Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith has big plans for the future of the German five-star.

Mike, who took over as designer in 2016, spoke about his ethos behind the 2022 track – and hinted at major changes from 2023.

“It was a big effort last year for the event to run. We’ve had a conservative year this year, but still made it enough of a test,” said Mike.

“The course is largely similar to last year in many respects. I’ve changed some of the lines, made some of the things a little bit more difficult. The intention is that we are hopefully going to have some bigger, more significant changes next year.

“You are sort of always looking at the long term with these things. We hopefully have some exciting plans for next year.

“This year there was no need to go crazy. It worked well last year, there were several new fences that we needed to use again. So that’s why it’s not hugely dissimilar,” added Mike, who kept his cards close to his chest on details of what exactly is in the pipeline for 2023.

Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country: ‘Riders have to use their heads’

The 2022 course loops features 30 questions, including four water complexes, covering 6,270m through woodland and has an optimum time of 11 minutes.

While Burghley and Badminton offer the big dimensional questions, this track has a feel of a thinking-man’s five-star.

“It’s all about riding, really,” said Mike. “There isn’t masses of terrain, so you can’t go hugely big with fences. If you’ve got ups and downs you can. So the emphasis becomes on the riders ability to ride with a venue such as this.

“Those that are on their game will make it look easy, those that aren’t will make it more difficult, but hopefully if the riders make a mistake, the horses don’t get punished for it.”

The forecast for Saturday is a hot, dry 28 degrees. The five-star cross-country is scheduled in the morning, with all 36 combinations set to be done by lunchtime.

“Competitors have to make sure they’ve got enough gas in the tank towards the end of the track,” said Mike. “They’ve got to think about how they use their horses and ride sensibly. And if it is hot, they’ll have to use their heads.

“I always try to keep enough at the back end [of a course] to keep them interested without actually going over the top. It’s very easy to go over the top and do too much.”

Mike added he hopes that “no one fence in particular” is going to be influential, adding that it “all depends on what horse you are riding”.

“I think they need to pay attention to the hollow towards the end of the track,” he said, referring to Fence 27abc (pictured, above).

“The first water [Fence 4/5abc: Longines Wasser (pictured, below)] is not supposed to be that difficult, but they have to ride it. It would be very easy to have a run out there and do something daft because they’re not paying attention.”

Mike added he will be watching the way the horses move, rather than any fence in particular on Saturday.

“I just watch how horses work despite the riders, it’s all about how horses cover ground, how they work, how they cope with different types of terrain,” he said.

“I’ve been doing this a long time. I just watch how horses travel. There’s always something that you could learn along the way. There’s nothing new out here that I haven’t done before, so in terms of combinations, I’m probably not going to learn a huge amount. But it’s just how horses work, how they travel and how they come home.”

He added: “The last kilometre is always interesting, that final 800 metres or so. You want them to grow as they go around and benefit from the experience.

“I see my job is to give the riders the opportunity to produce their horses. Whether it’s a World Championships or Olympic Games or Europeans, that doesn’t make any difference. That principle underpins everything I do.

“There will be horses that are stepping up for the first time so [as a designer] you’ve got to get them into the track and then hopefully give them the opportunity to grow rather than destroy them mentally, which is very easy to do and there’s nothing clever in that.”

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

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Obstacle markings will be changed from orange to white at all British racecourses and point-to-point tracks by the end of next season.

The decision is based on improving safety in National Hunt racing and follows research carried out by Exeter University into equine vision.

It found that changing the wood and vinyl padding of take-off boards, guard rails and top boards to white provided increased contrast and visibility for horses, leading to improved jumping performance. Fluorescent yellow had a similar effect, but the colour faded rapidly in tests.

Leading British eventing course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith, who is equine safety advisor to British racing’s Horse Welfare Board, has led the push forward in this project, working alongside trainers, jockeys and racecourse representatives.

The nationwide roll-out was given the green light in November 2021 and the Horserace Betting Levy Board confirmed funding in January 2022.

“This important project is an example of how British racing uses advanced scientific and veterinary research to constantly improve racehorse welfare,” said Horse Welfare Board chairman Barry Johnson.

“Looking through the eyes of the horse to understand how they perceive their world, and making changes because of this new knowledge, shows how racing is continuously striving to increase the safety of all participants in our sport, both human and equine.”

All 40 jump courses in Britain will change take-off markers, guard rails and top boards on their hurdles and fences from orange to white by December. Point-to-point courses will follow for the 2022/23 season.

The initial study, which took place in 2017 and 2018, was commissioned by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), backed by the Racing Foundation. The “orange to white” project was progressed the following year but was put on hold due to the onset of the pandemic.

The research involved analysing 131 obstacles at 11 racecourses using cutting-edge camera equipment, to determine which colours would be most visible to a horse. Once identified, behavioural responses were then tested with 14 horses from Richard Phillips’ training yard in Gloucestershire.

“Having been involved in the research undertaken by Exeter University and having used white obstacles for over three years now, I am convinced that changing the colour of jumps will be of immense benefit to horses, riders and the sport as a whole,” said Richard.

Horses see colour differently to humans, as they have reduced dichromatic colour vision, so mainly see hues we would consider blue and yellow. This also means they are unable to tell apart shades of red, green and orange.

“The project is an example of how scientific research can lead to positive changes in human society and our interactions with animals and I’m delighted that the research we undertook has led to changes in the sport,” said Professor Martin Stevens, chairman of sensory and evolutionary ecology for the University of Exeter.

The new white obstacles will make their debut at Stratford on 14 March, followed by Hexham (17 March) and Newton Abbot (25 March) as part of the phased roll-out. They are already being introduced at racing’s main schooling grounds and will be in use throughout the summer jumping season.

“We are determined to drive constant improvement and to make reasoned, well-researched and evidence-based changes which further reduce risk in the sport on a long-term basis and which help to improve safety factors for our horses,” said James Given, director of equine health and welfare for the BHA and member of the Horse Welfare Board.

Caroline Davies, racecourse services director at the Racecourse Association and the racecourse representative on the Horse Welfare Board, added: “I am pleased to see the roll-out of the orange to white initiative take place across Britain’s racecourses, adding a further layer of care for our horses.

“This is an important step for British racing, underpinned by a plethora of research. The number of obstacles that racecourses will be changing is significant and is testament to the sport’s commitment to making continual improvements for all our participants.

“I am grateful for the widespread support of racing’s stakeholders and our funders to enable it to happen.”

