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‘I will miss you forever, my friend’: farewell to Olympic horse who ‘changed his rider’s life’

Becky Murray — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 14:33:14 +0000

Tom Bombadill Too, the talented gelding Olympic rider Ruy Fonseca says “changed his life”, has died aged 26.

Ruy and Tom Bombadill Too (Tommy) represented Brazil in six championships – including the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics – and competed in 15 countries together.

“Last Sunday Tommy left us,” said Ruy, who named his business Bombadill Equestrian after the Holsteiner gelding.

“It’s been a hard few days but I’m sure he’s in a beautiful place up there and he deserved so. What a unique, unbelievable journey we had.”

Tommy started his career as a five-year-old competing in British Eventing with his previous owner Serena Urquhart. The Urquharts bought him as a “very flighty five-year-old” from Nikki Ryan, from a Horse & Hound advert. Serena produced him up to intermediate level then in 2009 Ruy took over the reins.

“In 14 months we went from novice to five-star, then four months later he was double clear at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky,” said Ruy.

“From there, we did two Pan American Games in Mexico and Canada, grabbing team bronze and individual bronze and team silver. We were so close to an individual gold in Toronto in 2015 where we led from the dressage until the last jump on the final day. The most little rub took the gold off our neck, but I would think I would be in that position with the little quirky 16hh horse together among the best. What pleasure and beautiful experience.”

Ruy Fonseca and Tom Bombadill Too rode at the London 2012 Olympics, where Brazil finished ninth, and Rio 2016, where the team was seventh. They completed the five-star at Luhmühlen Horse Trials in 2010, finishing 32nd.

“We ticked a few boxes that never in my life or career I thought I would,” said Ruy, adding that special memories include his mother hacking him, and his wife and father-in-law completing lower level events with Tommy aged 19.

“Winning Barroca d’Alva CCI3* in Portugal was very emotional because it was for a special friend who is up there with Tommy. It is the most beautiful trophy that I have here at home.”

“He was the most kind, easy and happy horse that changed my life, giving me opportunities, chances and plenty of learning experiences.”

Many top riders have paid tribute to Tommy; Ruy told H&H he was “privileged” to see the “amazing comments” from the many people who loved him.

“Mark Todd was our trainer during our best performances and we had great times and results together. I was very honoured to be trained by Toddy at the time and we are good friends,” said Ruy.

“Anna Ross was essential to the development of Tommy’s dressage, which gave us the best results at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. We were top 10 after the dressage.”

Ruy said Tommy “touched many people and hearts” – adding thanks to Tommy’s “partner, friend and groom” Caroline Gordon and everyone that was involved with him.

“A dream team and amazing memories,” said Ruy.

“I will miss you forever my friend.”

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‘I want to make way for the younger generation’: three-time Olympic showjumper bows out, aged 62

Becky Murray — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 18:18:15 +0000

Three-time Olympic showjumper Philippe Rozier is stepping back after 40 years competing at the top level.

The 62-year-old Frenchman, who was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Rio Games in 2016, is contesting his final five-star competition this week on home soil at CSI5*-W Longines Equita Lyon, where Brits Harry Charles, Ben Maher and Matt Sampson are also in action.

“After more than 40 years at the highest level, I will participate in my last CSI5*,” said Philippe.

“This is a well-considered decision, and I’m very happy it’s happening in front of a French audience, where it all began and where I’ve experienced so many powerful moments.”

Philippe’s lengthy resume includes 685 five-star starts, three Olympics, five European Championships, five World Cup Finals and a silver team medal at the 1994 World Equestrian Games.

He made his championship debut on Galant D.I Cour at the 1982 Europeans at Wolfsburg, Germany, and two years later he rode Jiva at the LA Olympics, where the team finished sixth. Philippe’s second Olympic call-up was at Sydney in 2000 with Barbarian; the team was fourth. In 2016 he rode Rahotep De Toscane at the Rio Games, helping the team to gold.

“Thanks to horses, and to everyone around me who has always supported me, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to travel the world, share unique emotions, and live unforgettable human adventures,” said Philippe.

“Today, I want to make way for the younger generation, while continuing to ride, share my knowledge, and fully live this passion that has always driven me. So, I’m not hanging up my saddle, but a new chapter is beginning, with the same enthusiasm and the same love for horses.

“Thank you to everyone who has accompanied, supported, and encouraged me throughout this exceptional journey.”

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(Image credit: Philippe Lopez, Getty)

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Coming to cinemas, Olympic gold medallist Nick Skelton stars in an inspirational story of ‘passion and perseverance’: ‘I hope it will be good for the sport’

Jennifer Donald — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 19:21:35 +0000

The highly anticipated film charting the story of double Olympic showjumping gold medallist Nick Skelton will hit British cinemas soon.

Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story will premiere in London at the beginning of May, then will be released nationwide.

“I’m really looking forward to it, hopefully it will be good for the sport,” Nick told H&H.

