wasn’t as hot and humid as we were predicting. Jack made the cross-country feel easy. There was a long pull at the end which we thought might be quite tiring, but he stormed round well inside the time.

“He kept his summer coat up to the last day of the competition and then it suddenly stood on end as if to say, ‘It’s winter now.’ On that last day, he looked like a woolly monster.”

Jack’s day of days came at the 2002 WEG in Spain, when tough jumping phases played to his strengths.

“His dressage didn’t feel an amazing test, but he got his best score,” recalls Jeanette. “The cross-country was very demanding and although the grass looked green from being watered, it was really firm underfoot.”

Among the bogey fences was a little log on the top of a steep slope into the water.

“We’d never seen anything like that,” says Jeanette. “I thought, ‘Please don’t overjump that or I’ll end up round your ears.’ I had my hands on his neck just in front of the withers to push myself back and I just aimed and kept kicking. I was relieved to get it over and done with, but I never thought there would be so much carnage behind me.”

The pair went into the showjumping in sixth and had one fence down.

“I remember standing at the entrance with Kenneth Clawson and every time a horse came out he’d say I’d moved up a position. When it got to, ‘You’ve got a bronze,’ he was in tears, then it was silver.

“It was a surreal experience and while I knew we’d always have a good run for the team, I never thought we’d get an individual medal,” Jeanette remembers.

Jack’s timing was perfect – he was sound as the competition finished, but the next day groom David “Davina” Edney called Jeanette to say he was “hopping lame”.

“I can only think it was because of running on the hard across country,” says Jeanette. “Andy Bathe at Rossdales found a tiny bone spur underneath his coronet band. We box rested him and he was fine.”

Jack made his final team appearance when he was 17 at the 2005 Blenheim Europeans, although Jeanette felt he deserved selection for the 2006 WEG after fourth at Badminton that spring.

“But it wasn’t meant to be and you can’t whinge about it,” she says.

Instead, the pair went to their only Burghley and Jack showed his versatility on any terrain by finishing seventh.

He retired from three-day events the following year and from competition entirely in 2008. Jack enjoyed his retirement but died in November 2022, aged 34.

Jeanette summarises the pair’s years together: “He wasn’t always easy – we had to work hard to get a good test out of him – but he was such a tough, sound horse. He had the scope and found everything easy. We had a really good partnership – I trusted him, he trusted me.

“Jack put me on the map, for which I’m so grateful. I’ve ridden a lot of other horses at five-star, but none were as consistent and successful. I wish I had three or four more horses like Jack.”

“The way we trained him was controversial”

“I first met Jeanette when she was coming up to old three-star [now four-star],” says dressage trainer John Bowen. “Conformationally, Over To You was an interesting horse – he’s built very up in front and hollow in the back – but he was very athletic in everything he did.

“Jeanette had a lot of feel and understood what I was trying to get her to do with the horse. I remember commenting to someone that I had just worked with the next phenomenon in the equestrian world.

“Over the years, I was taught by good coaches to work a horse outside the box and find the best position to put the horse into to access its whole body.

“We did something controversial in that we trained Jack very deep and round to get his neck in the right place to release and build his back and get him to engage his core. He naturally wanted to be very light on his front feet – that’s why he stayed sound so long, his front feet barely touched the floor – and not use the rest of his body. We made him really round and supple and only let him go into the frame the dressage judges wanted to see when he went down the centreline.

“People don’t understand the horse should take the contact from behind the saddle not the mouth. Until you can access the back muscles, you never get a horse working into the contact. We worked on getting him to connect back to front, to try to get him to pull a little bit.

“Jack is the only horse I’ve ever worked with who went back to his original way of going and shape if you gave him a couple of weeks off and you had to start all over again after every holiday.

“But when you have the results we got with him, you can’t be frustrated. We knew the start of the process and where we could get to. We made significant improvements – from doing a test in the high 60s [at Saumur 1997] to mid 40s for his later championship performances.

“Jack loved his work and tried his best even if conformationally he found it hard. He was genuine and generous; he and Jeanette had an amazing partnership.”

“He was unbelievable”

“Over To You was unbelievable – you could not want a better number one,” recalls team-mate Pippa Funnell (pictured below right, with Jeanette). “He and Jeanette were the most incredible pathfinders and we were so lucky to have them during that special time in the sport and to have that run of form with the British team.

“We realised during those years how valuable it is to get that first score on the board – it puts a good vibe in the team and keeps the positive energy when you get off to a good start. I was quite nervous at the Europeans last year when I was pathfinder because I realise what an important role it is from the Over To You years.

“Jack wasn’t the easiest on the flat, but they always posted a respectable score, perhaps five marks off the leader, and he was the most brilliant cross-country horse. He was fast and brave, excelling at galloping and jumping, and Jeanette was brilliant. He was careful showjumping too and it was great he had his moment individually at the World Championships in 2002.

“I know Jeanette will be eternally grateful to the horse. Talk about legends and earning his place in history.”

“I just loved him”

“I’ve had horses with Jeanette since 2000 and I always followed Over To You,” says part-owner Mark Johnson. “He’s not your everyday event horse – I just loved him.

“After the Europeans in 2005, the owners gifted Jack to Jeanette. She couldn’t afford to run him, so asked if I’d come on board. But he didn’t need any running – he won over £30,000 that year; he kept my other two horses with Jeanette over the winter.

“As a character, Jack’s grumpy but lovable. You go in the stable and he has his ears back, but get a Polo out and he’s your best friend. He was a tricky, stressy horse who didn’t eat well at events – he knew what it was all about.