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

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

It’s been a day of drama at the European Eventing Championships cross-country in Avenches, but it’s looking golden for the Brits ahead of the final phase tomorrow (26 September). Here’s the lowdown on nine big stories from today’s action…

1. Britain holds team and individual gold overnight after an almost flawless cross-country display from the girls and the tiniest setback for dressage leader Ingrid Klimke.

• Find out how Britain took both top spots

2. British team rider Nicola Wilson crept up from third to take pole position individually.

• Hear Nicola’s thoughts on her 10-year-old JL Dublin tackling his first team outing

3. Riders were worried how twisty Mike Etherington-Smith’s track looked, but the early riders showed both the track and the time were fair.

• Read how the pathfinders rose to the challenge

4. Kitty King secured a stunning British team completion with the third clear round for the team with Vendredi Biats.

• Find out how Vendredi Biats brushed off an early mistake

5. Britain’s pathfinder Piggy March was only the second rider inside the time, riding Brookfield Inocent, to take fourth.

• Read about how her cross-country specialist made light of the track 

6. British rider Sarah Bullimore had a dream round as an individual and slotted into fifth spot.

• Find out how her home-bred Corouet skipped over fences “wider than he is long”.

7. Dressage runner-up Ros Canter dropped out of the reckoning with two late run-outs on the great Allstar B.

• Read what Ros had to say about her world champion’s disappointing performance

8. Ireland hiked up the leaderboard from 11th to fifth with a stunning round from Padraig McCarthy.

• Find out what Padraig had to say about his 17-year-old ride

9. Can’t wait to see how it all ends?

• Check out what time the Brits are likely to showjump for the medals tomorrow

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The pathfinders at the European Eventing Championships cross-country phase in Avenches, Switzerland, have shown that the track is jumpable, and the time achievable.

Although the first two riders incurred jumping penalties, Ireland’s Sam Watson came out next and jumped clear a few seconds over the time.

The sixth pair out, Jean-Lou Bigot and the hard-pulling Utrillo Du Halage, laid down the gauntlet for the third-placed French team, finishing seven seconds inside the time on their dressage of 29.5. He even had time to take a long route at the angled fence 6.

“It’s a championships, so for the team, and as I was early to go, I couldn’t take any risks,” said Jean-Lou. “It didn’t take too much extra time, and I started to realise by the third minute that I could make the time. This is a very good galloping horse, so I let him go, and I had time to set up for the jumps.”

Starting out at 11am Swiss time, trailblazer Jordy Wilken and his grey Burry Spirit, from the Netherlands, set the tone as they came home safely, albeit with an early run-out at fence 4C (The Hollow) and 21.6 time-faults. The second pair out, Belgium’s Kris Vervaecke and Guantanamo Van Alsingen, also ran out – at 16b – but the early signs show that the course is jumpable.

European Eventing Championships cross-country: “I had one big scare”

Sam Watson, third out to go for Ireland, put in the first fast round, riding Ballybolger Talisman. They added 6.8 time-faults to their 50th-placed dressage of 33.5 and jumped clear, and an initial 15 for missing a flag at the last water complex was quickly removed. The fourth pair out, Malin Josefsson and Golden Midnight, were even better – indicating the time would be achievable as the top-ranked horses come to the fore. They stopped the clock 13 seconds over for 5.2 time-faults.

“His heart to jump through all the fences is top-class,” said Sam. “His engine and stamina were superb. We put in a few more strides in places than was the plan but he always wanted to go through the flags. I just had one big scare coming on to the racecourse, he slipped –nowhere near a fence – and nearly went right down. He pulled a shoe earlier and that was a frightener.”

Britain’s Mike Etherington-Smith designed the cross-country track at this Swiss racecourse venue. It consists of 40 jumping efforts and 32 fences over a distance of 5,678 metres, to be covered in 10min 7sec to avoid time-penalties.

Germany’s Ingrid Klimke is in the lead after dressage with SAP Hale Bob Old, on a score of 20.2. Ros Canter is just 0.4 behind on her own and Caroline Moore’s reigning world champion Allstar B.

You may also like to read…

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The European Eventing Championships cross-country course for this week’s competition in Avenches, Switzerland, has been designed by Mike Etherington-Smith.

There are 32 numbered fences and the optimum time is 10min 7sec.

The venue is also a racetrack, used for trotting races. The course area has two sections, with the first (fences one to eight) and last (fences 20 to 32) parts of the course curving in and out of the central area of one racecourse and the middle part of the track (fences nine to 19) in an adjacent field, also host to another racetrack and gallops.

European Eventing Championships cross-country course: photos of every fence

Fence 1: CultureFood Table

Fence 2: Chase Fence

Fence 3: Racecourse Oxer

Fence 4abc: Hollow

Fence 4a on the direct route

Fence 4a alternative

Fence 4b

Fence 4c

Fence 5: Huntsman’s Table

Fence 6: Heinz’s Hedge

Fence six will be jumped at an angle, with riders then choosing whether to take the inside or outside line around the bushes to fence seven, where riders can jump a brush oxer on the left or a brush corner on the right. Riders can also circle between fences six and seven without penalty.

Fence 7: Steward’s Choice

Fence 8: Churn Table

Fence 9ab: Crazy Corner

Fence 9a

The view over fence 9a to the direct route corner at 9b

Fence 9b on the direct route

Fence 9b alternative, which involves looping away from the direction of the course

Fence 10ab: Flowers Boxes

This photo shows the direct route through the middle, with the alternative 10a on the left and the alternative 10b on the right (jumped towards the camera).

Fence 10a on the direct route

Fence 10b on the direct route

Fence 10a alternative

Fence 10b alternative

Fence 11: Viaduct

Fence 12: Military Garden Hedges

Fence 13: Military Garden Hedges

This hedge is one angled stride from fence 12, but the numbering does allow riders to circle without penalty if they wish.

Fence 14: Avenches Roman Wall

Fence 15: Shelter

Fence 16ab: Christine’s Corners

Fence 16a on the direct route

A curving line takes riders to the second corner on the fast route.

Fence 16b on the direct route

The long route here is circuitous, with the designer having blocked off the faster way between fences with stringing.