The big-screen version of Nick’s life story is described as “the official all-access documentary of national hero Nick Skelton CBE – one of the most decorated and enduring equestrian champions the world has ever seen.

“Nick’s passion and perseverance drove him to seven Olympic Games and inspired athletes in the sport worldwide.”

Nick Skelton: an inspirational story

The film includes interviews with Nick Skelton’s family and key members of the British equestrian community. Nick’s inspirational tale has been brought to life by a production team that includes Laura Kraut’s son Bobby Kraut in the role of associate producer, contributing his knowledge and insight about the sport of showjumping and Nick’s achievements to the project.

“It’s taken a very long time to get the film out there because of Covid and various other things needing to be put in place, so I’m delighted it’s finally going to happen,” said Nick. “It was a great experience filming it all and they’ve done an excellent job making the finished product.”

Nick Skelton was crowned Olympic individual showjumping champion at the 2016 Olympics in Rio at the age of 58, the fairytale ending to an extraordinary story which included a back-from-the-brink comeback after Nick broke his neck in a fall.

His partnership with the hugely popular showjumping stallion Big Star also brought a new generation of fans.

Nick’s updated autobiography Gold was released in 2017 and soon fans will be able to enjoy unrivalled insight to this much-loved showjumping hero’s remarkable story at the cinema.

“I suppose mine is a good story,” said Nick.

Big Star: The Nick Skelton Story is presented by Debsdocs Productions, produced by Dirty Robber and distributed by Dartmouth Films.

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‘He took me places I never thought I’d go’: farewell to Olympic superstar

Becky Murray — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:27:07 +0000

Olympic rider Spencer Wilton has paid tribute to Super Nova II, his “horse of a lifetime”, who took him to places “I never thought I would ever get to”.

The British Hanoverian gelding bred by Mrs Kirby and owned by Jen Goodman has been put down aged 22 following a happy retirement.

In 2016 Spencer and “Neville” made their championship debut and were part of the team that won silver at the Rio Olympics, alongside Carl Hester (Nip Tuck), Charlotte Dujardin (Valegro) and Fiona Bigwood (Atterupgaards Orthilla).

Spencer described the Rio Olympics as “the time of my life”.

“To be part of that team with Fiona, Carl and Charlotte was the most amazing experience. We had such good fun,” he told H&H. “It’s an experience I’ll be eternally grateful for.”

Two years later, Spencer and Neville were on the team that won bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. The pair were also reserves for the 2015 European Championships, and in 2017 finished sixth individually at the Europeans in Gothenburg, where the team was fourth.

“Neville was my horse of a lifetime, he took me to places I never thought I would ever get to. At the time when you’re on the treadmill of getting selected and going through it it’s difficult to appreciate, but looking back I think I’ll never get another one like him,” said Spencer.

Carl HESTER (GBR) rode HAWTINS DELICATO, Charlotte DUJARDIN (GBR) rode MOUNT ST JOHN FREESTYLE, Spencer WILTON (GBR) rode SUPER NOVA II and Emile FAURIE (GBR) rode DONO DI MAGGIO in to Bronze medal at the FEI World Dressage Team Championship at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 at Tryon International Equestrian Centre, near Tryon North Carolina in the USA between 11th-23rd September 2018 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Carl produced Super Nova II, having bought him from Melanie Slater, and Carl’s then pupil Katie Bailey competed him in 2009. Spencer first saw Neville as an eight-year-old at Badminton Horse Trials in 2011 where Carl was riding him in the dressage demo.

“I remember looking up at the big screen and seeing Carl on this horse that looked a bit wild to be honest. But I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what an extraordinary looking horse,’” said Spencer.

“He had a skinny neck, and a big old head, but he looked quite exciting. Two weeks later Carl phoned me and said he had a horse he thought would suit me, and it was him. I phoned Jen Goodman, I’d never asked anybody to buy me a horse and I was so nervous, but she looked at a video of Neville, we went and tried him and that was it.”

Spencer continued to produce Neville, and they won their first international grand prix together at the Barcelona CDI in 2014. They enjoyed 15 more international victories.

“He had this incredible engine and desire to move and be forward-thinking,” he said. “His natural power and strength was incredible. That was his biggest gift, it had nothing to do with my training, it was just nature.”

“He was incredibly sweet and kind, but he was quite complicated, and I had to be on high alert for potential hazards every time I got on him. My groom Claire Hinton looked after him for the whole period and I don’t know what I would have done without her. There wouldn’t have been many people that would have understood him and accepted all his idiosyncrasies like she did.”

Spencer and Super Nova in Rio (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Spencer missed much of 2019 after he had back surgery, but in 2020 he and Neville started the year strongly with double wins at the Lier CDI4* and Keysoe CDI3* as they aimed for selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

“But of course the pandemic happened. It was a real kick because he felt better than he’d ever felt, and sadly we weren’t able to show it,” said Spencer.

“After the decision was made to postpone the Olympics, I had the rest of that year with him at home hacking and having a nice time pottering around, and it was a really nice period of time with no pressure. We came to the decision that it wouldn’t have been right to keep him going another year for the sake of another Olympics, so we wound him down.”

