It wasn’t the Brits’ day at the Agria Blenheim European Championships, with four British rider cross-country falls and the team being eliminated.

Britain have won team gold at the past two Olympics and were bidding for a hat-trick of European golds. However, this week reminded us of the unpredictability of sport and that even brilliant horses are not machines. Just as at the Pratoni World Championships in 2022, the Brits came in as favourites and will emerge without a team medal.

Following the cross-country phase (Saturday, 20 September), Britain’s eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood reflected on the performance of the squad, which was running in partnership with Agria.

“Today is not the day we were hoping for, but the most important thing is that all riders and horses are back in camp and none the worse for wear,” he said.

“Good sport is never knowing the outcome until the final competitor has crossed the finish line. Sometimes, the smallest things can completely rewrite the leaderboard and that’s what makes eventing so exciting.

“The British team have had a fantastic run of success in recent years, but sport goes in cycles and the bubble has to burst at some point. For that to happen at a championship on home soil is unfortunate – our riders are gutted for themselves, their horses and their connections, but also for the British public, who have turned out in their thousands to support us and now won’t see us in a position to defend our team title.”

British falls at Blenheim European Championships will give riders “even greater drive to succeed”

Dickie paid tribute to team riders Yasmin Ingham and Piggy March, as well as individuals Caroline Harris and Bubby Upton, who were the fallers.

“Yaz, Caroline, Piggy and Bubby all came out today and gave it 100%, but it just wasn’t their day. However, the sign of a true sportsperson is being able to turn disappointment into a strength and I know that they’ll come back from this stronger and with an even greater drive to succeed as we campaign towards the FEI World Championships next year and LA 2028.”

And of course, Britain still has a great chance of winning individual medals, with Laura Collett currently in the gold position, and Tom McEwen in bronze.

“Tomorrow is another day and we’ll now turn our focus to cheering on Tom and Laura as they campaign for a spot on the individual podium,” added Dickie.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from the Blenheim Europeans, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:

Four British falls, shades of 2005 and a leaderboard in turmoil: everything you need to know about Blenheim Europeans cross-country day

Tough start for Britain at Blenheim eventing Europeans after pathfinder rider falls on cross-country

‘I have no doubt he’d have eaten up the rest of the track’: Bubby Upton reflects on fall at Blenheim European Championships

How to watch the European Eventing Championships at Blenheim live, wherever you are

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to pick up some training gems from Dickie Waygood and Laura Collett? The pair, plus grassroots event rider and influencer Megan Elphick, joined up for The LeMieux Grassroots to Glory Masterclass on Friday, 20 December at the London International Horse Show.

H&H was on hand to bring you all the training and coaching wisdom from the session…

1. If the coach doesn’t know the riders and horses, the session should start with riders introducing themselves and their mounts.

Laura rides Cooley Iceage, a six-year-old who she cautiously admits she hopes will be her next big star.

“I’ve had him about a year now and he was very green when I got him, but he’s been competing at novice and two-star this season,” says the double Olympic team gold medallist and Paris individual bronze medallist. “He’s a horse I think an awful lot of, but he is very inexperienced and has never been in this kind of environment, so this is a very good education for him.”

Megan’s mount is her home-bred Winnie, another six-year-old who she has competed at BE80.

“I’ve taken my time with her and she had an injury this year so had the summer off, hence feeling excited to be at a party,” says Megan. “She is a very honest horse, but I have never done anything like this with her before.”

2. At elite level, coaching is very much a partnership.

British eventing performance manager Dickie says: “People ask, ‘Do I coach Laura?’ but it goes way beyond that. When I work with Laura it’s working together as a partnership because with her feel she can give me as much information on what she needs to work on as I can see with my eyes. I wouldn’t call it coaching in a true sense as at an elite level, it’s those small details you’re looking for – and getting the basics right.”

3. A jumping session starts with flatwork.

Dickie Waygood encourages Laura Collett and Megan Elphick to start the training session by testing the accelerator and the brakes on the flat, saying: “I like to see lots of transitions within the pace. Use the weight aid and maybe voice to slow down and then move on a little bit – Laura comes out of the saddle with a light seat, but she’s still in the middle of the horse. When she collects, the weight aid means using upper body posture to help the horse wait.

“In any discipline, it’s hugely important you sit in balance, then the horse can use you as a stabiliser to balance on.”

Dickie emphasises that if a rider puts one foot down two inches, they may think they are only transferring 15% of their weight, but in fact it’s more like 100%, so a small movement can be influential for the horse.

4. Don’t let the canter expand towards a jump, especially a skinny.

The pair start by jumping small fences down a line – “it doesn’t matter how many strides, I want them to keep the canter the same before fences” – before moving on to skinny fences.

“Try not to expand the canter on the way to a fence – if you expand before a skinny, you run the risk of running out,” says Dickie.

5. Look to the later fence in a line.

Once Laura sees her distance to the first fence in a line, she raises her eyes to look at the second fence.

“The moment she has seen her distance, she doesn’t need to look back at the first fence, she can see it in her peripheral vision. She’s then looking at the second fence,” says Dickie.

6. Straightness is vital.

Dickie stresses that horses need to be on railway tracks with the back legs following the front legs, saying: “You cannot do a press up with hands out to the side. When the horse’s shoulders are bulging out round the corner and he’s not straight he can’t shorten and lengthen correctly so he loses options and the shape and balance of bascule. When we come to skinnies we must have straight horses.”

Tips include not collapsing the rider’s body to one side, using a leg yield to counteract falling out and using “working pirouettes” to teach the horse to turn off the outside leg and outside leg.

7. Don’t try to catch horses out. 

Make exercises progressive. Show horses the fences first if necessary. Alter the question if needed. Ask the riders what their horses are ready for.

“Don’t teach them to run-out – that’s always a worry with skinnies,” says Dickie, while Laura suggests an alteration to a set-up during the session, an example of how the pair work in partnership.

Dickie adds: “The next part is to practise this on the side of a hill with cross-country fences, then you take it to a competition.”

8. Leg before hand when making a correction, every time. 

“Don’t land and go to the inside rein to turn – it’s common sense in time of crisis, but think of the pirouette and control the outside shoulder,” says Dickie.

Both horses perform very well during the training session with Dickie Waygood and Laura Collett – Megan youngster’s tackles some never-seen-before questions with no drama and learnt a lot, while Laura says of Cooley Iceage: “He has a great brain, he’s very honest, he fundamentally wants to do the job. I loved him before and I love him even more now.”

Dickie adds: “This is a horse to watch for the future – watch out for this horse and watch out for Laura.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows, for training tips and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:

Horses’ instincts, saddles and cooling down: 13 training tips from Ingrid Klimke

Fitness, polework and details: six training tips from double Olympic medallist Tom McEwen

12 training principles from Olympic medallist and former European champion Tina Cook

‘London 52 wanted it as much as I did’: Laura Collett relives her Olympic medal-winning performance at Paris 2024

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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 has been a week of highs and lows for Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo at the Paris Olympics. They contributed to Great Britain’s marvellous team gold, but it would be fair to say that things haven’t entirely gone their way.