Fence 16a alternative

Fence 16b altenative

Fence 17ab: Fort

Fence 17a

Fence 17b

Fence 18ab: Helvecie Splash

Riders on the direct route here only have to take one fence…

Fence 18a alternative

Fence 18b alternative

Fence 19: Coup De L’étrier Winebar

Fence 20: Cordwood

Fence 21: The Beehives

Fence 22: Primus Water

Fence 23ab: Primus Water

Fence 23a on the direct route, taking this fence at an angle directly after fence 22

Fence 23b direct route

Fence 23a on the alternative route

Fence 23b on the alternative route

Fence 24: Swiss House

There is an option for riders to take an inside line to this fence and angle it to save time.

Fence 25: IENA Leap

Fences 26 and 27: Kubota Challenge

For rides on the direct route, there is just one jumping effort here.

Fence 26 on the alternative route

Fence 27 on the alternative route

Fence 28ab: Fischer Water

Fence 28a

Looking over fence 28a to the direct route 28b (with Kitty King’s ponytail!)

Fence 28b on the direct route

Fence 28b on the alternative route

Fence 29: Skinny Martin

Fence 29 direct route

Fence 29 on the alternative route

Fence 30: Boathouse

Fence 31ab: J.P’s Angle

Fence 31a

Fence 31b

Fence 32: Le Pin Table

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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

With the cross-country phase of the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships in Luhmühlen (28 August-1 September) complete, here we take a look at which fences on the course caused issues for horses and riders and how achievable the time proved to be.

The track, designed by Mike Etherington-Simth and built by David Evans, Carl Fletcher and their team, ran over a distance of 5,800m, incorporating 26 fences, 40 jumping efforts and with an optimum time of 10 min 10 sec. Here’s the full statistics which come after a great day of sport…

28% made it within the optimum time 20

83% of starters completed 59

62% of starters jumped clear

Fence 1: Auftakt der Sparkasse Harburg-Buxtehude (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 2: Bushoxer (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 3: Voltaire Eichen (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 4: Longines Wasser (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 5abcd: Longines Wasser (3%)

Two refusals 5d — Caroline Gerber (Tresor De Chignan), Philippa Magnusson (Cesar)

Fence 6: Hof Sudermühlens Reiterbar (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 7: Manzke Tisch (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 8abcd: Longines Kombination (3%)

One refusal 8c — Laura Hoogeveen (Wicro Quibus N.O.P.); one missed flag 8c Laura Loge (Absolut Allegro)

Fence 9: Gärtnerei Wredes Rennbahnsprung (1%)

One missed jump — Nadine Marzahl (Valentine 18)

Fence 10ab: Hannover Gatter (4%)

One refusal 10a — Maria Pinedo Sendagorta (Carriem van Colen Z); two broken pins 10a — Esteban Benitez Valles (Milana 23), Vittoria Panizzon (Super Cillious); one fall of rider 10a — Jan Kaniński (Jard)

Fence 11: Holzstoß (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 12abc: Meßmer Teich (8%)

Four refusals 12b (pictured) — Laura Loge (Absolut Allegro), Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati (Cosma), Tony Kennedy (Wisteria Lane), Constantin Van Rijckevorsel (Beat It); two refusals 12c — Camille Guyot (Ulsan du Halage), Kristina Cook (Billy The Red)

Fence 13: Meßmer Mühlenhaus (1%)

1 refusal — Laura Hoogeveen (Wicro Quibus N.O.P.)

Fence 14abc: Fischer Wellenbahn (4%)

Three refusals — 14a Rebecca Gerold (Shannon Queen); two refusals 14c — Camille Guyot (Ulsan du Halage), Laura Hoogeveen (Wicro Quibus N.O.P.))

Fence 15: Horseware Jump (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 16abc: LVM Am Waldrand (3%)

Two refusals 16c (pictured) — Merel Blom (Chiccolino), Josefa Sommer (Hamilton 24)

Fence 17: Rathaus (1%)

One horse fall — Laura Loge (Absolut Allegro)

Fence 18abc: Lake Land Rover (4%)

Two refusals 18b (pictured) — Roxanne Gonfard (Opi de Saint Leo), Hans Bauer (Præstegårdens Leopold); one rider fall — Simone Sordi (Amacuzzi)

Fence 19: Lake Land Rover (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 20ab: Lake Land Rover (11%)

One refusal 20a — Josefa Sommer (Hamilton 24); two refusals 20b (pictured top) — Merel Blom (Chiccolino), Sam Watson (Tullabeg Flamenco), two rider falls — Laura Collett (London 52), Maria Pinedo Sendagorta (Carriem van Colen Z); three horse falls — Ilonka Kluytmans (Image Of Roses), Tiziana Realini (Toubleu de Rueire), Esteban Benitez Valle (Milana 23)

Fence 21: Charles Owen Royal Works (1%)

One missed flag — Elmo Jankari (Duchess Desiree)

Article continues below…

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Fence 22: Trakehner (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 23: Oxer (0%)

0 faulters

Fence 24: Fendt Steinwälle (1%)

One refusal — Hugo Laschet (Ichak de Monfirak)

Fence 25: Fendt Steinwälle (1%)

One refusal — Aliene Ruyter (Bomba)

Fence 26: Longines Final Jump (0%)

0 faulters

Check back for more updates from the Eventing European Championships in Luhmühlen all week, plus full report in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine (dated 5 September).

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

Now in his third year as the Longines CCI5* Luhmühlen Horse Trials cross-country course designer, Mike Etherington-Smith has set out a technical and challenging track for this year’s competitors (13—16 June 2019).

The course is run over 6,398m and has an optimum time of 11min 14sec. There are 30 numbered fences and 45 jumping efforts.

Mike said: “The course is a mix of big, bold, stand-alone fences, angled fences, corners, drops, and skinnies and will hopefully provide a suitable all-round test, physically and mentally, of horse and athlete.”