“Over the years we developed such a big team. Catherine [Cawdron, who groomed for Jack at many of his big events] would come back on board and John [Bowen] was there – all credit to him for his perseverance with his dressage.

“We had such good fun. It was serious but we just enjoyed every aspect of it. There’s more to it than what the horse is achieving, it’s team work.”

● What’s your favourite Over To You memory? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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Jeanette Brakewell is recovering at home after a four-night hospital stay following a fall last Wednesday (25 January).

“It was unexpected and one of those things,” the eight-time British championship medallist told H&H. “It was after the frozen period and the first time this horse, a six-year-old, had been ridden for three or four days.

“He was a bit fresh so I lunged him first and then was just going for a little hack on private land. He was trotting along and felt fine so I just said, ‘Come on, don’t be lazy’ and gave him a little squeeze – and he put his head down and bronced on the spot, spinning, which is very difficult to sit.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is going to hurt’, then nothing until I was grovelling around on the floor trying to get to my feet. I probably wasn’t knocked out for more than five minutes.”

Jeanette was within 100m of her yard but out of sight; luckily a caretaker from Abbotsholme School saw her. He called an ambulance and sent somebody to fetch Jeanette’s team, who brought blankets and a lunge line to take the horse, who was not injured, home.

An ambulance arrived in around 40 minutes to take Jeanette to Derby Hospital.

She explained: “I was put on a spinal board and by the time I was in the ambulance, I had gone into shock and was chattering away, plus I had got quite cold, so it took a while to find a vein to get the catheter in. Once the drugs were in, I was pretty much away with the fairies.”

At the hospital, it was confirmed Jeanette did not have a neck or head injury, but she had suffered five fractured ribs and one of her lungs was slightly compromised.

Broken ribs are a notoriously painful injury.

“Twisting, lifting, coughing, sneezing – the whole thing hurts,” said Jeanette. “I broke seven when I fell off at Badminton and that wasn’t as bad as this.”

The rider stayed in hospital for four nights and said the hospital team was “fabulous, really good”.

“I was quite ill on Wednesday and Thursday – the morphine made me quite sick, so I then moved on to tramadol, ibuprofen and paracetamol,” she said. “By Sunday evening I was feeling a lot better and had got to the point where I was helping the lady opposite me when things fell off her table or she wanted her zimmer frame.”

Jeanette Brakewell said she will “behave” during her recovery from the fall and not do anything that hurts.

She said: “My head girl Katy Mousdale is keeping all the horses working, which is good so they won’t be too fresh when I get back on. I’ll definitely take it easy for the rest of this week, but I can dress myself and so on – I don’t need to be cared for.

“I’ve been mooching around the place – you have to do some activity or your body stops working and I’ve got to go and exercise my lungs a bit. And I can do my teaching, but I can’t chop logs or carry the log basket.

“I’m ever the optimist, but I won’t take risks or be silly. There are a lot of people worse off. These things happen, much as you don’t plan them, and if they happen you’ve got to deal with it and be sensible. My office work will be well up to speed in the next couple of days.”

Jeanette Brakewell said the fall means she may have to delay her first competitions at the start of the season for a few weeks, but she hopes she can work on her own fitness even before she starts riding – when she broke her ankle a few years ago, she benefited from sessions at the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Jack Berry House.

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

Over To You was a legend of his time. He was Britain’s most capped and most medalled event horse, with two Olympic team silvers to his name, a world individual silver and team bronze, and four European team golds.

Ridden by Jeanette Brakewell throughout his illustrious career, Over To You – known as Jack at home – was renowned for his bravery and flair across country.

Jack retired from competition aged 20 – he finished 13th in the Tattersalls three-star (now four-star) World Cup qualifier. But he was still ridden until about four years ago, and even after he was fully retired, was still the centre of the yard.

Jack died at the grand old age of 34 on 30 November and here we pay tribute to his wonderfully full and successful life.

Jeanette and Jack at their first Badminton in 1998 where they finished 16th

Jack and Jeanette at their first Olympics in Sydney in 2000 where they finished ninth individually and won a team silver medal

Jack in the dressage phase at Badminton Horse Trials in 2004 where he finished seventh

Jack flying across country at the 2004 Athens Olympics where he finished 14th individually and won team silver

Jeanette and Jack tackling a water complex at the Athens Olympics in 2004

Jeanette and Jack ready for the first horse inspection at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim where they went on to finish 12th individually and won team gold

Jack in flight at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain where he won individual silver and team bronze

Jack looking relaxed the first horse inspection at Badminton Horse Trials in 2007 where he finished 14th

Jack tackling the cross-country at Badminton in 2007

Jeanette and Jack at their last Belton Horse Trials in 2008

Jeanette officially retiring Jack at Burghley in September 2008

Jack enjoying his retirement at Jeanette’s yard

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“Thank you for giving me everything.”

Jeanette Brakewell has said goodbye to her partner of almost three decades, the legendary Over To You (Jack), who died on 30 November aged 34.

The little chestnut thoroughbred retired as Britain’s most capped and most medalled event horse aged 20, with two Olympic team silvers to his name, a world individual silver and team bronze – and four European team golds.

“When I said goodbye to him, I just thanked him,” Jeanette told H&H. “For giving me everything. I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”

Jack went to Jeanette as a four-year-old; he had been bought by the Clegg family to race, but did not show much promise so was sent to be sold, but failed the vet owing to a heart murmur. Jonty Evans, who was working for Tony Clegg, rebacked Jack, and Tony’s daughter Fiona took him for a lesson with Chris McGrann, at whose yard Jeanette was based, at the end of his fourth year. Jack reared and cracked Fiona’s jaw, and Jeanette was handed the reins, with the words “over to you”.