Ros and the 12-year-old gelding know as “Walter”, owned by Archie and Michele Saul, started their 2024 Olympic eventing campaign with a 23.4 dressage, which left them in sixth individually.

They followed this up with a wonderful cross-country round, seemingly jumping clear and stopping the clock seven seconds inside the optimum time. However, Ros was awarded 15 penalties for a missed flag at fence 21d, a decision that was finally upheld by officials some six-and-a-half hours after the cross-country concluded.

“[The appeal process] yesterday carried on for a lot longer than it should,” stated Ros after her first round of showjumping today (29 July). “It would have been lovely to have had a bit of time to celebrate and enjoy what happened yesterday, and so far I haven’t been able to do that. It’s left a little bit of a bitter taste.

“I feel unbelievably sorry for Lordships Graffalo’s owners, who have been such phenomenal supporters of mine. They found the whole thing quite a hard pill to swallow, but we know we’ve got the best cross-country horse in the world and we think he gave everybody an absolutely stellar performance yesterday. I hope everyone enjoyed watching him as much as I had the pleasure of riding him.

“The support I had yesterday evening – everybody’s been so kind,” said Ros, referring to her teammates. “We’re competitive, but we’re also great friends and whatever happens, I know we’ll hold our heads high and be very proud of each other.

“I just think he [Walter] should be celebrated. Luck wasn’t on our side yesterday with the decision making, so we had to move on and I really concentrated on getting the job done for the team today.”

British Equestrian’s technical director and eventing performance manager Richard (Dickie) Waygood said the entire British camp were “broadsided” by the 15 penalties allocated to Ros.

“We were absolutely over the moon with Ros and we had no idea about the 15 penalties,” explained Dickie. “It is no secret that we pushed it, we appealed it, we went as far as we could with it. But unfortunately it’s a field of play decision and the ground jury weren’t budging and they wouldn’t budge with anyone else’s penalties.”

Outside of eventing, the FEI’s general regulations allow the use of any broadcast footage from a broadcaster that is employed by an event’s organising committee to be used as evidence. At the 2024 Paris Games, OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) footage is available because they’re employed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cover the Games.

But eventing-specific rules for Olympics say: “Only official video recording can be used as evidence. Officials will clarify before the start of cross-country and inform chefs d’equipe/riders at a meeting/briefing which video recording will represent the official view, to avoid any misunderstanding.”

Dickie said that it was confirmed in advance of the cross-country in Versailles that the static cameras the organisers had in place would be used.

“There was no flex,” said Dickie. “That’s why it was so frustrating because if they saw the OBS footage, which belongs to the OC [organising committee], firstly the side-on view, they’d have seen that the girth – this is my opinion so I’m going to be biased – had travelled past the points of the flags before the flag came down. Then obviously everyone’s seen the head-on footage. You’ve also got to bear in mind the design of the fence with the flags not set at the back of it. And also you could argue whether their camera was in the correct position.”

Dickie said that the British team “left no stone unturned”.

“We got really good legal advice, but at the end of the day, unfortunately, when it’s a field-of-play decision, you can appeal it, you can ask for a review, you can go as far as you can, but this is what we’ve got to live with.”

Speaking of the future of these decisions, Dickie said: “While we’ve got subjective decisions, this is always going to happen, so we have to live with it.

“It was then a case of right, that’s behind us and my next concern was that the team didn’t walk around with their chins on the floor. If we were told three weeks ago, we would go into the final day five marks in front with a pole in hand, we would have taken that and be quite happy, so that’s the way we sort of spun it the other way. And we were still lying in gold medal position and we basically had to fight for every bit of it and that’s exactly what they did today. I thought those last three rounds from our riders were absolutely stunning.”

Ros and Walter ultimately finished 21st. If you were to play a game of “what if”, the 15 penalties didn’t prevent Ros from winning an individual medal, but it did cost her fifth place.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout the Olympic Games, Royal International Horse Show and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You might also be interested in:

Change in tactics pays off for Ros Canter in final jumping round of Olympics eventing

‘You can never dream too big’: Great Britain secures record-breaking eventing team gold at the Paris Olympics

‘I didn’t think I’d done anything but go clear’: Ros Canter penalties under review after Paris Olympics cross-country

How to watch all the equestrian sports at the Paris Olympics live from around the world

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Top British riders and representatives of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment have thrown their weight behind the “biggest suicide awareness and prevention initiative the UK has ever seen”.

Oliver Townend, Mollie Summerland and Lewis Carrier, along with British Equestrian (BEF) eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood, joined mounted soldiers to carry the Baton of Hope on its last leg.

The unique baton has travelled the UK since 25 June as a “unifying symbol” aimed at reducing any stigma related to mental health issues, encourage conversation and “help people get better at asking questions”. Yesterday (6 July), it arrived in London, and the riders formed a guard of honour along Constitution Hill, The Mall and Horse Guards Parade.

Riders Minds partnered with the Baton of Hope; the equestrian mental health charity’s founder Victoria Wright said it was something “we knew we had to get involved with”.

“The mission of the baton is to bring about change in how we approach the subject of suicide, how we talk about it and how we support those affected by it,” she said.

“It is an honour to have a mounted section of the tour, in which the baton was carried on horseback from Hyde Park into Horse Guards Parade thanks to help of Richard Waygood. This is an important moment for the equestrian industry and we’re proud that Riders Minds and British Equestrian are able to work together to deliver a very important message.”

Oliver, who rode with his Tokyo Olympic team gold medal on, said it was a “huge privilege to be part of this important occasion”. Mollie, who has shared her own mental health journey openly on social media to help others, added: “It’s really important we’re here today, and to be able to talk about a topic that needs to be raised, have more awareness of and be spoken about more. To be able to ride through the streets of London and play a small part in helping suicide prevention – I hope it shows that even in the darkest times, there is hope and they are not alone.”

The baton, and the message it represents, was delivered to the Houses of Parliament that evening.

You might also be interested in:

‘This is my purpose now’: mum of young rider who took her own life to walk 170 miles towing resin horse

‘Like death with a heartbeat’: eventer who came back from the brink speaks out on mental illness

I’ve spent so much of my life just battling to stay alive, just being ok with life is enough. But

Why riders can be susceptible to mental health problems — and how to take action

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

You can use the scales of training to self coach and improve your own riding, say two of Britain’s top eventing coaches.

British eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood and coach Chris Bartle talked about this and the importance of the basics in every day training in a webinar published by the Lucinda Green XC Academy, hosted by six-time Badminton Horse Trials winner Lucinda Green.

Dickie spoke about how he encourages riders to incorporate the scales of training – rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, straightness and collection – into their own progress and how you can use them to improve your riding.