With the first combination due on-course tomorrow morning (15 June) at 9.15am (BST), let’s take a look around the track…

Fence one: Aufrakt der Sparkasse Harburg-Buxtehude

Fence two: Rathaus

Fence three: Fledermaushotel

Fence four: Trakehner

Fence five AB: Charles Owen Royal Works

Fence six ABC: Luhmühlens Wasserspiele

Alternative six C

Fence seven: Luhmühlens Wasserspiele

Fence eight AB: Luhmühlens Wasserspiele

Alternative 8B

Fence nine: Holzstoß

Fence 10: Hof Sudermühlens Jagdszene

Fence 11 ABC: Heiners Wellenbahn

Fences 12 and 13: Horseware Jump

Fence 14 ABC: LVM Am Waldrand

Fence 15: Hof Sudermühlens Jagdszene

Fences 16, 17 and 18 AB: Meßmer Teich

Alternative 17

Alternative 18B

Fence 19: Tisch

Fence 20 AB: Manzke Kombination

Fence 21 ABC: Longines Kombination

Fence 22: Gärtnerei Wredes Rennbahnsprung

Fence 23: Luhmühlens EM Brücke

Fence 24 AB: Auf dem Trainingsplatz

Fence 25, 26 and 27 AB: Longines Wasser

Fence 28: Voltaire Vogelnest

Fence 29 AB: Cottages

Fence 30: Longines Final Jump

Don’t miss the full report from Luhmühlen in the 20 June issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Anna Ross — Blair Europeans dressage

This test suits big, flashy movers. The early medium and extended trots, plus a half-pass zigzag towards the judges, show off the forward horses with an expressive front-leg action.

But the horses must be closed down and obedient in the walk half-pirouettes. Riders have to balance the risk — overdoing it in the trot can result in boiling over in the walk.

The difficult walk section is worth three marks. Laura Collett’s Grand Manoeuvre was among those who showed tension and went lateral in the walk — when both legs on one side move simultaneously. This can develop from being tight or it can be something a horse always does, in which case it is difficult to correct.

The factor which set Holly Woodhead and Sandra Auffarth’s tests apart was that their horses were both expressive and relaxed — their expression came from being through and loose, rather than tension. It’s the same thing that makes Valegro brilliant.

Three horses further down the leaderboard caught my eye. The first was Flandia 2, ridden by Poland’s Jacek Jeruzal and by the dressage stallion Fidertanz. Second, Sirocco Du Gers, the mount of France’s Thomas Carlile, is a smart mover who was a bit tight in his neck. And third, Finland’s Elmo Jankari could do a great test if Duchess Desiree can keep her tongue in her mouth.

Mike Etherington-Smith — Blair Europeans cross-country

This was a really clever cross-country track — not overly big, but it didn’t need to be. It’s easy to overcook it when you have this terrain. There were lots of places to make a mistake, while the balance and flow of the course was very good. It’s hard to pick a horse-friendly route through Blair’s hills, but Ian Stark (Scotty) was clever in this regard.

You want as many teams to complete as possible and there was a way round for everyone — if the less experienced don’t take it, that’s not the designer’s fault! It was good that horses weren’t punished if riders made a mistake.

Designers like to make competitors have to think their way round and a good example of that was fence four, which was jumped all sorts of ways. The last water was a real rider fence, a good question. This isn’t a criticism, but I might have added a bit of substance to the fence in the water simply to help the horses.

As a course-designer, you like a bit of rain as it adds an extra dimension, though not as much as we had here! The goal is to produce a course that will work regardless of the weather.

Most of all you just want everyone to come home safely, and they did. Scotty did a great job.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 17 September 2015

Former Badminton winner and German eventing team trainer Christopher Bartle has put forward a proposal for the future of eventing, in response to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) 2020 Agenda.

Earlier this year the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) released its 2020 Agenda to produce “attractive, modern, TV- and spectator-friendly sports”.

The idea is to create a “new generation of fans”. However, proposals from the FEI eventing committee in April provoked frustration among riders.

The idea is based around having a two-phase cross-country course. All riders would tackle the first section of cross-country to produce a team result, then nominated individuals who qualified with a fast clear over this initial test would have a short break, then go on to jump a second, shorter course which counted only for the individual competition.

“A two-phase cross-country keeps this discipline as the essence of the sport,” said Christopher. “It’s an idea I put forward after the Sydney Olympics when it seemed like eventing was coming under pressure from the IOC, so I’ve now rejuvenated it.”

Christopher has been invited to discuss his idea at the second meeting of the European Equestrian Federation eventing working group on 13 July in Amsterdam. This group first met on 17 April at Heathrow.

Former British Eventing chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith explained: “The EEF has had dressage and jumping working groups for some time and the Olympic 2020 agenda was the catalyst to setting up an eventing one. They asked me to chair it.

“Christopher’s idea is one of many and we are not at the stage of making a recommendation yet, we are just saying ‘What do we think about this, what do we think about that?’”

Another idea discussed at the April meeting was to run the Olympic eventing in CIC format, with the team competition at the start of the two-week Olympic period and the individual at the end, which would let the same horses and riders tackle both contests.

Christopher said: “My idea is just one and I want to stimulate discussion — the more people who can tweak and come up with ideas during the rest of this season, the better it must be for the sport in finding something not just for the Olympics, but perhaps a format for the 21st century.”

Mike said: “I think it’s great that horsesport has to reinvent itself — it’s not anything that anyone should be afraid of. We need to constantly look at ourselves.”

British Eventing is also setting up a working group examining how to make the sport more popular.

Read Christopher’s proposal in full [H&H VIP members only].

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The new chairman of British Eventing’s (BE) board of directors — Paul Hodgson (pictured) — has told H&H he is “passionate about shaping a strategy for the sport”.

The Richmond Equestrian Centre joint-organiser and owner will replace Hugh Thomas, who stepped in to fill the role in May 2014, after past chair Amanda Ratcliffe stood down during the final year of her term due to external commitments.

As well as his involvement with Richmond Equestrian Centre, Mr Hodgson has also been vice chair of the BE Organisers Association in recent months.

BE announced in December that its chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith would be standing down. Mr Hodgson told H&H that his first priority would to find a suitable replacement.

“At the moment we have a vacuum,” Mr Hodgson said. “We need to get a united board focused on selecting a new chief executive as soon as possible.”

“I have to thank Hugh Thomas and Mike Etherington-Smith for their considerable contributions to the sport.”

Mr Hodgson will take over the role on the 1 March when the recruitment process for the new position will start. BE hope that Mr Etherington-Smith’s replacement will be able to be confirmed in May or April.

Shaping the sport

The limited amount of prize-money for eventers has been a bone of contention among leading event riders over the past two seasons — with many arguing that BE needs to be more proactive.

“The topic of prize-money keeps on being raised by certain riders,” Mr Hodgson said.

“My priority is not purely prize-money. My belief is that we should collectively create the right conditions for growing and expanding the sport.

“We will always have long list of priorities and what we as the board need to make sure we focus on the right ones.

“At the moment we need to focus on getting the right chief executive into the position.”