Jeanette did not necessarily think at the time that Jack would go on to do what he did.

“He was a bit scrawny as a four- and five-year-old, and I was very young; 18 or 19,” she said. “But we just grew together. He kept answering the questions.”

Jeanette has said before it is hard to determine the highlights from Jack’s superb career, in which they also finished third, fourth and fifth at Badminton, and seventh at Burghley.

“One of the most special ones was when he won his own medal at the [2002] worlds,” she said. “I was listening to a zoom with Lucinda Green the other day, with Pippa Funnell, William Fox-Pitt and Piggy March, and Lucinda asked what had been the most difficult course to ride. Both Pippa and William said ‘Jerez, that bl***y water!’ It had caused all sorts of problems and I think Jack gave everyone a false sense of security because he just pinged through it.

“All the jumping just felt effortless to him. It wasn’t often I went round an intermediate, but I remember thinking, ‘For God’s sake, Jack, put some effort in!’ But it was only when he got to the big tracks his true scope came in. For a little horse, he had tremendous scope. And he loved it. He was so sensible about everything; always in a snaffle with his head up and his ears pricked.”

Jack retired from competition aged 20 – he finished 13th in the Tattersalls three-star (now four-star) World Cup qualifier. But he was still ridden until about four years ago, and even after he was fully retired, was still the centre of the yard.

“He was still shod and had his teeth done every six months – and he still had teeth, although they were pretty long!” Jeanette said. “He gave us a bit of a scare in the spring when for some reason he got into a stew in the stable and I told Katie, my head girl, to walk him to the field for a graze and he went down. The vet gave him some drugs and he was up and grazing: ‘I’m fine now thanks.’ So he wasn’t ready to go then, but it was a warning sign.”

Jeanette said Jack had been finding it a bit hard to get up, then sustained a leg infection that meant leg swelling, and she did not want him to deteriorate.

“We made the right decision and it was good the vet could come that day,” she said. He wasn’t all over the place, but it was the right decision.”

Jeanette added that she has since had more interest in her book Over To You: Britain’s Eventing Legend, as others remember Jack’s glory days.

“I don’t like seeing his stable now because he’s not there, but I just keep thinking of all the old memories and welling up,” she said. “It was a good end for a lovely horse.”

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British team legend Over To You, winner of eight championship medals include individual silver at the 2002 World Championships, is still going strong at 34 years old, says his rider Jeanette Brakewell.

“He’s still being shod. He still has his teeth and he’s still vaccinated. His body looks old, but his eye is still quite young and his face is still very young and he can still be grumpy,” says Jeanette in an interview on episode 120 of the Horse & Hound Podcast.

“Sometimes when you get him in from the field, if he’s being a bit giddy you’ve just got to watch he doesn’t try and kick you or put a foot on your head. He’s still pretty sharp when he gets a bit wound up.”

Jeanette joined the podcast to talk about her time with Over To You as part of our World Championship preview episode. She and “Jack” did their first championship together in 1998 at Pratoni del Vivaro, the venue for this year’s eventing World Championships.

She particularly remembers the hilly terrain on the cross-country course.

“It’s probably about halfway around the course they usually have a fence right at the top of this hill, and then running down to some major question at the bottom of the hill,” says Jeanette, referring to Pratoni’s legendary “Slide”, a feature she also recalls watching British pathfinder Daisy Berkeley over at the 2007 European Championships.

“Daisy was on Spring Along – I remember her jumping that fence at the top of the hill and coming down to this skinny target fence at the bottom and she absolutely nailed it. But they always put a really tough question there.”

As for her own Pratoni World Championship cross-country experience, competing as individuals on the British squad, Jeanette says she didn’t ride Over To You as well as she should have done and came home with 20 jumping penalties.

“There was a fence at the top of the slope where we had to pop off a drop and then it was a wave type fence, so you could pick and choose where you were going to jump – either at the point or the dip of the fence,” she says.

“And I do remember walking the course scratching my head a bit and still not really clear about how I was going to jump it. I jumped it and just kind of froze a bit and said, ‘Over to you, Jack’ and I think I just put him in a completely difficult position. That’s one of his very few [cross-country] faults. It was my fault and I think I was just a little bit overawed by the whole occasion.”

Jeanette and Over To You went on to make seven British team appearances at the next seven consecutive championships, becoming the most capped British eventing combination of all time.

Hear more about Jeanette’s experiences with Over To You, including their 2002 World Championship individual silver, by tuning in to episode 120 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

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Supporters of Over To You joined the horse and owner Jeanette Brakewell to celebrate the eventing legend’s 30th birthday yesterday (5 June).

Britain’s most-medalled event horse was surrounded by those who had supported his stellar career, for a party, complete with balloons and cake, at his home in Staffordshire.

“Reaching such a milestone deserved a proper party so we’ve rounded everyone up,” said Jeanette. “His Jerez [World Equestrian Games] rug comes out of special occasions so even though it’s hot we decided he needed to wear it when we gave him his cake, made by one of my owners Jill Sackett.”

As with all good parties the cake was then shared with his stable mates.

Among the guests were Davina Edney and Sam Hobbs, both of whom worked for Jeanette and accompanied “Jack” on his many travels.

“Nothing changes,” said Sam, after both she and Davina had to take action to avoid Jack’s flying hind legs. “He was awful in the 10-minute box, hated having his legs greased and studs putting in and you’d have thought at the age of 30 he would have mellowed but not a bit of it!”