Neville was retired aged 18, and went on to spend a happy retirement at home with Ms Goodman.

Carl told H&H Super Nova II was “an absolute natural star”.

“Even at five years old he had amazing energy. He had a great walk, trot and canter. I sat on him and just loved him,” said Carl.

“He showed all those abilities and he found grand prix movements so easy, it didn’t surprise me that he turned out to be brilliant. But you’ve got to have a good rider to produce these horses, and it’s everything I love about matching horses and riders. I was thrilled to see Spencer and Neville get to where they should have, because we know with horses it doesn’t always happen that way.

“I can only say lovely things about Super Nova, he was just a star.”

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‘They’re irreplaceable’: five-star event mares retire ‘at the top of their game’

Becky Murray — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 18:48:01 +0000

World number two eventer Jonelle Price has announced the retirement of the two “phenomenal” five-star mares Classic Moet and Faerie Dianimo.

Trisha Rickard’s 19-year-old Classic Moet (Molly) and 17-year-old Faerie Dianimo (Maggie) have become household names in eventing, both making team appearances with Jonelle for New Zealand on the world stage – and racking up five-star victories and top placings.

Jonelle and Classic Moet won Badminton in 2018, and this year completed the event for the fourth time, finishing 11th. They were fourth at Burghley in August, the mare’s third Burghley completion.

Faerie Dianimo, who Jonelle rode at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was third at Luhmühlen in June, which was her final event.

Jonelle pictured on Faerie Dianimo at Luhmühlen Horse Trials 2022 (Image credit: Libby Law)

Badminton final scores

Jonelle said with the season drawing to a close the time had come to officially call time on the “incredible” mares – and “break the news to Molly that she won’t be going to Badminton”.

“You never want to go one too many. It was a difficult decision to make, both have come through this year remarkably well. They’re both obviously still at the top of their game, but it’s better to stop one less, than [go] one more,” Jonelle told H&H.

“They’ve both just been such stalwarts and kept going. For Molly to do both Badminton and Burghley in her 19th year is pretty phenomenal. If you’d told me we were going to do that 12 or 24 months ago I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

“Of course it’s very sad, but you’ve got to look at all the positives we’re taking away and just remember how lucky we are.”

Classic Moet, who features in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine spotlight (on sale Thursday 10 November), made her mark on the world stage in 2014 at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, when Jonelle was called up as a reserve individual rider. The pair finished fourth.

“Winning Badminton has to be the main highlight – it’s something you dream of, but one of the most memorable moments was my cross-country round at Caen in 2014. She was very much a wildcard and unknown at that point, but I think that’s where she really broke onto the world scene and people took note of who she was,” said Jonelle.

“Her cross-country record speaks for itself, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Faerie Dianimo made her five-star debut at Pau (then CCI4*) in 2014, finishing fourth. She was second at Luhmuhlen the following year, and provided Jonelle with her second five-star victory of 2018 when she won Luhmühlen, the month after Jonelle’s Badminton win on Classic Moet.

“Luhmühlen was Maggie’s happy hunting ground; she’s been there three times and had a one-two-three, which is pretty good going. She wasn’t the easiest, she’s taken a lot of work her whole career because she’s quite hot. She developed melanomas in the later years, which restricted her a little bit, but she’s just such a fighter,” said Jonelle.

“There was nothing quite like going into the ring on her on a Sunday, you could be in the warm-up feeling like you’re up against it, but you would go into that ring and jump the first fence and you’d think ‘Bloody hell, we’re on!’. She could rise to any challenge, so that was a pretty remarkable feeling for sure.”

Jonelle said both mares have returned to Trisha and will be used for breeding duties in the future. Maggie, who was bred by Trisha, is by Dimaggio and out of Faerie Dazzler VII, who is also a mother to Tim Price’s five-star ride Xavier Faer.

“It will be interesting what they can produce. If they’re half as good as their mothers then everyone will be happy,” said Jonelle.

“Maggie comes from a pretty impressive line of horses from her mother. We just took Faerie Magnifico through to four-star, so it’s been a very good family and hopefully Maggie will carry on that line.”

Jonelle said it will be different not having those two mares on the circuit next year.

“They’re irreplaceable. I’m not being derogatory to my present horses or what will come along, but over the past nine years they’ve just been five-star stalwarts for me. They’ve never missed a beat really and that will be very hard to replace for sure,” she said.

“I will miss them hugely and forever be indebted to them for all that they did for me.”

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(Image credit: www.SarahFarnsworth.co.uk)

Jonelle Price claims first four-star title with Badminton victory

The New Zealand rider and her British-bred mare have taken the 2018 Badminton Horse Trials title in a gripping conclusion

NZL-Jonelle Price rides Faerie Dianimo during the Cross Country for the CCI5*. Interim-6th. 2022 GER-Luhmuehlen International Horse Trials. Salzhausen, Germany. Saturday 18 June 2022. Copyright Photo: Libby Law Photography (Image credit: www.SarahFarnsworth.co.uk)

‘I had a bit of a score to settle’: former Luhmühlen-winning veteran event mare sparkles in five-star cross-country performance

(Image credit: www.SarahFarnsworth.co.uk)

‘I treasure every moment’: Classic Moet’s groom on tending the no-fuss veteran star

(Image credit: www.SarahFarnsworth.co.uk)

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.