As well as his passion for eventing Mr Hodgson has also been involved in hunting and has been MFH and field master of the Bedale for the past six seasons, 2008 – 2014.

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Olympic course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith is to step down from his position as chief executive of British Eventing (BE).

Mike, who has been in the post since 2009, will stand down in six months time. He has made the decision in order to devote more time to cross-country course designing and consultancy work, having scaled back his designing work after being responsible for the track at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

Among his other high-profile course-design jobs, Mike was designer at at the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games.

“It’s no secret that my first love is being out and about on cross-country courses and I have been offered some more designing opportunities, including at the Adelaide four-star in Australia,” said Mike.

“It was a really tough decision to leave BE, but I feel that now is a good time for someone else to take over the reins.

“I’ve really enjoyed the job, which has been a real privilege, and would like to thank everyone in the sport, especially the staff at BE, for their commitment and support. I will always be more than happy to continue to help and advise where needed.”

BE chairman Hugh Thomas added: “Mike has done an outstanding job leading his team.

“I quite understand his desire to do more course-design while he’s still able, but we will certainly miss him a lot.”

Mike was previously event director at Blenheim, from 1990-2006 and Chatsworth from 1999-2007.

BE has said the position will be advertised “in due course”.

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Designing a World Equestrian Games (WEG) cross-country track is difficult. You have to cater to the best in the world and those stepping up a level. Also, the course needs to work in the best conditions and the worst.

Pierre Michelet is an excellent course-designer and I’m sure with hindsight he might do some things differently now. As designers, we are our own biggest critics. I watch horses, how they are travelling, how they look and their expressions — even if they finish tired, are their ears pricked or are they grateful it’s over?

Haras du Pin is a super venue, with terrain that invites imaginative design. The course was beautifully built. But footing is the single most important factor in a track and this event was a victim of the weather. The organisers spent time and money on the going, but even so it was not great.

Walking the course, I felt it was unrelenting — big, with lots of questions, on the verge of being too much. There were 18 brush fences on the direct route and riders repeatedly tackled a large jump followed by an accuracy question. It was a big ask of the horses.

I always felt the last water was a question too many and that was borne out — it wasn’t pretty. We saw good horses come to grief trying to do as they were asked.

I left with mixed feelings. I didn’t really enjoy watching, although most competitors did a cracking job and rode responsibly. But I don’t care to see good horses trying their best, yet becoming disheartened or being bottomed out.

The Brits did us proud, but of course everyone is devastated by the very sad loss of Wild Lone after such a terrific round.

➤ British Eventing chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith designed the track for the 2010 WEG in Kentucky.

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The countdown to Adelaide this weekend (14-17 November) — the final 4-star horse trials of the year — has been dramatic, with broken limbs and a heart attack affecting some of the major players.

Course-designer Wayne Copping was taken to hospital a week ago after suffering a heart attack. He has since undergone heart bypass surgery and is intent on making it to the event.

British Eventing’s chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith stepped into the breach to do some last-minute fine-tuning with the course-builders. Mike was himself Adelaide’s course-designer for several years and is the current designer at Sydney CCI3*.

Meanwhile, dual Adelaide winner Wendy Schaeffer will be unable to bid for a popular third victory after breaking her leg in 2 places in a training fall. Although she won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 just 9 weeks after breaking a leg, she will not line up this time.

And fellow Australian Megan Jones — who was on the team for London 2012 until lameness sidelined her ride Kirby Park Allofasudden — has withdrawn her horse again as he is not 100%.

Another Aussie who had been due to compete — Will Enzinger — also had his challenge thwarted when he broke his leg last week.

However, the home crowd will be able to cheer another of their riders on as the UK-based Christopher Burton — who didn’t have any horses entered — has picked up Will’s ride on TS Jamaimo, a 4-star debutant. Chris won Adelaide 5 years ago on Newsprint.

26 horses are listed — nearly double last year’s field. Riders include Sydney 2000 Olympic team gold medallist Stuart Tinney and Beijing silver medallists Sonja Johnson and Shane Rose — who will be bidding to catch the selectors’ eyes ahead of the World Equestrian Games next year.

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Top cross-country course designer Mike Etherington-Smith explains the philosophy of course design while David O’Connor discusses the exercises he would use to train for the common challenges found on a course at the 2013 International Eventing Forum (4 February).

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Yesterday’s International Eventing Forum at Hartpury sparked some interesting discussions on the way home, from which guinea pig riders we rated through to who the forum is aimed at, which horse we’d most like to take home and which trainers we thought were best.

The morning’s session was split between Ian Woodhead and Sir Mark Todd. I wonder who gives the talks their names? Ian’s was “HOW BOTH ENDS MEET Dressage — from the ‘Beginning to the Finished Product’” and Toddy’s “THE STEPS THROUGH THE LEVELS ‘The Jumping Ladder’”.

Both talks were interesting and there were plenty of useful tips (tips from Ian; tips from Sir Mark) and exercises to take away. However, I’m not sure either really matched their titles, which are pretty broad subjects to cover in an hour.

Perhaps a more fitting name for Ian’s would have been “Dressage for the event rider and horse”. One of the most popular tips I tweeted was that before a flying change, you should create the canter you would use to jump an upright gate downhill without a frangible pin. Ian also talked about how pure dressage riders are braver in the arena, because that test is their whole three-day event and their only chance.

The E-S/O’Connor show

For me, the afternoon, with course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith and new American team coach David O’Connor, was the highlight.

There were a few references to the previous night’s discussion between the two — I’d love to have been a fly on the wall (or on the wine bottle?) for that chat.

Mike is a rare specimen among four-star designers in that he did not ride to the level himself. As such, while many superb designers run on instinct, I believe he is one of the greatest “thinkers” in the industry — he watches horses endlessly and intellectualises what he sees — as well as having natural feel. His philosophy is all about “testing riders without punishing horses”.

Hearing David was fascinating because rather than seeing an isolated lesson, I felt I was learning the skeleton of a structure which could be used to train a horse or rider throughout their careers. He talked about training for cross-country and coaching philosophy.

Riders should constantly be asked if they have noticed what happened — not just told it was good or bad. They must be able to feel mistakes or positives so they can correct the bad and replicate the good.

A suggestion

I wonder if it would be worth throwing a decent amateur rider into some of these lessons alongside the professionals? They’d need to be at the top end of novice or bottom end of intermediate so they could carry out the exercises without holding up the lesson. They’d also need a thick skin to accept that they wouldn’t be as polished as the pros and be happy for this to be pointed out. But I believe plenty of people would be jump at the chance on this basis.