Known for his legendary performances across country as pathfinder for the British team, his last event was 10 years ago at Tattersalls where he finished 13^th in the World Cup qualifier. He retired as the most-medalled horse in eventing history, the record points scorer in Britain and for the quiz aficionados he was the last horse to run long format at Badminton.

Originally bought by the Clegg family to race, Jack comes from an illustrious racing family that includes the likes of Danny Harrold and Golden Freeze but showed none of his relations’ ability and returned to the Cleggs where he was re-broken by Jonty Evans, sadly absent from the celebrations after his Tattersalls fall.

Jack proceeded to break Fiona Clegg’s jaw and Jeanette was handed the reins along with the immortal words ‘Over To You’. The rest, as they say, is history.

He amassed four European team golds, two Olympic team silvers, one World team bronze and his World individual silver, is still ridden, looks like a horse half his age and was sporting a nifty pair of front shoes bearing the legend “Happy 30^th Birthday Jack”, courtesy of farrier Steven Arnold.

“He’s still the same ‘grumpy’ personality unless you’ve got a treat and I owe him everything,” said Jeanette. “I suppose the Sydney Olympics and our silver at the World Championships in Jerez stand out but every event with him was amazing.

“I’d love to find another like him but I think they probably broke the mould — he’s built like a teapot, has a heart murmur and yet has been the soundest horse imaginable.”

Continues below…

Happy 30th Birthday, Over To You! 9 unforgettable moments

Here we take a look back through Over To You’s astonishing career with Jeanette to celebrate his birthday...

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Horse & Hound salutes the incredible career of the Jeanette Brakewell's unique eventing partner Over To You

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

The latest edition (31 May) is a training special, including a look at the world’s top trainers and whether you should have multiple coaches. Also check out our summer clothing guide, interview with showjumper and recent winner of the Hamburg Derby Matt Sampson, and feature on health problems in miniature horses

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The wonderful Over To You is synonymous with the world of eventing, and today (5 June), he celebrates his 30th birthday.

Known as ‘Jack’ at home, the 16hh gelding is Britain’s biggest equine winner of international eventing medals — all of which he won with rider Jeanette Brakewell.

Jack, who is still ridden at home, embarked on his eventing career in 1993, and amassed 2170 British Eventing points until he was retired from competition in 2008.

His career highlights include winning Olympic team silver medals in both Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. He and Jeanette also won three team gold medals at the 2001, 2003 and 2005 European Championships and also picked up individual silver and team bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez. He also has a number of top 10 finishes at three- and four-star level, including taking third place at Badminton in 2003 and fourth in 2006 — both times finishing on his dressage score.

Here we take a look back through Over To You’s astonishing career with Jeanette to celebrate his birthday…

1. Jeanette Brakewell and Over to You competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney

2. Jumping out of The Lake at Badminton in 2005

3. Going cross-country at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

5. Trotting up at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim

6. Showjumping on the final day of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney

7. Over To You and Jeanette pictured at home in 2013

8. Over To You showjumping at his penultimate event in the CIC3* at Chatsworth in 2008

9. Jeanette gives Over To You a kiss after their dressage test at Badminton in 2007

10. Jeanette retiring Over To You in the main arena at Burghley in 2008

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

This latest edition (31 May) is a training special, including a look at the world’s top trainers and whether you should have multiple coaches. Also check out our summer clothing guide, interview with showjumper and recent winner of the Hamburg Derby, Matt Sampson and feature on health problems in miniature horses.

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Top British eventer Jeanette Brakewell has been sidelined at the start of the season after fracturing her ankle in a fall.

The eight-time championship medal-winner had been schooling a youngster at her base in Staffordshire on 15 March when the accident took place.

“It was very unfortunate,” she told H&H.

“He had been worked in the top arena, we had done some pole work with my head girl on the ground.

“I was walking back to the yard and crossed the driveway of a tenant. They walked out of their door as we came past, any other horse would have gone, ‘oh’ and carried on, but the four-year-old went, ‘Holy shit!’, spooked and fell over.

“My foot took the impact. The rest of me landed in a big muddy pool of water so my shoulder, collarbone and everything were fine.

“I felt my foot go in a different direction to my leg.”

Jeanette was taken to Royal Derby Hospital and the following day (16 March) underwent surgery.

“I think they put in a plate and several screws, I hope to see the x-ray to find out more,” she said.

“The hospital has been great and it was really good they got the operation done so quickly.

“I’m hoping to go home today, fingers crossed. I haven’t seen my consultant yet, but they should send me on my way.

“I’ve discovered I’m not very good on crutches, but I’m learning quickly.”

Jeanette is considering undergoing rehabilitation at Jack Berry House, the Injured Jockeys Fund’s North Yorkshire centre.

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“It will help me get a plan together, what I can and can’t do and how to keep strong while I’m not able to weight-bear on my leg,” she added.

“It’s a shame as I missed running three on Friday at Lincoln, but at least it’s now instead of in the middle of the season. There’s still plenty to do.

“Hopefully I’ll be back on the nags soon. Onwards and upwards.”

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

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Event riders are back home and on the mend following falls in the cross-country at Badminton Horse Trials (4-8 May).

This year’s youngest Badminton competitor Emily King had an unfortunate fall at the second to last fence, the second element of the Rolex Crossing, following a strong round with Brookleigh.

The 20-year-old was understandably disappointed, but neither she nor “Brook” was injured.

“Such a shame,” said Emily following her round. “Brook and I were having such a super round, but he just tired towards the end which resulted in a fall.

“Luckily both him and I are fine. I feel so honoured and lucky to have experienced Badminton, it truly is the greatest event on earth and I just can’t wait to compete there again.”