‘She exceeded all expectations’: John Whitaker pays tribute as his Olympic mare retires

Jennifer Donald — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 19:27:04 +0000

Ornellaia, the Princess Haya-owned mare who took John Whitaker to the 2016 Rio Olympics and Sienna Charles to the European Young Rider Championships, has been retired at the age of 17.

The For Pleasure mare has been ridden by Sienna for the past two years and the 20-year-old Hampshire rider announced Ornellaia’s retirement by saying she was “so grateful for the opportunity to have had [Ornellaia] as my partner over the last three years”, describing her as “one of a kind”.

The pair represented Great Britain in Nations Cup teams this year, as well as winning the prestigious “Les talents Hermes” young rider class at the CSI5* show in Paris.

The German-bred mare was produced in her early years by US rider Maggie McAlary and Belgium’s Francois Mathy Jnr, before Princess Haya sent her to John Whitaker in 2015.

“She was a really positive mare, always with you in the ring, and you could turn back to fences knowing she was going to get to the other side. She was great,” John told H&H.

“She far exceeded my expectations — I thought for sure she’d be a really good second horse, but she came at a brilliant time for me when Argento was starting to come towards the end of his career. Ornellaia took the pressure off him a bit, but she actually ended up jumping the biggest classes.

“She just got better and better with confidence, she kept finding more. She probably achieved more than she was capable of really. She was always a trier, a real fighter, and very consistent. She was a really nice horse in the stable, too.”

The pair won five-star classes at Paris, Monte Carlo and Olympia, as well as representing Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. John pinpointed jumping double clear in the Nations Cup of Rome in 2016 as one of his standout moments with the mare.

“We were last to go and had to jump clear in order to win the Nations Cup – it was serious stuff,” John said. “She jumped brilliantly and we pulled it off. That was exceptionally good.

“She also finished second in the grand prix in Basel, which was big and difficult with a very fast jump-off and I was only a fraction behind the winner. It was a really good class and she jumped unbelievably well. I was leading rider of the show as well.

“I’ll look back fondly on our time together, it was a really good time.”

After leaving John’s stable in 2018, Ornellaia went to Finnish showjumper Anna-Julia Kontio followed by Ireland’s Peter Moloney, before Sienna Charles took over for her final seasons.

‘The sort of piaffe you want to bottle’: former British champion and Carl Hester’s Rio reserve retires

Becky Murray — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 12:55:04 +0000

Wanadoo, the former British Dressage (BD) national champion and Carl Hester’s reserve ride for the Rio Olympics, has been retired from competition aged 21.

The Wolkenstein II son was bought by Coral Ingham as a six-year-old from the Netherlands. Coral told H&H Wanadoo was a handful as a young horse and after a particularly challenging competition in 2008, he went to Carl’s for a period where he was competed by Charlotte Dujardin, taking multiple wins at medium and advanced medium.

Wanadoo returned to Coral a few months later and the pair worked their way up to grand prix level, before Carl took over the ride again in 2015. The following year Carl and Wanadoo were crowned national champions – and Wanadoo was named as Carl’s reserve to Nip Tuck for the Rio Games.

“It was a special night when I had the call from the chef d’equipe to say Wanadoo had got the scores and qualified for the Olympics, it was amazing,” said Coral.

In 2017 Carl and Wanadoo competed in the Doha CDI5*, coming sixth in the grand prix and seventh in the freestyle. That year Wanadoo returned to Coral to be a schoolmaster for her daughter Megan, a student of Carl’s.

Megan Ingham riding Wanadoo (Image credit: creditUnknown)

“Megan was about to go to university to study psychology, but she made the decision she wanted to ride instead. She started competing Wanadoo in young riders, then went on to the under-25 grand prix and we went round Europe,” said Coral.

In 2019 Megan and Wanadoo won the Somerford Park premier league under-25 grand prix and the pair also took a number of top-10 placings including at the Hickstead and Gothenburg internationals.

“He had the most amazing half pass and used to get very good comments for that. He could move sideways and with so much cadence. It always just felt amazing, and he had a really good piaffe – the sort of piaffe you want to bottle and keep for ever,” said Coral.

Coral said the decision has now been made to retire Wanadoo from competition. He is sound and well, and will continue with some light hacking.

“He’s done everything we could possibly have asked of him so we think it’s time for him to have a nice retirement now,” she said. “But it will be about keeping a nice balance; even now if he doesn’t get ridden for a few days his energy levels build up – he doesn’t behave like a 21-year-old, that’s for sure!