“When people come to me and don’t know the scales, I ask them to print three copies and laminate them – one for in their horse box, one for their tack room and one for their bedside locker,” he said.

“You can look at the sales of training just before you ride, or when you’re in the horsebox on the way to a show or before going to bed. You can look through your scales and give yourself a mark for where you are – I got a six today for straightness, so in my training tomorrow, how am I going to make that a 6.5 or a seven? Where am I for rhythm? It keeps fluctating, I’m on a five – so how can I get that to a six?

“So you can use the scales to self coach – it’s a really easy way of using the scales of training, using the basics.”

Lucinda asked what the equivalent was of the scales of training for cross-country performance.

Chris said: “Frankly I think it’s an important point that the word dressage comes from a French word meaning training. The training we want to make our horses effective on the cross-country – to go clear inside the time – that training is very much connecting the three phases. The dressage training that we want to see, the dressage performance we want to see in the arena, is one that’s going to lend itself to that effective cross-country riding and then of course showjumping.

“I keep emphasising that in my cross-country training as much as in the dressage arena, that starting point of the scales of training.”

Dickie added – and Chris agreed – that he would slightly change the order of the scales for event horses: “It’s part of a jigsaw, but for me with an event horse, straightness comes before impulsion in the scales of training because of the nature of what we’re doing with our horses – the back legs following the front legs, even on a circle. That way we know the horse stays on railway tracks and biomechanically can shorten or lengthen.

“We know the horse’s job is to avoid a skinny fence and if they go out through the shoulder, they lose the ability to shorten or lengthen. You see many brave horses glance off fences across country, because their biomechanics will not let them shorten or lengthen when they’re out through their shoulder and not straight.”

Three rules for cross-country

Dickie also spoke about his three rules for cross-country and again how as a competitor, you can use these to improve your riding.

“The rules all have sub paragraphs, but firstly the rider must sit in balance, secondly the rider must put the horse in the correct way of going for the question in hand, and thirdly the rider must provide the line,” he said.

“I hear Chris saying to riders, ‘Which rule did you break?’ So again you can self coach and if you stick to those rules the outcome looks after itself. It’s a simplistic way of looking at it, but it seems to work.”

Dickie also spoke about the fact that the best athletes are not necessarily those with the best technical skills, but those who have the attitude and temperament to follow the system at events.

“You only need enough technical skills to get the job done – if the fence is 3ft high, the horse only needs to clear it by 3ft and half an inch,” he said, mentioning the example of Michael Jung at the Rio Olympics, who did not have a stellar score in any part of his dressage test with La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, but delivered consistency.

“The horse only had so much in his trot, so much in his canter, so much in his walk, but he delivered and just had enough technical skills. But most importantly, both horse and rider had the character to deliver on the field of play under pressure.

“So we go back to you need enough technical skills to get the job done, but that attitude and character is absolutely essential to deliver on any given day of 365 days of the year.”

Dickie added: “If you have a bad day in the office, if you stuck to the system and stuck to the rules and it doesn’t come off that day, you can look yourself in the eye, but if you come away from a competition and you broke the rules, you’ve not stuck to the system, it’s hard to look yourself in the eye. That can take a long time for an athlete to get over, that under pressure they haven’t stuck to the system.”

You might also be interested in:

The scales of training explained for horse riders of all levels

Two jumping exercises to help dressage horses with the winter blues: Dickie Waygood and Laura Collett demo at London

How to retrain a strong horse so you can slow down and stop in a snaffle

10 things successful riders don’t do and you should avoid too

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Dickie Waygood offered some jumping exercises “you can do with dressage horses to beat the winter blues” at the London Horse Show today, with Olympic gold medal-winning eventer Laura Collett as demo rider on the eight-year-old Outback.

The session started with cantering over a fan of three poles, with the horse bouncing in between the poles without taking a stride. The middle pole was then raised to be a small jump.

“This is a great exercise for suppleness, strength and conditioning work for horses, and helps get the horse and rider’s eye in,” said Dickie.

“There’s something here for everyone – the inside line demands a slightly more collected canter, the outside line a bigger canter. The rider’s work is done at the preparation point [a few strides before the poles].”

Dickie said riders needs to ask themselves three simple questions when riding such exercises:

• Am I in balance?
• Do I have the correct way of going for the question in hand?
• Am I providing the right line?

“All these questions have sub-paragraphs – for example, sitting in balance includes having your weight through the heel, contact with the leg, contact with the rein,” he said.

Dickie also encouraged Laura to look where she was going and to see the poles in her peripheral vision as she was going over them.

“Then you can concentrate on riding the racing line,” he said. “If you drop your head on the approach to a fence, you’ve suddenly put 100% of your weight over the front end of the horse.”

The trio then moved on to work over four small fences which were arranged so they could be jumped on a circle. Initially Laura put Outback over each one and then turned to make a circle outwards before approaching the next jump.

“The circles improve rideability – you can make them 10m, 8m, 15m,” said Dickie. “This is a great exercise to keep horses fresh.”

Laura then moved on to jump the two fences on opposite sides of the circle consecutively and finally jumped right round over all four fences with two strides between each jump.

“Don’t be obsessed with distances – sit in balance, have the correct line, the correct canter,” said Dickie. “You can play with the exercise – if your arena is only 20m wide, you can close the fences right in. It’s a fun exercise for horses and works their power muscles.”

Laura Collett commented that this exercise demonstrated at the London Horse Show highlighted that Outback is more supple and rideable on one rein than the other and on his worse rein she had to be aware that he didn’t fall in or bulge out.

Finally, Dickie asked Laura to ride down the centre line, through two pairs of poles on the floor with a block to jump between each pair – the only exercise demonstrated which he said he wouldn’t necessarily suggest for dressage horses.

He explained: “It’s the horse’s job to avoid the fence and the back legs need to follow the front legs. If the back legs don’t follow the front legs [and the horse’s shoulder wavers], the horse loses the ability to lengthen and shorten, so the only way to avoid a fence is to glance past it, but if the back legs follow the front, the horse has the ability to shuffle or put in a short one, but stay straight on railway tracks.”

You might also be interested in:

The perfect (human) body for dressage, camels and more: eight insights from Carl Hester

‘He gives me an incredible feeling’: Lottie Fry and Glamourdale punch in big score to win London grand prix

How to watch London International Horse Show: TV guide, live streaming, free BBC coverage

‘His mane comes down to his knees’: meet the flying Friesian who caught everyone’s eye at London International Horse Show

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Keep up to date with all of the action from London International, including breaking news and behind the scenes insight from each day of the show, with no limit on how much you can read, from as little as £1 per week with a Horse & Hound unlimited website subscription. Join now

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

“I’m living, I’m fighting and I’m going to get there”, were Nicola Wilson’s words in a moving speech at the British Eventing Support Trust (BEST) ball – as the charity raised £194,000 to help more riders.