Badminton final scores

Fellow British rider Jeanette Brakewell had a heavy fall at the first element of the Rolex Crossing with Lets Dance.

Jeanette was momentarily stuck underneath her horse, but was sitting up and talking before being taken to Southmead hospital for observation.

She suffered broken ribs but is now back home recovering.

“Jeanette and Lets Dance are both fine after their fall at the penultimate fence on Badminton’s cross country course,” said a spokesman for the rider.

“Both are a bit battered and sore, and Jeanette has broken a few ribs — but she’ll be back in the saddle before you know it.”

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Australian Chris Burton fell at the first element of the Shogun Hollow.

“A little bit sore and sorry this morning,” said Chris the day after the fall. “Nobilis is absolutely fine after our little tumble. He was giving me a great ride and just made a mistake at an unforgiving fence.”

Italian Vittoria Panizzon was unseated at the second Jack Wills Garden Rails when Borough Pennyz went underneath the fence.

“After a fantastic start to our round, Pennyz did a novel ‘over and under’ a large parallel when a bad stride put us in it,” said Vittoria.

“I dismounted while she extricated herself and I think the Pariani saddle took the brunt of it all as we are both thankfully absolutely fine. I have nothing more than whiplash and a very white annoyed pony.”

Vicarage Vee falls

Jodie Amos, Lucy Jackson, Tom Crisp, Michael Owen and Boyd Martin all fell at the notoriously challenging Vicarage Vee (pictured above).

“Fig (Figaro van Het Broekxhof) made the first 21 fences of a very influential cross-country course feel pretty effortless, showing off all his scope before we sadly came unstuck at the testing Vicarage Vee,” said Jodie.

“Hindsight is a great thing and had we been drawn later in the day, given all the problems it caused we probably would of taken the long route, but on the positive side what an exciting horse.”

Tom and Coolys Luxury were uninjured in their tumble.

“Cooly giving me a cracking ride up to that point, just a fraction off at the Vicarage Vee. Such a shame,” said Tom. “Fit for another day though.”

Meanwhile Lucy said she and her horse, Bosun, were “both fine” following the fall, while Boyd said he was “kicking himself”.

“We were on a half-stride, and he’d have had to either take off long to one of the most intimidating fences in the world, or do what I did: I gave him a pull and tried to add a chip, and we came crashing down,” he said.

“Luckily Crackers (Cracker Jack) and I are unscathed and we’ll live to fight another day.”

Michael also said he and Bradeley Law were not hurt in the fall.

Meanwhile, Pippa Funnell has returned home following her fall at Withingon Manor Horse Trials (1 May).

Pippa fell at fence 16 on an advanced course.

She was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire but returned home on the Wednesday (4 May).

Pippa’s ride Sandman 7 was treated by vets and walking sound.

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Jeanette Brakewell’s seasoned campaigner Over To You has delighted fans on a yard visit.

The 27-year-old retired eventer was put through his paces by Jeanette in front of a crowd on a Harry Hall Yard Visit last week (15 November).

The multiple Olympic medal-winning horse showed he had not forgotten his job, as he showed off some flying-changes before patiently posing for photos.

“He can be a little stiff behind these days, but actually he felt better today than he did last time I rode him,” said Jeanette.

“He is worked every other day, either lunging, hacking or schooling, and we turn him out for three or four hours every day unless it’s soaking.”

Known as “Jack” at home, the 16hh gelding is Britain’s biggest equine winner of international eventing medals.

He was retired from competition in 2008.

“He’s given horse and pony nuts, soya oil and a gut balancer and that’s it,” added Jeanette.

“But he’ll do anything for polos and though he can be a bit of a Victor Meldrew sometimes, he loved having a big fuss of him made at the weekend.”

During his career, Over To You collected 2170 British Eventing points and won Olympic team silver at Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.

He has numerous top 10 finishes at three- and four-star level, including taking third place at Badminton in 2003 and fourth in 2006 — both times finishing on his dressage score.

Jeanette and Over To You won three team gold medals at European Championships (2001, 2003 and 2005) and also picked up individual silver and team bronze at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez.

“We were very honoured to meet the wonderful Over To You looking amazing at 27,” said visitor Debra Kay.

She added that she “loved seeing behind the scenes” at Jeanette’s Staffordshire yard.

The trip was one of a nationwide programme of free trips to top riders’ yards run by the clothing company.

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Five horses have left the competition at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials before the showjumping, including three who were in the top 20 after yesterday’s cross-country.

Redesigned, owned by Denise and Roger Lincoln and ridden by Pippa Funnell (pictured top), was sent to the holding box at this morning’s horse inspection. He was then withdrawn. The chestnut was in 12th place.

Willa Newton, who really impressed with her fast cross-country round and moved up fom 62nd to 16th, pulled out her father Joey’s Newmarket Vasco One before the trot-up.

Jeanette Brakewell’s ride Lets Dance (pictured below), owned by her breeder Ruth Williams and sitting 17th overnight, was another sent to the holding box. Jeanette re-presented her, but she was eliminated by the ground jury (Nick Burton, Christina Klingspor and Andrew Bennie).

Matthew Heath (48th overnight) must dread trot-ups — his ride The Lion, who belongs to him, Emma Clarke, Clare Davis and Henny Kenney-Herbert, was spun at the first one at Badminton this year and he was held on Wednesday here. He had no more success today, being sent to the holding box and then eliminated on re-presentation.

Sweden’s Dag Albert also withdrew Elizabeth Albert’s Tubber Rebel, 27th after cross-country, before the trot-up.