“He’s always been very hot and sharp to ride, but he’s the perfect gentleman on the ground and he loves his food – he lives to eat. If you walk on to the yard he starts whinnying at you straight away. Everybody loves him, he’s a real character. He’s been the horse of a lifetime for us and a great horse for Carl. We couldn’t have asked for any more from him, we love him to bits.”

‘One of a kind’: retirement for ‘little mare with huge heart’ who scored Olympic medal

Lucy Elder — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 20:57:15 +0000

Eric Lamaze’s Olympic bronze medal-winning ride Fine Lady 5 was officially retired in a special ceremony at CHI Geneva (10 December) ahead of starting her new venture as a broodmare.

The 18-year-old (Forsyth x Drosselklang II) arrived at Eric’s Torrey Pines Stable in 2014 and the pair scooped numerous top finishes, earning a spot on the Canadian team at Rio 2016.

They helped the side to fourth place and made it through to the individual final, toppling their only pole of the Games during the gold medal jump-off.

“She is one of a kind because she was not a horse that anyone thought could reach the level that she did,” said Eric.

“With Hickstead, he was favoured to win an Olympic medal and it was up to me to make a mistake. With Fine Lady, it was the partnership that we developed and the trust we had in each other that earned us the Olympic medal.”

The pair’s other major achievements included winning the €300,000 Rolex International Jumping Riders Club top 10 final that year at CHI Geneva. It was here, five years later, that Fine Lady officially bowed out of the sport.

Her first “husband” is set to be Eric’s star stallion Dieu Merci.

“I love that cross together, so we’re going to collect some embryos and go that way,” he told H&H in a recent interview.

Eric, who also won individual gold and team silver from the 2008 Olympics with Hickstead, added that Fine Lady is a horse he will “never forget and will be greatly missed” from his string.

“Winning a medal with that horse means a lot to me,” he said, thanking co-owners the Zieglers for their support over the years.

“She is a great little mare with a huge heart that believed in any adventure you faced her with. She became the leading horse in my stable, with the ability to win at any height, when she wasn’t bought to be that. Winning an Olympic medal and the Rolex Top 10 Final demonstrated her huge heart.”

He added: “I’m happy we were able to give her the retirement that she deserves, and especially to have the ceremony in Geneva during a very special competition that she won. Hopefully we’ll have many Fine Lady babies running around in the future as she continues in the sport as a broodmare.”

Tributes paid as ‘inspirational’ Olympic dressage rider dies aged 67

Becky Murray — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:03:10 +0000

New Zealand Olympic dressage rider Julie Brougham has died from cancer, aged 67.

Julie became New Zealand’s oldest Olympic rider when she competed at the Rio Games in 2016 with her German-bred gelding Vom Feinstein, whom she bought in 2009. The pair, who were only New Zealand’s third dressage combination to compete at an Olympics, finished 44th individually.

In February 2018 Julie and “Steiny” claimed the grand prix title at the New Zealand national dressage championships and the following month won the grand prix at the New Zealand Horse of the Year Show. In May that year Julie had a hip replacement following a fall from a pupil’s horse, but four months later she and Steiny were New Zealand’s sole dressage combination at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. They scored 68.991% in the grand prix for 36th place.

The combination’s many other achievements included winning the FEI World Dressage Challenge in 2011, taking the New Zealand Horse of the Year Show grand prix freestyle and grand prix special titles with national record-breaking scores in 2015, and winning the freestyle title again the following year, setting an Australasian record at the time with 76.3%. The pair also enjoyed a top 10 placing at the Aachen CDI4* in 2016.

Following WEG, Julie was diagnosed with abdominal cancer and underwent chemotherapy and several operations. In September 2019 she made a winning return to competition with Steiny at the Dressage Central Districts championship show. Steiny was retired from competition after winning a grand prix and grand prix special with Julie at a national show in 2021.

“Julie has been many things to many people within our sport – a fellow athlete, a friend, judge and an inspiration in everything she strived for and achieved,” said a spokesman for Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ).

‘The most incredible journey’: Tokyo contender retired following injury

Becky Murray — Thu, 20 May 2021 17:30:43 +0000

A Tokyo contender who enjoyed top-five finishes at Badminton and Aachen has retired from the sport following injury.

New Zealand rider Clarke Johnstone announced his 17-year-old gelding Balmoral Sensation, known as Ritchie, sustained an injury at the Sydney International Three-Day Event (6-9 May).

“After jumping a fantastic clear cross-country with his ears pricked all the way to the finish flags like he always does, unfortunately it became clear that Balmoral Sensation had picked up an injury and he wouldn’t be continuing in the competition,” said Clarke.

“Sadly this has also ruled us out of Olympic contention for the Tokyo Games.”

Clarke said after all of the “wonderful moments and memories” Ritchie had given him, the “very sad” decision had been made to call time on the gelding’s “brilliant” eventing career.