On Saturday (10 December) the eventing community came together at the first BEST fundraiser, at the Savoy Hotel, London. The charity was launched in September 2021 to provide financial and practical support for riders who are dealing with physical injuries or mental health issues, as well as promoting eventing safety through new research projects.

A total of £194,000 was raised on the night, from ticket sales, a silent auction, a raffle and pledges. Among the auction lots and raffle prizes were an overnight stay and training with Piggy March, lessons from top riders including Tom McEwen, Tom Jackson and Laura Collett, theatre and sports tickets, an overnight stay at the Savoy, and a Bates saddle. An award was also presented, a BE honorary life membership, to Di Brunsden for leading the BE IT strategic review task force.

British Eventing team manager Dickie Waygood took to the stage and led a standing ovation for Nicola Wilson’s husband Alastair, then introduced Nicola in a heartfelt speech paying tribute to her journey since her fall at Badminton in May, and her “resilient” character.

“I am absolutely sure, as everybody in this room would be, sometimes that inner chimp would be there saying to Nic ‘You’re not tough enough to ride this storm’, but I can tell you now, Nicola looks back at that inner chimp and says ‘I am the storm’,” he said.

Nicola discussed her journey since her fall, and thanked BEST for all its support, including funding her physio sessions.

“Without the help of this charity I really do not know what we would have done. When I had the fall I was instantly paralysed from my neck down which stopped me breathing. I was aware when I was lying on the floor that there was somebody next to me, but obviously I ran out of oxygen quite quickly, and that was it, lights out for me,” she said.

“You have to forgive me if I sound a bit emotional, it is still a bit raw really at the moment on my journey but I want to thank the whole eventing family, my whole team at home, my fabulous Alastair, and my family, and everybody in this room. Your lovely messages of support and cards and letters really have made me so much stronger than I perhaps thought I could be.

“It’s really fantastic to be able to stand here this evening and to walk. Again I’m getting emotional because I know how bloody lucky I am to actually be walking when a lot of people in the hospital weren’t, and didn’t show signs of walking.”

Nicola spoke about the challenges she has faced in learning how to do “most basic life things”, like brushing her teeth and feeding herself. But the speech was not without humour; she described her hydro physio sessions “swimming club”, where Alastair takes her to “flail around in the water”.

“Joking apart, it’s absolutely terrifying being in hospital. When you’re at the most vulnerable and you’re trying to organise your rehab when you leave. But the reassurance that the BEST foundation has given myself and my family is unbelievable. They really are like fairies,” she said.

Nicola also thanked the World Class programme for the support given to her and Alastair, and her yard staff.

“Whether it was a shoulder to cry on or to offer emotional support, and for helping us carve out our next lives in the future. All I wanted was quality of life and to be able to live life as much as possible and earn a living. I’m going to be able to do this,” she said.

“Yes, life is difficult for Alastair and me, and I’m living it in a body which is very weird, but I’m living, and I’m fighting and I’m going to get somewhere, and I’m thrilled to be able to walk. I feel incredibly lucky, there are many people worse off than me. And this charity going forward, with other athletes in mind who are struggling with mental illness or physical injuries, is amazing. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Dickie told H&H the atmosphere on the night was “fantastic”.

“Nic’s been an inspiration to everybody; from where she’s come from to where she is now is absolutely fantastic. She’s taken people on that journey, and it’s really raised awareness for BEST. She’s been an absolute champion,” he said.

“The charity is a fantastic initiative. We have to accept that eventing is a high-risk sport and a charity like BEST will look after athletes in different ways. It might be with physical injuries or recovery, or mental health, so it’s only a good thing. The sky’s the limit with the type of support it can offer, so I think everyone should really get behind it.”

BEST trustee Lexi Hambro, who organised the ball with the help of a committee, told H&H the night was “emotional”.

“Seeing how the rehab is helping Nicola, and all the other people we’re helping, I said even if we get £10,000 it’s going to go a long way. So when everyone started bidding and the auction kept going up and up, it was incredible. The next day when I did the figures I had to get my husband to check them as I thought I got something wrong, I just couldn’t believe the total raised – I’m gobsmacked,” she said, adding that fundraising activities will continues with an online quiz with prizes to take place in February (date TBC).

“The money will go towards supporting more riders; whether they’ve had an accident at home or an event, or they need support with their mental health,” she said. “We are working with all the rehab facilities at the Injured Jockeys Fund, thanks to their chief executive officer Lisa Hancock, who is one of our new trustees. We have also got involved with mental health charity Sporting Chance so we will use them to provide counselling sessions for riders.

“Since BEST has started posting more on social media one thing we’ve noticed is we’re getting more and more applications from riders who need support. There’s only so much the NHS can do, and BEST has been needed for so long.”

You might also be interested in:

New service to help injured event riders: ‘It’s hugely important we have this’

Christmas magic about to start as top horses arrive in London

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

How do the best equestrian team managers go about their jobs?

Ride iQ, the audio-focused training platform for equestrians, recently hosted a discussion chaired by Canadian Olympian Kyle Carter and featuring British eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood and Graeme Thom, former performance manager to the Canadian and New Zealand eventing teams.

Here are 12 things we learnt from equestrian team managers Dickie and Graeme – and even if you’re not aiming for the Olympics, there are definitely some useful takeaways here for all of us in our riding, as well as our careers and day-to-day lives…

1. Communication is key.

Dickie says: “In these roles, you’re very much leading from the back, working with a lot of successful individuals who’ve got there in their own right. What you’re trying to do, with that group of highly motivated people, is to lead them in a way that empowers them and keeps their confidence. When something goes wrong, that’s the time to lead from the front not the back.”

Dickie adds that it’s important all the team staff are part of creating an atmosphere that the riders – or athletes, as they are increasingly called, and with good reason – feel confident in and that the grooms are fundamental to this.

“Leaders are people who can influence people and it’s important everyone’s nose is pointing in the same direction,” he says. “As team manager, you’re the glue that holds it together in a lot of ways and you’re trying to keep that ‘one team’ mentality.

“It’s understanding the athletes work really independently for 358 days a year and for seven days a year, we pull them together for a championship. By putting people in that environment, you can create a pressure cooker that could explode at any time. It’s not a sport where everyone is going on the field of play together and working as a team, it’s a completely different dynamic, so it does take a certain skill to manage that. We’re only human and we don’t always get it right, but we strive to do so.”

2. Recognise the importance of home teams

The athletes have very good home teams, from coaches to grooms to physios, says Dickie, and they need to be recognised.

Graeme adds: “We’re surrounded by great people, starting with the athletes and the horses, so it’s about getting out the way and letting them do what they are good at. The grooms are the backbone to all this and all the other staff employed by the athletes to make it happen. We can’t step in to start steering the ship when it’s not necessary.”

3. Plan ahead and agree expectations

“During your journey and pathway to [Olympic] Games, you get to know the individuals really well, so any turbulence and issues are managed way before you go into that team environment,” says Dickie.