Michael Jung’s overnight leader, La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, was trotted up by his groom as Michael hurt his leg in his fall yesterday with his other horse, FischerRocana FST.

One other horse was sent to the holding box this morning, Susie Guild’s Finbury Hill. But Hannah Bate’s ride, who is 28th overnight, was accepted when he was re-presented.

Several other horses were asked to trot again this morning but then passed. They included: Allstar B (Rosalind Canter, 41st), plus two US runners, Donner (Lynn Symansky, 20th) and Covert Rights (Colleen Routledge, 30th).

H&H’s bloggers were both accepted. Nana Dalton (pictured below) wore a zebra-striped coat to present the grey Elite Syncopation (43rd), while Simon Grieve opted for a classic look of suit and blue tie for trotting up Cornacrew (47th).

This morning’s showjumping session starts at 10.45am, with the top 24 showjumping at 2.25pm. All the showjumping is in reverse order

Join us for H&H Live coverage of the showjumping

Full report from Burghley in next week’s H&H, out Thursday, 10 September — 17 pages of photos and analysis, including columns from Ruth Edge, Lucy Wiegersma and Mark Phillips.

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Aldon and Norton Disney horse trials this weekend (24-27 October) will wrap up the 2013 eventing season. After months of sleeping in lorries, braving portaloos, waking up at the crack of dawn and going to bed at a similar time, November is a traditional time for eventers to ditch the horses, pick up their passports and take a break.

We asked 5 top riders what their destination of choice is, what happens to the horses while they’re away, if they’d fancy a riding holiday and whether they ever manage to relax…

Georgie Spence, Wiltshire

“November is often the best month to go away. When I’m on holiday the horses are usually just in the field, or they go on the walker. I’m fortunate to either have a groom at home, or my Mum will check them in the fields daily.

“Luckily I find it easy to relax when I’m on holiday — whereas if I have nothing to do at home I can’t relax at all.

“I have had 2 great holidays in Egypt with Laura Collett. And then a few years ago, lots of eventers all went travelling in Thailand for 5 weeks — that was an amazing experience.

“We were backpacking and all managed to cope reasonably well, despite staying in some rooms which were 75p a night and not very nice at all!

“I have never been on a riding holiday, but would love to go on a horseback safari — the only thing that has stopped me is that they are all very expensive.

“A holiday I wouldn’t choose to go on would be a sightseeing or walking holiday. When I’m away I like to have nothing to do, lie on a beach and eat and drink.”

Paul Tapner, Wiltshire

“In November I tend to head to Australia — where I’m from — and my very capable staff makes sure all the horses are kept happy, whether they’re still in work or on a holiday themselves.

“The only way I can relax is if I’m not anywhere near my yard. I’m still very active on holiday though — so my kind of relaxing is not the same as it is for most people.

“I have great memories from most holidays I take. Anything that included natural disaster-type weather or near-death illness would be a nightmare holiday — but apart from that I’m game for most experiences the world has to offer.”

Gemma Tattersall, West Sussex

“I try to have a couple of weeks away somewhere hot in November.

“The horses are either on holiday or my team at home keep them ticking over for me.

“A long time ago I visited Kenya and went on safari which was a pretty spectacular experience. Seeing all the wildlife in their natural environment was incredible.

“I haven’t done a riding holiday before, but I would quite like to go on a horseback safari or maybe a ranching holiday — both of which sound quite fun and different enough from the day job.

“My idea of a nightmare holiday is somewhere that is cold, raining and with bad food. I like the opposite of those things!”

Oliver Townend, Shropshire  

“I try to take a holiday in November when I can and I tend to go somewhere warm and discover different places each time. I’ve been lucky to go to a lot of nice places — including Barbados and the Maldives — but I think my best holiday was when I went to Las Vegas for Geoff Billington’s stag party.

“While I’m away the horses are kept ticking over or they are turned out in the field. I definitely can’t relax straight away — but eventually it happens.

“My worst holiday was definitely when I went to Tenerife with Piggy French a long time ago and we were both seriously ill from the water!”

Jeanette Brakewell, Staffordshire

“It’s great to get away in Novemeber, relax and recharge the batteries.

“At home I have very good staff that I trust to take care of everything and at the end of the day I have my phone with me should there be a disaster.

“Once I’m away I do manage to relax — there is no point worrying about things you have no control of at home and I am a very good sleeper which helps.

“I once had a really good riding holiday in Kenya across the Masai Mara with Tristan Voorspuy who runs Offbeat Safaris. The food was excellent, the company was great and the scenery and wildlife was outstanding.

“On the other hand, my idea of a nightmare holiday would be somewhere busy and full of screaming children!”

In need of a break yourself? Take a look at all our latest riding holiday ideas

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One member of the Quorn Hunt branch of the Pony Club was the envy of all her friends at camp earlier this month — as her partner for the week was Jeanette Brakewell’s former ride, Chill Out Bob.

The 17-year-old gelding, owned by Hazel Stockdale Wright, retired fit and sound from top-level eventing earlier this year. For the past few months he has been ridden by Hazel’s daughter, Charlotte Wright.

Charlotte, 16, said Jeanette’s former head girl had suggested that she take Bob to camp.

“At first I was worried he may not adapt to the Pony Club lifestyle, especially as he used to be described as a ‘cross-country machine’,” Charlotte told H&H.

“But Bob was simply a star! He caused quite a stir when the word got round about his past. Friends would come up and admire him and he loved the attention.”

Bob completed 8 4-star events, including 5 consecutive Burghleys and 2 Badmintons.

With that 4-star form, the cross-country at camp was no problem for him — and he also competed in a Chase-me-Charlie competition for the first time in his career, taking it all in his stride.