Badminton final scores

Clarke and Ritchie enjoyed many top placings in New Zealand and Australia since 2014. The pair were fifth at Badminton Horse Trials in 2016 and fifth at the Aachen CICO3* in 2018. In 2016 the combination made their Olympic debut as part of the New Zealand squad in Rio alongside Sir Mark Todd, and Tim and Jonelle Price. The team came fourth while Clarke was sixth individually, the highest-placed Kiwi rider.

“More than owing me nothing, I owe Ritchie a huge debt of gratitude and he has gone home now to start his retirement that he has so thoroughly earned,” said Clarke, adding that it was hard to put into words what Ritchie means to him.

“In the seven years I have ridden Ritchie he has taken not just me, but my family and friends on the most incredible journey. All over the world; from Adelaide and Aachen to Badminton, Brazil and Belgium, and always in the prizes. Through the highs and lows of sport, the triumphs and the tears, Ritchie has been the most amazing teammate. Brave, honest and so clever. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for me or me for him.”

Clarke said “without a doubt” the “crowning glory” of the pair’s career was the Rio Games, and although the gelding tied up on arrival in Rio and felt “flat” in the dressage, he gave Clarke the “most incredible” ride across country

Continued below…

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Five-star winner out of Tokyo contention as he retires from top-level competition

‘We have had so much fun together, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Above all he’s my

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Potential Olympic medallist ruled out of Tokyo

“This year we will have to take a break from competition. We are very sad and need patience now”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

“He just never missed a beat from start to finish,” he said. “That was the best feeling of my life at the time, jumping clear around the difficult Olympic course with my mate. Probably only bettered by our clear round in the team showjumping the following day to put New Zealand in gold medal position. Sadly the team medal wasn’t to be and then Ritchie was completely out of gas in the individual jumping, and I made a dumb mistake so no medal there either. Ritchie gave his absolute best though and I was so proud to be taking home the best horse in the world in my eyes.”

Clarke said Ritchie is “way more” than the wins and the placings, and that even people who did not know the gelding loved him.

“It’s the end of an era for me and Ritchie. It’s been a great one,” he said.

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

Olympics, Europeans and multiple international wins: retirement for British mare with ‘heart of gold’

Lucy Elder — Fri, 14 May 2021 15:36:15 +0000

Gemma Tattersall’s Olympic and European Championship ride Quicklook V has been retired following a sparkling career with numerous international wins.

The 16-year-old mare “with a heart of gold” scored major wins at Chatsworth CIC3* (now CCI4*-S) in 2017 and Bramham CCI4*-S in 2019, was part of the British team at the Rio 2016 Olympics and finished eighth as an individual at the 2017 Europeans.

Gemma told H&H that the plan is to breed from “Pebbles”, who had a foal as a youngster and already has a number of exciting embryo transfer (ET) offspring.

She explained that she and owners, the Pebbles Syndicate, had already decided not to event the mare again, owing to a small soundness issue, and considered she might enjoy some fun showjumping and eventing grand prix classes in her senior years, should she be fit to do so, “as she is such a cool dude”.

“It’s nothing serious and she’s very comfortable,” said Gemma, adding that they came to the conclusion that retirement was the right decision for the mare.

“One of my massive highlights with her was winning the Chatsworth Event Rider Masters [ERM] — she gave me everything, she is so special.

“She won Brahmam as well and was in the top 10 at the Europeans, went to the Olympics, she’s a fantastic little horse, especially considering she was bought as a project for well under £10,000! She wasn’t bought to be what she has turned out to be, which makes it even more special. She has a heart of gold.”

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Gemma said she realised Pebbles was special at the horse’s first BE100 event.

“She just loved it,” she said. “She always thought every event she went to was put on just for her, that was her mentality: ‘everyone is here to watch me”! She just shone, right from the beginning, and that’s what makes her so special.

“In the dressage she would go in and rise to the occasion and she loved ERMs — I swear to god that horse would dance to the music — she would have done pure dressage too, she was a natural show-off!”

Gemma thanked the “wonderful” mare for all she has done and the Pebbles Syndicate for their support.

The pair’s other major successes included wins at what is now two- and three-star level; fifth at Tattersalls and fourth at Blenheim CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in 2015; second at Bramham CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in 2017 and second at Jardy ERM 2019.

Pebbles (Urkel x Quick Star) is already proving herself in her second career. Among her progeny is her six-year-old ET son Chilli Rocks (by Chilli Morning), who has multiple wins in international young horse showjumping classes and two wins on his BE record, with sub-30 finishing scores at every event he has contested.

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

Meet Yvonne Losos de Muñiz — the Dominican Republic’s only Olympic rider

Polly Bryan — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 16:24:55 +0000

The Dominican Republic is not a nation that pops up often in equestrian sport, but Yvonne Losos de Muñiz is flying the flag for this small country in dressage. We find out more about her…

When Yvonne Losos de Muñiz competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016, she was the first rider from the Dominican Republic to take part in a Games in any discipline. She rode the Belgian warmblood Foco Loco W, then aged 11, to finish 59th.