“If you can communicate and everybody knows, ‘This is what you can expect from us, this is what we expect from you’, you’ve dealt with everything and set simplistic guidelines before you get to the championship so everybody knows how they should act.”

Dickie adds that in most cases, you have riders who are only an outside chance for an individual medal, but have a strong chance of a team medal if they work together.

“The athletes really get it,” he says. “And it’s the same with owners, grooms, staff – you manage all those expectations before you get to a championship and all that is done before you hit the tarmac.”

Graeme mentioned that in the nations he has worked with, there are fewer combinations in the running than in the British camp, so different styles of communication such as round table dinners have been appropriate.

“We’d get together with the top squad, have a dinner, discuss things, get all their feedback and act on it,” he says.

“There’s an amount of information you want to push forward early from the point of view of logistics, behavioural, performance expectations – let’s not all think we’re going to do a personal best across the board. You might be going into a situation where you don’t have an individual medallist, but if everybody can finish on a sub 33 you’re going to win a medal. Those sorts of things are discussed well in advance and the behavioural side as well and then everybody is happy.”

4. Don’t live the dream until you want to retire

“After [team gold at] Tokyo and and last year’s Europeans, the British have got a target on our backs,” says Dickie. “This is where the hard work really starts and anybody who says they’re living the dream or they’ve made it is stagnating and not progressing. The tempo ups again so you’re on a constant hamster wheel. Don’t live the dream until you want to retire.”

5. Business and sport go hand in hand

We all know horsepower is key in equestrian sport and Dickie says for riders, it’s about having a string with a wide pyramid of young horses at the bottom that narrows as they come up to the top level – and having a business set up to support that.

“If you cannot fulfil the business aspirations, you won’t fulfil your competition aspirations,” he says.

6. Experience counts

Graeme says that he did some “back of the envelope research” which showed that four-fifths of medal-winning teams over the past eight eventing World Championships and Olympic Games have had two to four seasoned veteran riders on the team.

“Trying to keep a majority of experienced people on teams is really important – medal-winning teams demand to have experienced people on them,” he says. “You don’t want them all to fall off [stop competing on teams] at once. And you want to keep bringing people in so you can keep it rolling.”

Graeme adds that team rookies need more protection at the Games – for example, they will be given the number two spot in the line-up, where there is least pressure.

“And you have to check in with them a bit more, but you don’t want to overdo it, they’re not kids,” he says.

7. It’s not cheap – and it takes time

Successful high performance programmes are expensive to fund and Graeme says a country has to make a minimum commitment of at least a four-year Olympic cycle.

“The programmes that fail are the ones that can only afford the next year or the next two years,” he says. “It depends where you are starting on the horsepower side – that dictates your time frame. If you’re starting with five-year-olds, you’d better make it two quadrennials.”

At an individual level, Dickie says it costs about £30,000 to run an advanced horse for a season.

8. Get the basics right

“In any sport getting the basics right is key and also strength and conditioning,” says Dickie, adding that horses which spend a bit more time at the three-star level tend to accelerate through four-star quicker and have a longer career at five-star.

“You need to be bespoke on the ability of your rider and the horses’ stage in its career – a nine-year-old can physically be like a seven-year-old. It’s being a horseman and understanding what a horse needs, biomechanically understanding a horse – whether its conformation is top or low marks and where the weaknesses are so you give the horse the right amount of time to step to the next level.

“The key is being a horseman to understand a bespoke programme around each horse and each rider. It’s easy to go that step too far and break confidence or create a veterinary issue with a horse.”

Dickie adds that while you can do a certain amount of training on surfaces, you have to get a horse out onto grass and different terrain.

9. Technique versus character

“You only need enough technique to get the job done,” says Dickie. “If you get 7.5s all the way through a dressage test, you’re in with a shout. It’s no good getting a nine and then twos and threes. If a showjump is 1.10m you only need to clear 112mm, if it’s 1.60m, you only need to clear 162mm. You only need enough technical skills, but you do need character from both horse and rider to produce that on the field of play under pressure.

“That’s part of coaching, part of team management is understanding where people are in their life with the character bit to produce that same performance on the field of play over that three days of competition.”

10. You have to rub shoulders with the best

Graeme – whose experience is with the New Zealand and Canadian teams – mentioned that event riders need to experience the top-level environment in the UK or Europe, while Dickie said that Brexit concerns him in terms of limiting how much riders might compete abroad.

“It worries me about Brexit that we go back to that island mentality, become isolated and don’t dip our toe into Europe enough to make sure we’re still on that upward trajectory and don’t get left behind. It will take a few years, but I can really see that happening and that is quite a challenge,” he said.

11. The Olympics is everything

In the UK and many other countries, funding is dependent on performances at the Olympic Games.

“There isn’t a day, an hour, five minutes within a hour that you don’t think about the Olympic Games,” said Dickie, who added that he was already thinking about Rio 2016 as he walked up the ramp from the arena with Charlotte Dujardin after she won gold at London 2012 and he had to force himself to take the time to “pause, reflect, celebrate, then evolve”.

12. Create a system – and let the outcome look after itself

“You have to get the basics right and that creates the system – if you get the system right, the outcome looks after itself,” says Dickie. “You have to be absolutely disciplined to stick to the system.

“If you stick to that discipline, the discipline turns into fun. If you’re always worried about the outcome, you’re always going to your hand, riding with the handbrake on, but if you can be disciplined to stick to system, the outcome looks out for itself.”

You might also be interested in:

Learn from the best: Richard Waygood’s tips for showjumping and cross-country riding success

At the 2019 renewal of the International Eventing Forum Richard Waygood shared some of his expertise on how to help

Five-star rider gets married – and her two ‘best boys’ join in for the photos

Meet Glamourdale – Lottie Fry’s World Champion dressage stallion

How to watch Burghley Horse Trials 2025 live streams and on TV wherever you are

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

Dickie Waygood reflects on the way forward after Badminton’s cancellation

There was the inevitable knee-jerk reaction of shock among riders, owners and staff when we heard Badminton was cancelled; people naturally dislike change. Then the dust settles – these guys are competitors and we soon start looking at the new options and finding what positives they can and a way forward.

We have 17 event riders on the World Class programme and then there are lots more I work with closely. You have to walk in everybody’s shoes, with horses and riders at different stages of their careers.

At the time of writing, the options aren’t fully clear – hopefully we’ll know more next week or the week after. One of my key sayings at the moment is that what’s right today is not right tomorrow – the news of Bramham’s cancellation came in as this column was on the verge of going to press in the magazine on Monday (8 March). Things are changing so rapidly that the best advice is to remain as flexible as possible.

That said, it’s hard when you’ve worked towards a certain event. Badminton isn’t something you start preparing for in March – from December when horses started walking, their programmes in terms of teeth, worming, shoeing and so on were designed to work backwards from Badminton.