“He was so relaxed throughout the week and loved every second of it,” said Charlotte.

“Bob was as grumpy as ever in the stable, but I soon learnt to handle him and even won best turned-out for the whole week.

“We also came 6^th in the 2-day event we did at the end of the week. I was very pleased as I have only been riding him properly for a few months.

“It has done the world of good for my riding as I have learnt so much from him. I can’t wait to do some other events with Bob.”

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Competitors at this year’s Pony Club Championships will be helped to perform at their best by a crack team of world-class mentors.

Leading riders, including Jeanette Brakewell and Maria Eilberg, will be on hand to provide a sounding board, advice and sports psychology.

The scheme was developed by Olympic pentathlete Kate Allenby, who won bronze at the Sydney Games in 2000. She has run a pilot mentoring programme in tetrathlon since 2010 and is rolling it out across eventing, dressage and showjumping this year.

“I’m a PE teacher and see children being asked to perform younger and younger,” Kate told H&H.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but this is about giving them the skills to deal with the pressures of delivering at this age; how to manage yourself when you arrive at the start line, or when things go wrong,” she added.

The mentors will be present at the Pony Club Championships at Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire (16-19 August), and the tetrathlon championships at Bishop Burton, East Yorks (9-11 August), to support athletes with any worries and to talk about performance psychology.

Hattie Algar, 18, a member of the Cambridgeshire Hunt branch of the Pony Club, has been mentored by Kate for the past two years. She came 10th in the open girls’ class at last year’s tetrathlon championships.

“Because Kate has done it herself, she totally appreciates the pressures you are under,” said Hattie.

“She’s good at talking you through it and giving you little tactics and techniques to calm your nerves, like breathing techniques before the shoot,” she added.

Maria Eilberg, a former winner of the Pony Club dressage championships, told H&H she was looking forward to “giving something back”.

“We’ve seen how it’s [sports psychology] helped the top squads.

“Sometimes, just by talking things through, you can get your mindset in the right place for competing,” she added.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (11 July, 2013 issue)

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William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning retained their Equi-Trek Bramham Horse Trials title this afternoon when they jumped a faultless clear in the senior CCI3*.

Christopher Stone’s stallion was the overnight leader and had a fence in hand to win, but didn’t need it.

“Yesterday he was fairly feisty, so I was aware he could take the fences on too much, but I was pleased he was rideable,” said William.

Sir Mark Todd also went clear on Diane Brunsden and Peter Cattell’s Leonidas II to hold the runner-up spot.

“When you’ve got William Fox-Pitt in front of you, you know there aren’t going to be many mistakes, so all I worried about was getting the clear on my horse,” said Mark. “It was a decent track and the time was tight. Anything can happen.”

There were only eight showjumping clears in the time in the class.

William said: “Di Boddy is a very good course-designer. She’s very aware of the arena and the layout and used a variety of things to test us, plus a tight time. And even the horses that went inside the time yesterday would have felt their exertions today.”

The main drama of the final session was France’s Mathieu Lemoine, third overnight, falling off when Quickness stopped abruptly in the middle of the treble at fence 10. He was therefore eliminated.

Another Frenchman, Didier Dhennin, moved up from fifth to take third on Opi De Saint Leo.

Paul Sims’ clear on Calador raised him from 11th to fourth, while Michael Owen’s with The Highland Prince elevated him from 13th to sixth.

Nicola Wilson had just the final part of the treble down to take fifth on Annie Clover, while she also finished eighth on Beltane Queen.

Jeanette Brakewell slotted into seventh on Lets Dance (up from 10th with four faults). Lucie McNichol (Zeus Of Rushall) and Donatien Schauly (Seculaire) had two down each to fall from sixth and eighth to ninth and 10th.

Apart from Mathieu, the main victim of the final phase was Vittoria Panizzon (Merlots Magic) who dropped from fourth to 12th with three fences down and two time-faults.

All H&H’s online Bramham coverage

Results

Buy H&H on Thursday (13 June) for a full report from Bramham.

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Read the latest Jeanette Brakewell news

Jeanette Brakewell has become synonymous with the great chestnut Over To You, with whom she represented Britain at eight championships in a row. Together they won eight medals, making Over To You the most medalled eventer of all time.

Jeanette and Over To You were individuals at the 1998 European Championships. They went on to win four team golds at Europeans (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005), an individual silver and team bronze at the Jerez World Equestrian Games in 2002, plus team silver at two Olympics (2000 and 2004).

Together they were also placed at Badminton seven times, setting a record for completions at the event by a horse and rider combination, and equally Ballycotton’s record for number of completions by a horse. Their best result was third in 2003.

Over To You retired from three-day eventing at Badminton in 2007, aged 19, and from the sport in 2008.

Jeanette Brakewell was born in 1974 and is based in Staffordshire with her partner, Australian rider Brook Staples.

Jeanette Brakewell videos

McGuigan, Alistair Holder’s 14-year-old stallion ridden by Jeanette Brakewell to victory at Chatsworth CIC*** last year, was put down on Wednesday, 17 September. Vet Tim Greet had been treating McGuigan at Rossdales, Newmarket.

“The horse had an ethmoidal haematoma that grew to his cranium, rendering him blind. There was nothing we could do,” said a devastated Alistair.

The 15.2hh by Hanoverian Furisto and out of Paulvilles Last, had been owned by Alistair for 10 years and feels he cannot continue at Potwell Farm Stud, Dorset, without the stallion.