Yvonne has reached two World Cup Finals to date, having competed Foco Loco in Paris in 2015, and more recently represented her country at the 2019 Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, riding Aquamarijn.

She is gunning for a place at the 2021 Final, due to be held in Gothenburg in April, having campaigned alongside Carl Hester for a reversal of the FEI’s rule change re-allocating a place at the Final from a non-league rider to a rider from the Western European League. This change was reversed earlier this week.

“Miss World”

Yvonne Losos de Muñiz was born in Nigeria and grew up in Kenya before moving to Germany as a teenager to train at the state stud at Marbach. Her family subsequently moved to Canada before she made the Dominican Republic her home after marrying Eduardo Muniz. She also holds a Canadian passport.

Yvonne became great friends with Carl after they shared a house during the Sunshine tour in Spain in 2000. Carl has since been a strong supporter of her dressage career, and has nicknamed her “Miss World”.

The grand prix rider is currently based in Florida, and she has been enjoying a super run of form during the 2020-2021 World Cup season with top horse Aquamarijn, a 16-year-old KWPN mare by United. The pair won the Wellington qualifier in December with 79.63%, and were second in the January qualifier with 78.17%.

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Yvonne was her nation’s first equestrian to win a medal at the Pan Am Games when she took bronze on home soil at the 2003 Games at the Palmarejo Equestrian Center — a property built by her and her husband Eduardo Muñiz for the event — in Santo Domingo.

She quit dressage for a couple of years after losing an appeal over a place to ride at London 2012 with Carl Hester’s world and European team silver medallist Liebling II, but returned to international competition in September 2014 after being asked to reconsider by the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation.

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

‘Jumping clear on Tripple X was my proudest moment’: 60 seconds with Canadian rider Tiffany Foster

Jennifer Donald — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:24:25 +0000

We are big fans of Canadian showjumper Tiffany Foster here at Horse & Hound. She’s a stylish horsewoman who enjoys a wonderful bond with her horses and the results speak for themselves – she’s represented her country at the highest level, including at two Olympic Games and won team gold at the Pan American Games, and she’s won some of the biggest grands prix in the world. We particularly love that she rode the former Ben Maher ride, Tripple X III, to such great success after taking over the reins from the British rider.

But there are many things we didn’t know about 36-year-old Tiffany, as we discovered in this entertaining video of quick-fire questions produced by Rolex Grand Slam.

She reveals she enjoys coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, and prefers a night in to a night out. We also learn that her favourite singer is Dermot Kennedy and she really admires tennis player Serena Williams in her field. We were particularly impressed to find out that her karaoke song of choice is The Power Of Love by Celine Dion — now that’s a proper belter, go Tiffany!

When asked to pick her favourite horse, she opts for Eric Lamaze’s legendary Hickstead, rather than one of her own “because I don’t want to play favourite”.

According to Tiffany, the proudest moment of her career was “probably the team final at the Rio Olympics and the clear round on Tripple X III for Team Canada”. The squad finished fourth after a nail-biting jump-off for the bronze medal with Germany. Unsurprisingly, she picks Kent Farrington and Eric Lamaze as the riders she most admires in the world of showjumping. We definitely didn’t know that she would have been an interior designer if her showjumping career hadn’t taken off, though.

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She nominates Cameron Diaz as the actress to play her role in a movie — and there’s a definite resemblance, now you mention it!

The things we never knew about showjumpers — so thank you, Tiffany and thank you, Rolex Grand Slam.

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

Alex Hua Tian’s Olympic memories: ‘It was such a heart-breaking moment’

Gemma Redrup — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 11:24:00 +0000

Chinese event rider Alex Hua Tian describes his Olympic memories as “totally surreal” when he looks back and that’s hardly surprising when you consider he became the youngest eventing competitor to ride at the Olympics when he competed at the 2008 Beijing Games, aged 18.

“It’s a bit crazy looking back at it all,” says Alex, while being interviewed by H&H’s eventing editor Pippa Roome for episode 19 of the Horse & Hound podcast. “I think it was a combination of a few factors, such as being half Chinese certainly gave me the opportunity to compete for China in my home Olympic Games. But at the same time, being also half British gave me the opportunity to assimilate into the eventing world comfortably and take on the whole lifestyle and so on.

“But also, I had incredibly supportive parents, who not only gave me all the opportunities to do what I wanted to do, but also allowed me to make the decision to do it, because for the Beijing Olympics I ultimately took a year out of school the year before my A-levels — I owned that decision as they never pushed me to do it, and I think that was a very important part of my life.

“Then there’s also the crazy amount of money generously given to that project by Mr Jiang, who funded my Beijing Olympic campaign. I think the combination of all those things and the timing, all brought it about.”

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Unfortunately Alex’s Olympic debut didn’t go according to plan when he parted company with FBW Chico at fence eight on the cross-country – “It was such a heartbreaking moment for me personally and really burst the fairytale bubble I was living in at the time.” But while he admits it took a while to get over the disappointment, with hindsight he thinks it helped to set him on his way to making eventing his career.