Options and decisions

In normal times, Kentucky (22–25 April) would be an option for five-star horses and even before Badminton’s cancellation, quite a few riders were thinking of either Badminton or Kentucky, or both if they had sufficient horsepower.

Badminton final scores

The impact of Covid and variables beyond our control such as quarantine has made that trip complicated, but some will still consider it. With Brexit in the mix, we hope horses can fly to the US direct from Britain, rather than via Europe.

Luhmühlen (17–20 June) is another good five-star and four-star short option, depending on how the EHV-1 situation develops. There are also several four-star shorts in Britain – and long and shorts abroad – through the spring. These will help provide possible pathways to the Olympic Games and Europeans, if we get one.

For horses established at five-star, riders and owners will ask themselves if there is a need to test them at a lower level long format – the shorts are good pathway events, but running round a four-star long could prove to be unnecessary mileage.

It’s my job and that of coach Chris Bartle to give riders and owners the information we have available at the time, and then it’s key they make the decisions around the right pathway for their horses to be best prepared for a championship.

For the elite events in March, British Eventing (BE) had to draw a line in the sand somewhere to define elite. In the end, the easiest way was to open them to riders – of any nationality – qualified for five-star, with those riders able to bring horses below five-star too. All credit to the BE team for creating a comprehensive pathway.

A selfless role

With my World Class performance director hat on, we are making an unprecedented effort with owners across the disciplines in the run-up to Tokyo and beyond. Owners are the biggest sponsors in our sport and have to be part of the journey.

We send a monthly owners’ newsletter and we wrote to 150 owners and thanked them for keeping their horses in British ownership for the Olympics after that deadline. We recently had a video call with 71 owners.

All the disciplines are down to three-man teams for Tokyo which is a different ball game. In the past, once the eventing trot-up was over, the travelling reserve knew they would not compete and stepped out of the team environment and might do some media work, for example.

This time, with the new substitution rules, they could be brought into the team at any time – it’s a massive ask for someone to stay mentally prepared, along with their horse and connections. It’s an utterly selfless role and I’d like to pre-thank whoever that athlete ends up being and their owner(s) – they will have a massive positive impact on the team’s performance in the way they embrace such a challenge.

Looking forward

Right now, as we go through Covid, EHV-1 and Brexit, the world feels pretty chaotic. But looking forward, we hopefully have three equestrian disciplines at the Olympics, a Paralympics and three European Championships. It could be the most unprecedentedly exciting year for horse sport.

Also published in H&H 11 March 2021

You may also be interested in…

Two spring internationals cancelled as grip of Covid-19 continues

Two international eventing fixtures in May have been cancelled owing to continued uncertainty over the Covid-19 situation

Bulana: the ‘feisty and hot’ eventing medal winner with a ferocious will to succeed *H&H Plus*

Memories of learning from William Fox-Pitt: ‘I was pretty wet behind the ears – but I got to ride Ballincoola and Tamarillo’

US event rider Liz Halliday-Sharp talks about her memories of being based with William Fox-Pitt during a golden era for

Eventing abandonment insurance up for review *H&H Plus*

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

As work goes on to ensure a Covid-safe Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will run next year, British equestrianism also has its funding for the Paris Games confirmed. H&H finds out more and reports on the 2024 Games’ quotas

WORK is ongoing to manage the equestrian logistics within new Covid safety measures for Tokyo.

Joint guidelines have been issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo organisers to minimise numbers in the athlete village. These include limiting athletes’ time in the village to no more than five days ahead of their event and leaving within 48 hours.

“We think this is absolutely necessary, because we need to minimise the number of residents in the village to minimise the risk of Covid exposure. At the same time, we wanted to be balanced with the considerations about athletic performance and attendance at the opening ceremony,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

Planning is under way to ensure riders are not adversely affected by the restrictions and a range of options is on the table.

“The FEI is working with the Tokyo organising committee to ensure equestrian athletes can arrive and depart and stay in the Olympic village in line with horse flight arrivals and departures, and will not be restricted to the five days prior to competition,” an FEI spokesman told H&H. “This will also apply to grooms staying in the grooms’ village.”

British Equestrian (BEF) eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood said planning for Tokyo is “picking up the pace”.

“There will be added complications as we navigate Covid restrictions, but we will plan for a number of scenarios,” he told H&H.

“We have good people who can adapt and innovate to ensure conditions for athletes, horses and grooms are optimal.”

UK Sport confirmed to British Equestrian on 18 December that its funding for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics is secure.

But equestrian sport is facing a 22% drop in funding for its Lottery-funded UK Sport World Class programmes for Paris.

A total of £11,085,964 is earmarked by UK Sport for the World Class programmes for the Olympic equestrian disciplines in the build-up to Paris 2024, compared to £12,541,195 ahead of Tokyo. This is a £1,455,231 drop.

Para dressage funding has also been cut, with £3,011,243 available for Paris compared to £3,294,056 for Tokyo.

Equestrian sport is not alone, with 14 of 18 Olympic sports and six of 18 Paralympic sports receiving less money this cycle.

The BEF said the Olympic disciplines have been awarded a confirmed £2.77m in year one, while para dressage has been granted £753,000, a reduction of about 22%.

“The way UK Sport delivers funding from Government and the National Lottery has been reviewed, with a new strategy to support more sports in becoming successful and engaging with the public,” said a BEF statement. “Their funding has received an overall uplift despite the economic circumstances, reflecting the importance of sport and activity to the nation.”

BEF interim chief executive Iain Graham thanked UK Sport for its “belief in our sports”.

“We have been realistic in our expectation due to the financial situation overall, so this is better than anticipated and should be seen as a positive result in the circumstances,” he said.

“This is still a sizeable investment and I’m grateful to the public who play the National Lottery, which in turn allows us to turn funding into performance and inspire the next generation.”

Road to Paris

THE funding announcement follows positive news that all equestrian disciplines have been confirmed for Paris 2024. The full quota of 200 combinations and six medal chances are untouched.

“This is also a token of appreciation for the efforts the FEI and the equestrian community to increase the fan base and improve digital figures for our sport,” said FEI president Ingmar de Vos. “We really appreciate that the IOC didn’t touch our quota as we knew they needed to reduce the overall Games-wide quota to 10,500 athletes, but our sport has grown so much that a reduction would have been detrimental to the universality of our competitions.”

“The news that we have full numbers for Paris is very welcome,” Dickie told H&H. “Equestrian sport embraces the Olympic values particularly with men and women competing on equal terms and we look forward to taking up our places.”

You might also be interested in…

‘Tokyo Games are going to be spectacular’ *H&H Plus*

‘No stone unturned’: measures agreed to make Tokyo ‘fit for a post-Corona world’

‘This process will benefit future society – becoming a role model for future global events as people adapt to living

Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic

The Tokyo Olympics this summer have been postponed by a year due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, with multiple implications

‘A celebration of resilience’: dates for 2021 Olympics and Paralympics confirmed

‘Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end

Three British gold medals predicted for Tokyo Olympics *H&H Plus*

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

At the 2019 renewal of the International Eventing Forum, held at Hartpury (4 February), Richard Waygood (pictured) shared some of his expertise on how to help improve performance and the chances of success when showjumping and riding across country.