Although there were four-star riders and top-level coaches in the audience, this would have the advantage of providing a rider many others could relate to and a pupil more akin to those taught by the vast majority. Most trainers don’t earn their living teaching World Class riders, but amateurs of one sort or another.

It might not work. It might take too long to see any results. They might not be good enough to really demonstrate the trainer’s points. But my tuppence worth is that it would be interesting to try it.

A date for your diaries: International Eventing Forum 2014 — Monday, 3 February.

Pippa

Tips from Ian Woodhead

Tips from Sir Mark Todd

Tips and thoughts from Mike Etherington-Smith and David O’Connor

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Great Tew Horse Trials will not run in 2013 following a change of policy on the Oxfordshire estate where it is held.

The decision was made by Nicholas Johnston, the owner of the Great Tew Estate, and event organizer Charles Etherington-Smith, after eight successful years of the affiliated event.

The 2012 event (9-10 June) was cancelled due to the wet weather.

Mr Johnston said: “We have really enjoyed hosting the Great Tew Horse Trials over the past eight years.

“It has become a very popular couple of days both within the eventing calendar and for us all on the estate itself and we hope that there may be another chance to participate in the eventing season in the future.”

Mr Etherington-Smith added: “It has been great fun running the event on this lovely estate and perhaps at some stage in the future there might be an opportunity to resurrect it.

“Nicholas and his family are great supporters of the sport and are sorry to see the event go.”

British Eventing said it would look for alternative events to run in this calendar slot.

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Mark Todd (pictured) heads the line-up of speakers for the 2013 International Eventing Forum, to be held at Hartpury College, Glos, on Monday, 4 February.

The forum’s title is “Journey to the top” and the day is designed to benefit riders of all skill levels and ambitions, whether you want to win Badminton or to compete at your first BE90, Riding Club or Pony Club event.

Dressage coach Ian Woodhead and his wife Heidi, who has evented at four-star, will start the day with a presentation on “How both ends meet”, showing how to establish the essentials which will let riders produce top competition horses from the beginning to the finished product.

Double Olympic gold medallist Mark Todd will then give a showjumping-based demo called “The jumping ladder”, addressing key tools in optimising horse and rider’s final-phase performance.

In the last session, new American eventing team coach David O’Connor — back at the forum by popular demand — will team up with British Eventing chief executive and leading course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith in a “Course-designer vs coach” scenario. Mike will pose the questions and David will coach the solutions.

Tickets: £45 each if purchased by end of December 2012, £50 per ticket in advance, £55 on the door; £45 for students (in advance); £40 for groups of more than 20. Buy from www.internationaleventingforum.com or tel: 01452 702127.

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Top cross-country course designer – and chief executive of British Eventing – Mike Etherington-Smith has been lured out of temporary retirement to build the Sydney CCI3* course next year.

After creating the 2010 World Equestrian Games eventing course in Kentucky, Mike said he would take a few years off.

But the 2012 Sydney International 3 Day Event (26-29 April) has secured him as designer.

Mike won acclaim for his tracks at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2008 Beijing Games in Hong Kong.

He was also technical delegate for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and technical advisor to the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen.

Glenn Wallace, president of Sydney International Eventing, said: “We have been keen to get Mike back to Sydney for some time, so it’s great that he now has the time to come back to work with our team.”

And Equestrian Australia’s eventing director Prue Barrett, said: “For Australian riders to ride over Mike’s course prior to the Olympic Games will give them invaluable experience and ensure they are well-prepared to take on the rest of the world.”

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The British Eventing (BE) sports committee has a new chairman from this month.

Chris Hunnable, who has a long association with the sport, takes over from BE chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith.

The sports committee’s responsibilities include rules, training, performance, safety and fixtures.

“I am incredibly excited about the prospect of this role and really pleased to be invited,” said Chris. “I hope that I can achieve and give the time and effort back to a sport that I owe so much to and love so much.”

Chris trained with Richard Meade as a teenager and has been competing for the past 27 years. He has ridden in 50 international events and represented Great Britain at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

He was also was responsible for running the day to day business at Towerlands Equestrian Centre, which was established by his parents and served on the Sport Horse of Great Britain board for four years.

“This is an exceptionally important committee at the very heart of the sport and I am delighted that Chris is taking on the role of chairman,” said Mike Etherington-Smith.

“His experience in eventing as a rider and an organiser combined with his business background gives him a superb insight in to the issues that the sport committee has to consider.”

The move will also allow Mike to concentrate on developing the direction of British Eventing as well as realigning the structures and operating procedures that started in 2009.

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Read all Mike Etherington-Smith news

Mike Etherington-Smith has been British Eventing chief executive since November 2008, having previously been sport director since May 2007. He took on this new role after chief executive Peter Durrant was made redundant.

He is best known as a cross-country course-designer, and has been responsible for the tracks at two Olympic Games, Sydney 2000 and Hong Kong 2008.

He is in charge of the course for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in 2010, and currently designs the four-star track at Kentucky, as well as the World Cup qualifier at Chatsworth.

He was designer and director of Blenheim Horse Trials for many years, including when the event hosted the 2005 European Championships.

Mike is married to Sue, and lives in Oxfordshire.

SERIOUS questions have been raised over the way the British Eventing (BE) board is conducting business and spending members’ money.

The debate opened last week when BE announced business director Terry Bailey had “decided not to return to work following a major operation”.

At the same time, the BE board reported the promotion of its former director of sport, Mike Etherington-Smith, to chief executive — 18 months after it made the role and last occupant Peter Durrant — redundant.

Plans for BE to move its headquarters into another building at Stoneleigh, away from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF), have also been a focus for concern.

H&H spoke to a number of individuals who expressed worries at the turn of events and what they perceived to be unnecessary spending.

While many declined to be named, former chief executive Peter Durrant said he now had “absolutely no confidence” in the current board.

Mr Durrant said the decision to make the role of chief executive redundant had coincided with him “enforcing board procedures that were part of my remit as chief executive and board director”.

Aside from concerns that a move was “unnecessary spending in the present economic climate”, he believes BE’s plans to move away from the BEF are “worrying”.

He said: “My personal belief is that not sticking with the BEF is part of a wish to be independent.”