“I’ve lost my best mate. If he’s not here my heart’s not in it,” he explained. “He had a huge personality for such a little horse, and made everyone smile who came into contact with him.”

McGuigan was top British horse at the world young horse championships for seven-year-olds at Le Lion d’Angers in 2001, and was placed at CCI*** level. A limited amount of frozen semen is available through Tessa Clarke at West Kingston Stud.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (25 September, ’08)

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Kitty Boggis enjoyed her first advanced win at Aston-le-Walls with Boondoggle.

Kitty’s double clear with the fastest round in section K overhauled Jo May’s lead after Faere Vision dropped one show jump.

Oliver Townend bounced back from a heavy fall at Barbury to show some impressive form. He picked up a win with Carousel Quest, two seconds and a third across the advanced sections.

Mary King put paid to a second Townend victory by heading section I with Apache Sauce. They finished a comfortable 2pen’s head of Oliver Townend’s Golden Hue.

The Olympic dressage section H went to Olympic reserve Zinzan II (Rodney Powell) landing the spoils ahead of Belton CIC*** winner Inonothing (Paul Tapner) and Chatsworth World Cup qualifier winner Flint Curtis (Oliver Townend).

Other reserve horses Tamarillo (fourth), Imperial Cavalier (fifth), Ballincoola (eighth) followed in their wake, and Mark Todd’s Hong Kong-bound Gandalf finished 10th.

The British team horses produced encouragingly good dressage tests, with three out of the five posting sub-30 scores, before being withdrawn ahead of the cross-country. William Fox-Pitt (Parkmore Ed) led on 26.1 with Kristina Cook (Miners Frolic) just 0.4pen behind and Daisy Dick’s Spring Along on 28.

Oliver Townend looked set for a win in section L on the good jumper Coup De Coeur after leading the dressage. But eight faults in the show jumping opened the door for Chris King and The Secret Weapon to win with the fastest time of the day.

The final advanced section, M, was a runaway victory for Andrew Nicholson and Avebury.

Nigel Taylor’s cross-country track featured at least five major changes. About three-quarters of the runners went clear, with just a handful of non-finishers.

Lisa Maynard’s advanced ride First Frost had to be put down after an accident at a ditch fence.

Jeanette Brakewell broke her collar-bone in a fall from novice ride High Old Times — amazingly, the first broken bone of her riding career.

Read the full results

Read H&H’s Aston-Le-Walls (2) report in full in Thursday’s magazine

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Would you like your memories of Over To You to be included in a book?

Jeanette Brakewell’s legendary eventer — the most medalled horse in the sport’s history — is retiring from competition at the end of this year.

To mark the end of Over To You’s spectacular career, Eventing Worldwide and Jeanette are producing a book about him, to be launched in September.

“We are looking for readers to send in their memories of ‘Jack’,” said Hilary Manners from Eventing Worldwide. “It could be anything about him that has stuck in readers’ minds, a particular performance or perhaps why you might have voted for him in the Horse & Hound best loved horses rankings [H&H, 14 February].

“The final chapter of the book will be made up of tributes from both riders and spectators who have followed his long and remarkable career.”

A percentage of all book sales will be donated to Spinal Research.

Please send your memories (no more than 100 words) by email to info@eventingworldwide.com, with the email subject JACK, or send them to Eventing Worldwide/JACK, Corner House, Normanton, Grantham NG32 3BH, to arrive by 25th May.

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In a fitting tribute, this week’s H&H tracks the career of Over To You; the world’s the most medalled event horse. He retired from four-star eventing at Badminton in May.

His career began as a weedy racing reject and ended as the most capped event horse in the world.

Speaking to the people who knew him best, journalist Kate Green builds up a picture of a true British great.

Jeanette Brakewell, his competition partner said: “There won’t be a horse like him again. I’ll be amazed if anyone breaks his records.”

Yogi Breisner, British team manager since 2000, said: “Over To You is poetry in motion across country. His round at the Pau Europeans was like silk. They threw away the mould when they made him.”

Jonty Evans, who broke him in said: “We once got thrown out of the first round in a Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Bramham. I’d love to say something to that judge now!”

Over To You’s career highlights

• 1998: 16th Badminton, individual member of British squad at Rome WEG
• 1999: 9th Badminton, European team gold medal, Luhmühlen
• 2000: team silver medal at Sydney Olympics
• 2001: European team gold medal at Pau
• 2002: fell at the gate at Huntsman’s Close, Badminton, World team bronze and individual silver medals, Jerez WEG
• 2003: 3rd Badminton, team gold medal, Punchestown Europeans
• 2004: 7th Badminton, Olympic team silver medal, Athens
• 2005: 5th Badminton, European team gold medal, Blenheim
• 2006: 4th Badminton, 5th Burghley
• 2007: 14th Badminton

View Over To You’s eventing record in full

Read H&H’s exclusive feature, including highlights of his career in pictures, in today’s Horse & Hound (31 May, ’07)

Ever wondered how Jeanette Brakewell’s 19-year-old eventer Over To You has managed to remain sound while completing Badminton a record seven times?

Well, on 4 June British Olympic team event rider Jeanette will be speaking at a one-day seminar on “Keeping the Competition Horse Sound” at the Scottish National Equestrian Centre at Oatridge College.

The Scottish Equestrian Association (SEA) event will feature presentations by experts on owning, riding, and the veterinary care of competition horses. There will also be interactive demonstrations on nutrition, gait, and shoeing.

Tickets are £30 per person (£25 for members of national equestrian organisations such as BSJA, BHS, BRC, TRSS, and £20 for members of SEA).

Call Fiona Rawson (tel: 07815962964) or email: fionarawson@aol.com

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