A former riding master of the Household Cavalry, Richard (or Dickie as he is more commonly known) has been the performance manager for the British eventing squad since November 2016 and was previously the performance manager for the British dressage squad for seven years. He has ridden and been placed at four-star (now five-star) level and is also a top British Eventing (BE) accredited coach.

Here’s his top tips for success…

1. If someone gets the basics right in any sport, when things go wrong you can revert to those basics to help get you out of trouble.

2. During the warm-up riders should focus on the horse being in front of their leg, that the horse is laterally supple, whether their brakes work and whether the rider is in balance.

3. I have three golden rules for horse and riders while jumping. Whenever something goes wrong in the jumping phases, the rider usually admits that one of these three following rules has been broken:

Rule one: The rider must sit in balance both over the fence and when landing from it.

Imagine a child cycling down a hill with stabilisers on their bike to help them balance. When a horse loses balance, they turn to their rider to help rebalance them. This is only possible if the rider is in proper balance and it is a fine line between being in and out of it. For example, when you reward a horse with a pat, just lower your hand down, keeping your body up — don’t look down to praise your horse, as suddenly 2st of extra weight will be cast over their shoulders.

Rule two: The horse must have the correct way of going for the obstacle in hand.

By this I mean that the horse must be in self-carriage. The neck is the horse’s fifth leg in times of trouble, so it is imperative that the horse has his head, withers and neck up and his hind-leg engaged.

Rule three: The rider must provide the correct line

If the horse understands where he’s going, he will hold the line.

4. If you ride a horse to a fence trying to avoid a mistake, you will inevitably be riding in neutral, and will therefore be more likely to end up making a mistake.

5. Allow the horse the use of his neck, this will help him to come up and over his back and light in the rein.

6. The rider should look up and over the fence and shouldn’t be too quick in their fold.

7. Every aspect of jumping your horse should start and finish with a quality canter — don’t ‘flop’ after the final fence of the course or exercise you’re jumping. Re-instate the correct way of going, give them a pat and then finish the exercise.

8. The horse’s back legs should follow his front legs to ensure straightness.

9. It’s very easy when cross-country schooling, to teach a horse how to run out — remember you are training your horse, not trying to trick them. For this reason, I always make sure there are flags on cross-country fences we’re schooling over to teach the horse to look for them when jumping.

10. Your horse shouldn’t come around a corner to a fence like a banana — this inhibits their jump. Try to think of them as being on railway tracks on the approach to a fence.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

11. Put the ingredients into your horse in the preparation for the fence, but once there, allow him to use himself — you don’t have to over-protect them, else they are unlikely to learn.

12. When landing, the rider shouldn’t nod their head — this is a sign that they’ve lost balance over the fence.

13. A rider should always use their voice if they need to, either if it’s to steady or sharpen up.

14. A good exercise I use to ensure a rider is turning the horse with their leg and not their hand is to ask them to ride with their reins in one hand while cantering a 10m circle.

15. Riders will always be rewarded for forward thinking.

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

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

Britain’s eventing World Class performance manager Dickie Waygood will head the line-up of trainers at next February’s International Eventing Forum (IEF) at Hartpury Equine, Glos.

Dickie’s session, the second of the morning on 4 February, will be focused on direct riding.

The theme of the whole day at this year’s IEF is “better — not more — education” and aims to address the view that more training is the answer to the challenges faced by eventing. The other two sessions will draw on experts from pure dressage and showjumping.

The morning begins with a session led by Fellow of the British Horse Society Adam Kemp and grand prix dressage rider Matt Frost, a trainer and rider partnership who are best known in the world of pure dressage. Presenting a session titled “Simple still works”, Adam and Matt will demonstrate and explain the core elements of successful dressage riding and training, where “simple” for the horse and “simple” for the rider can achieve the best results.

In the afternoon, the renowned Irish showjumping course-designer Tom Holden teams up with 2002 showjumping world champion a Dermott Lennon for their session: “The jumping test and the solution”.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

16 pearls of wisdom from top British rider Tina Cook

The former European champion on taking her time, ex-racehorses and why horses trip

How to work your horse long and low correctly

Here’s some great advice on how to ride your horse in a long and low outline from grand prix dressage

7 ways to get the most out of a clinic (plus 4 things not to do)

The International Eventing Forum has been running since 2004. Last year’s theme was “What’s the limit?”, and featured sessions from former British dressage team member Sandy Phillips, Irish Olympian Eric Smiley FBHS, performance psychologist Charlie Unwin and Swedish event team manager and coach Fredrik Bergendorff.

Other past speakers include Mark Todd, Ian Woodhead, Mike Etherington-Smith, David O’Connor, Angela Tucker, Lucinda Green, Chris Burton and Jimmy Wofford.

Tickets are just £50 if purchased in advance (or £45 if purchased before the end of December). More information and tickets: internationaleventingforum.com

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

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

Following Britain’s golden success at the European Eventing Championships in Poland last month (17-20 August 2017), catch up with the team behind our renewed success

At last weekend’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (31 August-2 September 2017), the British eventing team’s performance coach Chris Bartle and their performance manager Richard Waygood conducted a masterclass in the main arena — giving the Burghley crowds a chance to see the team behind Britain’s eventers in action.

“When I was first interviewed for the position, and when they suggested that Dicky (Richard Waygood) came on board with me I couldn’t have been more delighted,” says Chris. “He is a very accomplished rider and a very accomplished coach in his own right, so we bounce ideas off each other.”

Dicky, who was a former riding master of the Household Cavalry, and performance manager for the British dressage squad for the past seven years prior to this role, adds: “I see myself as there to facilitate what Chris needs to do to coach. We work so well together, long may it continue.”

Continued below…

Liked this? You may also enjoy reading these articles…

9 things you need to know about the man behind Britain’s eventing gold medal

Get up to speed on the super-coach and

Rule Britannia! 14 triumphant photos of Britain on their way to GOLD at the European Eventing Championships

Spirits may have been muted in the British

Having been national coach to the German eventing team since 2001, Chris took on his new role with the British eventing team in January this year. Much of the credit for Germany’s meteoric rise as the dominant force in eventing in recent years has been given to Chris — and under his guidance the British team clinched the gold medal at the European Eventing Championships in Strzegom, Poland last month.

“In Poland, it was a great performance by everybody – the team, the squad and the team behind the team,” says Chris.

“The proudest moment for me was that they performed on the field of play,” adds Dicky. “And that shows championship character. We’re clearly focused now on Tokyo (the Olympic Games in 2020) and the World Equestrian Games (next year in America) are the next step.”