BE president Jane Holderness-Roddam also expressed concern to H&H about the board’s recent financial decisions.

“We’re all concerned about the global financial situation and hope BE will respect members’ interests for caution at this difficult time,” she said.

Chairman Alexandra Fox had previously told H&H the move was necessary because there was not enough room at BE’s current headquarters.

“We are growing — we had a seven per cent increase in membership last year — and we need more room. Our filing is in a portable building and we don’t have a meeting room,” she said. “But we’ve negotiated a very reasonable price and hope to move when refurbishment is finished on the building, which we are not paying for.”

She refused to respond to rumours that Mr Bailey had, in fact, been dismissed by the board.

And when she was asked why a chief executive had been appointed so soon after the role had been deemed “unnecessary” by the board, she said she needed to speak to lawyers and hung up.

Read this story in full, including comments from Mike Etherington-Smith and BEF chief executive Andrew Finding, in the current issue of Horse & Hound (20 Nov, ’08)

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MIKE ETHERINGTON-SMITH has taken over as chief executive of British Eventing (BE).

BE announced yesterday (Monday 10 November) that the immediate promotion of Mr Etherington-Smith from BE sport director comes after the early retirement of BE’s business director Terry Bailey following an operation. The board said it would be advertising for a finance controller and sport director.

The BE board made its last chief executive, Peter Durrant, redundant in April 2007 — much to the surprise of the sport.

At the time, chairman Alexandra Fox told H&H: “the board decided the chief executive’s role was no longer needed — it has become too big, we now need a sports director”.

But at its AGM two weeks ago BE admitted its current articles of association required the appointment of a chief executive.

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The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has moved swiftly in Hong Kong to explain why a fence was altered at the last minute before last Monday’s Olympic cross-country and the decision to shorten the course to 8 minutes.

Course-designer Mike Etherington-Smith was angered by the decision to make the change to the course, which had not been requested by the ground jury or team managers, saying it undermined the role of the officials.

And the short optimum time for the course, 8 minutes, was criticised by teams because they didn’t know about it until they arrived in Hong Kong (see Mark Phillips, August 15).

Chris Hodson, vice-president of the FEI, said of the discussion to change fence 18, the Stone Garden: “There were boulders in the centre to direct rider to the right or left-hand side of the fence.

“One looked close to where riders might land, and the decision was taken with the course-designer to change the boulders to fir trees.

“We all accept that this was not the proper procedure, but the right people were not there [the technical delegates and ground jury] and time was running out. It has been a lesson to us about timing and communication, but I would like to think it is not a major issue.”

Princess Haya said: “This [announcement] is not a knee-jerk reaction; it is part of a transparent FEI that I was elected to deliver. The executive board wants to join me in clearing up any misunderstandings.

“I think everyone feels the eventing went wonderfully, but there are obvious issues that we need to sort out. We don’t think we’ve done things perfectly. I feel that it was unfortunate, but I don’t think safety can be part of politics and we made the right decision at the time.”

The technical delegate, Guiseppe della Chiesa, said: “I would say that an Olympics is always a bit different, but we do try to keep procedures as in a normal competition, and this situation was not normal.

“My first reaction to the requested fence change was surprise, but I found out that there were good reasons for it.”

An analysis of the circumstances surrounding the shortened course will be in Horse & Hound next week.

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Cross-country course designer Mike Etherington-Smith has hit out at FEI “interference” after being forced to comply with a request from FEI president Princess Haya to make a last-minute fence change to the Olympic course.

Neither officials nor team managers had asked for any alterations to the course, but he claims the president was asked to make the request by another person.

Admitting to being “furious”, he said: “It’s not for her to intervene, although I know she was put up to it. This sort of thing just undermines officials.”

During a drive with FEI committee members around the course on the afternoon before cross-country, the Princess requested decorative boulders be removed from under the Stone Garden at Fence 18 in case a horse was injured.

Mike’s wife, Sue, had to rush off to a local nursery and conjure up 14 fir trees instead.

Mike, who will design the cross-country at the 2010 World Games, said that the whole issue, which flew across websites all over the world, had been over-dramatised.

“We need to move forward from this,” he said. “Through British Eventing [where he is director of sport], I will, of course, continue to make our research on cross-country safety available to the FEI and to help in any way I can.”

Stay in touch with all the news from Hong Kong on Horseandhound.co.uk and in H&H’s special Olympic eventing issue, on sale FRIDAY 15 August, ’08

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Tickets are on sale for the Nissan Chatsworth International Horse Trials.

Chatsworth (10-11 May) is the second of only two British qualifiers in the 2008 FEI World Cup series (the other being Burnham Market) and will count towards a final, which will be held at the end of this season.

The World Cup qualifier course will be in the hands of Olympic designer Mike Etherington-Smith, while the other courses will be designed by former five-time Olympian Ian Stark.

For discounted advance tickets, visit www.chatsworth.org

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Mike Etherington-Smith will give up most of his cross- country course-designing duties after the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky, where he will design the course.

“One should never say never again, but I don’t see myself flying around the world designing courses after WEG,” said Mike, who is designer for this year’s Olympics in Hong Kong.

“There have to be opportunities for up-and-coming designers, and if there is one less of the likes of me maybe opportunities could present themselves.”

He added that designing for Chatsworth would still be “part of my plans”.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (31 January, ’08)

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Mike Etherington-Smith (pictured) will be the cross-country course designer for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at Kentucky.

Mike designed the course for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and is responsible for the track at next year’s Olympics in Hong Kong, but this will be his first time designing a world championship course.

“The Kentucky Horse Park is one of the best settings in the world for such a competition and to have the opportunity to design a world championship course is very exciting and a real privilege,” said Mike.

Mike, who holds the post of sport director at British Eventing, has been designer at Kentucky since 1992. The event has had four-star status since 1998 and normally runs the week before Badminton each year in May.

www.feigames2010.org

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British Eventing (BE) will cancel events that fail to come up to standard in the future, sport director Mike Etherington-Smith said at a seminar before the Event Horse Owners’ Association (EHOA) AGM in London last Wednesday (4 July, ’07).

“We’re going to be more ruthless with events that don’t match up,” he said. “A few will drop off the bottom and I bet then some others will sharpen up their acts.”

Mr Etherington-Smith added that BE is putting pressure on organisers to think about how they manage their ground.

“The problem is that you can put a huge amount of money into ground and it’s never visible, and can — if the weather turns against you — be wasted in the short term.”

BE is also channeling its energy into a television and sports marketing strategy.

“Selling the sport is not as easy as it sounds because BE doesn’t own the events,” explained BE business committee chairman Chris Gillespie.

In order to give BE control of media rights, Mr Etherington-Smith said organisers will have to accept tighter affiliation agreements next year.

In addition, Mr Gillespie said the agreement between BE and Badminton would be formalised.

Badminton and Burghley together put £500,000 into BE’s coffers. But while Burghley is a joint venture between the estate and BE — guaranteeing the income if the event runs successfully — Badminton’s contribution is not guaranteed, something BE chairman Alex Fox is working to change.

“Beyond the levy every event pays, we have no right to demand anything from Badminton,” said Mr Gillespie. “There is a lot of goodwill there, but we are trying to formalise the arrangement.”

Mr Etherington-Smith gave an overview of his priorities, putting “growing the sport in a manageable and achievable way” top.

“The sport has slightly plateaued here. It’s healthy enough, but there’s no room for complacency,” he said.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (12 July, ’07)

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Blenheim International Horse Trials has a new director following Mike Etherington-Smith’s promotion to sports director at British Eventing.

Andy Griffiths, who has been Mr Etherington-Smith’s assistant director since the inaugural running of Blenheim 17 years ago, is a former international event rider who now sits on the eventing committee of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). He owns insurance company Equestrian Direct.

Mr Griffiths, who has lived near to Blenheim for most of his life, said he was looking forward to the challenge.

“I have a special affection for Blenheim and am really looking forward to being more fully involved,” he said. “These are exciting times for Blenheim, which is the third biggest horse trials in Britain, and hugely popular with riders and the public alike.”

Mr Griffiths has been contracted to run this year’s trials (September 6-9), but is hoping to stay on for future years.

www.blenheim-horse.co.uk

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Mike Etherington-Smith has been appointing director of sport at British Eventing. The role is a new one, announced earlier this year when the position of chief executive was made redundant (news, 5 April).

“I will be based at Stoneleigh, looking after the day to day running of the sport with Terry Bailey managing the business side,” said Mike. “There are many areas to look at — expansion, safety, development, marketing strategies to name just a few. It’s very exciting and there are a lot of challenges ahead.”

Mike steps down as director of Blenheim Horse Trials, which he has run since 1990, but will continue to design Chatsworth. He designed the cross-country course for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is designing at Hong Kong next year for the Beijing Olympics. He will continue to design Rolex Kentucky.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (24 May, ’07)

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There are no academic qualifications needed to qualify as a cross-country course-designer.

Top designer Mike Etherington-Smith says: “I got into it by accident. I was too fat and old to ride. The British Horse Trials Association [now British Eventing] approached me to become a technical adviser while I was still competing, and this led to designing cross-country tracks.”

Mike has gone on to design hundreds of courses, including the Sydney Olympics,Rolex-Kentucky and the Adelaide CCI****.

Another who started via the technical adviser (TA) route is Eric Winter, who officiates at 11 events.

“It is useful being a TA, as you see so many horses jumping different types of obstacle. This gives a good insight into the design of jumps,” he says. “My first approach to becoming a designer was to ask Mike Etherington-Smith his advice. He let me shadow him for a year, starting with intro and pre-novice courses. His help was invaluable and I still consult him now.”

Both Mike and Eric evented at four-star level, and they insist this provides them with the insight required to create challenging yet safe courses.

“It’s not having ridden good horses that helps but having ridden lots of different horses, including some who really weren’t very talented,” says Mike. “Course-designing is knowing about how horses move and cover the ground.”

Eric adds: “You have to know what a horse can and can’t do. I also had to consider what you can build. The construction side was a hefty thing to learn. You are also constricted by budget, so I had to discover the costs of building a fence or adding a ditch. Most courses are usually developed along a three- or four-year plan. You also need to be good with people, as you work closely with the event organiser.”

British Eventing is keen to encourage budding designers. It is currently working with Hartpury College to develop an Academy of Course-Design, of which Mike Etherington-Smith is a director. It is also developing a mentoring programme, where new designers can learn from their more established counterparts.

Both Mike and Eric are passionate about their job. “You won’t get rich, but I have a good quality of life. I’ve met fantastic people and, although the travelling can be a pain, I’ve seen some great places,” says Mike.

Eric adds: “I love designing — apart from riding, it’s the most exciting thing I do. Five minutes before the start of cross-country my heart starts beating, but I relax once the first dozen horses have gone round. It’s quite an adrenalin rush.”

• This careers focus was first published on Horse & Hound’s young rider pages (18 January, ’07)

Eric Winter, 43, will be responsible for designing the cross-country course at Blenheim Horse Trials this year (6-9 September).

For the last 17 years Olympic course designer Mike Etherington-Smith has commandeered the design of the Blenheim track, with Winter acting as his assistant since 2004. The 2007 Blenheim course will be Winter’s first international three star project although he presently designs 11 courses on the national circuit.

Having competed at both Badminton and Burghley, Winter is familiar with top level cross-country courses from a rider’s as well as a designer’s perspective and is delighted to have been assigned the brief.

“This appointment has come as a nice surprise. It’s a great thrill to have the opportunity to design at an event of this status,” said Winter. “Blenheim has a strong tradition of fair but testing courses which ride well, so I will be starting off quietly but there will be some changes of my own.”

Meanwhile Mike Etherington-Smith will continue in his role of event director, which he combines with international course-designing and the chairing of British Eventing’s new Sports Committee.

“I have decided that it’s time to see new blood at Blenheim. It’s always refreshing to see what someone else can do on a familiar site and, with all my commitments, I felt the time was right to hand over,” he explained. “Eric has made many useful suggestions during his time as my assistant, and he has a great feel for course-designing. I look forward to seeing what he does.”

As well as working at Blenheim, Winter also designs courses for international classes at Somerley Park and Chepstow, and has been a member of the committee at Chepstow three-day event for 15 years. With his wife, Lizzie, he runs the Severn Vale Equestrian Centre.

Tickets to Blenheim, and information on the event, are available already via online bookings at: www.blenheim-horse.co.uk. The Box Office will be open for postal and telephone bookings from 1 May.

STOP PRESS: 22 January, ’07

Eric Winter has taken over the role of cross-country course designer at Longleat Horse Trials from Sue Benson. Benson has stepped down from Longleat due to her commitments at Bramham and the Pan American Games.

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