Don’t miss our full report and analysis from the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in the current issue of Horse & Hound magazine (7 September 2017)

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

Richard Waygood has been confirmed as the new performance manager for the British eventing team.

The news follows the announcement of Chris Bartle as performance coach — a newly created role — on Friday (25 November).

This confirms the rumours of a new coaching structure for the World Class eventing programme.

“I am very excited and feel privileged to hold the highly prestigious position of performance manager for the British eventing team,” said Richard.

“It has been a lifelong ambition, which I have dreamt about on so many occasions, having worked within the World Class programme for the last seven years and seen the dedication of the riders and staff alike, I just can’t wait to get going.”

A former riding master of the Household Cavalry, Richard has been the performance manager for the British dressage squad for the past seven years. He has ridden and been placed at four-star level and is also a top British Eventing (BE) accredited coach.

Outgoing eventing performance manager Yogi Breisner revealed in April that he planned to step down from the position after 17 years following the Rio Olympics.

David Holmes, BE’s chief executive, said they are “thrilled” to have found such an experienced team to take the eventing squad forward.

“This combination will not only help us advance our elite level athletes, but also to use their knowledge and skills to enable us to develop pathways throughout our sport so that we can produce a stronger performance culture from ponies to podium,” he added.

“As we look towards Tokyo 2020, Richard and Chris will be key for eventing to ensure the World Class team has the skills, tools and support to reach its full potential — we are excited to work with both of them as we welcome them into their new positions.”

A statement from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) said they will also begin the process of recruiting a new performance director to replace Dan Hughes “in the next few days”. This will be joined by another new position — a head of performance support — and the organisation will also be recruiting a new dressage performance manager following Richard’s job move.

The statement added the aim of the new coaching programme will be “more individually tailored”, placing a greater focus on human and equine sports science.

It also said the organisation will be “examining opportunities to improve the collective horsepower in Great Britain”.

Article continues below…

Related articles:

• Germany’s eventing coach swaps sides to join Team GB in new role
• Yogi Breisner to step down as British eventing performance manager
• 9 things you might not know about Chris Bartle

Chris added it is “exciting yet daunting” to be offered the chance to train the British team.

“On the other hand it’s with sadness that I leave behind the German team and all those at the DOKR [German Olympic equestrian committee] and the German federation with whom I have worked over the last 16 years,” he said. “I am equally delighted that Richard has agreed to come on board as performance manager for eventing.

“I am looking forward to building a strong and effective partnership with Dickie [Richard] — I can’t imagine a more suitably qualified person for this position.

“I am really looking forward to building up equally strong relationships with the British riders and their home teams, the owners and the members of the support team within the World Class programme, the BEF and with British Eventing.”

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

British dressage team chef d’equipe Major Richard Waygood (pictured) and judge Bridget Beresford-Wright may have a book out over the festive period, but you’d be wrong if you thought it was about the intricacies of classical dressage.

Richard and Bridget have teamed up to write Home By Christmas, a novel set on the battlefields of the Great War.

The self-published book tells the story of a fictitious cavalry unit lost behind enemy lines in Northern France.

The book, which was inspired by a visit to the play War Horse, has been a combined effort, said Bridget. She wrote chapters and sent them to Richard, a former cavalry officer, for his comments.

“His input has been invaluable — things like the soldiers not saluting officers in the field as it would tip off snipers, the way they hold their swords when they charge and the commands they use,” said Bridget.

A sequel, set during the East African campaign during the same war, is already under way.

Home By Christmas is available for £4.66 as an ebook from www.amazon.co.uk

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (4 January 2012)

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

A number of equestrians have been named in The Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Brough Scott, founder of the Racing Post and chairman of the Injured Jockeys’ Fund, said he was “very touched” to receive an MBE for his services to sport.

Major Richard Waygood of the Life Guards, event rider and former Riding Master of the Household Cavalry, was awarded an MBE.

Major Waygood, who left the army in April, said: “It’s a lovely way to finish a 30-year career.”

Gill Watson, team trainer to Britain’s junior and young rider eventing teams for over 20 years, was awarded an MBE for services to equestrian sport.

Also receiving MBEs were Antonia Thoday for voluntary service to Chesham High School Pony Club branch, Buckinghamshire, and Ann Pattinson, for services to the Meirionydd Special Riding Group and to disabled people in Gwynedd, Wales.

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (18 June, ’09)

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

Major Richard Waygood, the riding master of the Household Cavalry, undertook his final official ceremonial act, before his retirement, today (3 December).

Major Waygood and the Household Cavalry (pictured right at Olympia) escorted the Queen’s carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster this morning for the State Opening of Parliament.

Badminton and Burghley fans may remember “Dickie” from his appearances as competitor between 2002 and 2005, with Master Fred.

Major Waygood retires in April after 30 years’ service.

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

Contenders for the 2008 Queen’s Award for Equestrianism are British Olympic team trainer Yogi Breisner, Hickstead’s Douglas Bunn, chairman of the Indoor Horse Driving Trials Club Richard Carey, national hunt trainer Leslie Crawford, Riding for the Disabled’s Jill Gibson, World Horse Welfare field officer Hamish John Lochore, International Equestrian Federation vet John McEwan, chairman of the British Equestrian Federation Hugh Thomas and Major Richard Waygood, from the Household Cavalry.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (3 July, ’08)

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

An extravaganza involving more than 220 horses, a camel, a former government minister and an Oscar-winning actress will be held in London this summer, to mark the opening of the new Household Cavalry Museum.

The Household Cavalry Pageant will take place on 12 June at Horse Guards Parade in London when the museum is opened by The Queen. The museum, which has cost more than £4million to build, is being relocated from Windsor.

The pageant is the brainchild of former Household Cavalry member Christopher Joll.

“The pageant will celebrate the Household Cavalry’s rich history from 1660 to the present day. There will be re-enactments and ceremonial displays and the public will get the chance to see some very unusual drill manoeuvres.” he told Horse & Hound.

Former defence minister Michael Portillo will narrate the event, with voices from history being provided by Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Fry. Household Cavalry riding master

Captain Richard Waygood is in charge of the choreography.

“We’ve had to do some additional training for the battle scenes,” he explained. “Our horses aren’t used to crowd control, so we’ve had to get them used to the idea of charging into each other.

“We also have a lot of ceremonial duties to carry out before the pageant, so finding the time to rehearse will be hard. But we’ll manage. It’s a very exciting project.”

Capt Waygood’s toughest test to date has been persuading horses to mix with camels.

“At least one camel is set to take part,” he said, “but horses and camels simply don’t mix. When we needed a horse to pose with the camel for some pictures, it was a case of finding which was the least terrified. I put a few horses in the school with the camel and they practically turned themselves inside out to get away.”

Crowd capacity for the evening event is 6,500. Tickets cost between £20 and £80 and are now available from www.ticketmaster. o.uk (tel: 0870 4000 848). Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the museum.

• This news report was first published in Horse & Hound

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