“Looking back on it now I think I’ve got more out of falling off at the Olympics than I would have done if I’d finished 50th or whatever. I very much felt after that I still had something to prove, which is why I’m still here.”

After narrowly missing out on qualifying for London 2012 – “by 1.6 penalties” he recalls ruefully – Alex headed to his second Games at the Rio in 2016, where he rode Don Geniro to eighth place (pictured).

“Again, it’s surreal to look back now at those Olympics as Don was a young horse at nine years old, and was admittedly not the horse I was planning to take originally, which was Harbour Pilot C,” explains Alex. “We didn’t know if he was old enough and experienced enough to handle it all, but he seems to be a horse that loves the southern hemisphere!”

To hear more of Alex’s exclusive interview, listen to episode 19 of The Horse & Hound podcast or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

Spencer Wilton’s Rio memories: ‘The first time I saw Usain Bolt was quite a moment!’

Polly Bryan — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 11:38:42 +0000

In the same week that the dressage medals should have been decided at the Tokyo Olympics, top British dressage rider Spencer Wilton joins H&H dressage editor Polly Bryan on episode nine of The Horse & Hound Podcast, to relive some of his favourite memories from Rio 2016.

The Rio Olympics, where he rode Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II and helped Britain bring home the team silver, was Spencer’s first championship, and the moment he found out he had been selected for the team is one that sticks in his mind.

“I remember exactly where I was when I got the call from chef d’equipe Dickie Waygood to say I had been selected,” says Spencer. “I was in the car – on hands-free – on my way to the yard, just getting on to the M4. The phone rang and I thought, ‘This is it, this is it’, and then I was trying to negotiate roadworks while Dickie was talking to me. It was an amazing moment.

“From that point onwards, it was just the most magical experience. If I never get the opportunity to do it again, it will be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”

Spencer rode on the British team alongside Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro, Carl Hester with Nip Tuck and Fiona Bigwood on Atterupgaards Orthilia.

“Having never been to any of the big championships before, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I had the best time – it was just so much fun, and what a great team to be a part of,” says Spencer. “Everyone has their own individual pressures of course, but we had the best time. We had an amazing back-up team and Dickie made the whole experience as much as you can have at an Olympics where you also have to be serious and represent your country!

“I hadn’t twigged that we would all be sharing an apartment, and that we would be all together 24/7 for the best part of two weeks,” adds Spencer. “In between being very serious and trying to win a medal, we had lots of laughs.”

Many Olympians report spending lots of their time in the Athletes’ Village trying to work out what sport everyone else competes in, and Spencer says he and the other Brits were no exception.

“The food hall in Rio was like a huge aircraft hangar and I think it sat 5,000 people at a time. We spent hours trying to work out what sport other people did. Of course there are people from all around the world, from lots of different cultures, and looking at what people had on their food trays was particularly fascinating, especially at breakfast time!

“The first time I saw Usain Bolt was quite a moment – he is physically quite an imposing person, but he also just has this amazing aura about him.”

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Although the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the Tokyo Olympics back to 2021, Spencer is looking forward to campaigning Super Nova for team selection. The De Niro gelding will be 18 next year, but Spencer reports that he is feeling better than ever.

“Our vet Andy Bathe said, ‘We’ll just pop the old boy on ice for six months and keep him ticking over, and then we’ll thaw him out and get him going again in the autumn’. I said that if Andy takes care of his body, I’ll take care of his mind, which is like that of a six-year-old most of the time. He’s hacking out and having a play in the school from time to time, and he feels fantastic.”

If you’d like to find out more about Spencer’s plans as he looks ahead to Tokyo, and hear him chatting about his stunning new yard, listen here to episode nine of The Horse & Hound podcast or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app

Vote Charlotte Dujardin or Nick Skelton as Britain’s greatest Olympic moment

Becky Murray — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 17:09:04 +0000

Charlotte Dujardin and Nick Skelton are among some of Britain’s most talented athletes included in a vote of greatest Olympic moments.

The BBC has asked the public to vote for their favourite British moment from a list of 25, from Tokyo 1964 to Rio 2016.

“There have been tear-jerkers, jaw-droppers and simply those that have been awe-inspiring,” said a BBC spokesman.

“Great Britain has enjoyed some incredible moments at the summer Olympics – but what is the greatest?”

Among the shortlist, chosen by the BBC, is dressage superstar Charlotte Dujardin and her famous dancing partner Valegro’s double gold medal-winning performances of London 2012, and showjumping legend Nick Skelton and Big Star’s individual gold at Rio 2016.

Nick Skelton GBR riding Big Star during the 2nd Qualifier for the individual Competition and the 1st round of the Team Jumping Competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro near Rio, Brazil on 16th August 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Nick told H&H he was “very honoured” to be nominated, especially as there are only 25 nominees from across so many Games.

“Let’s hope all equestrians vote and we do well for our sport,” he said.

Charlotte and Nick face competition from the likes of pentathlete Mary Peter’s Munich 1972 gold medal, runner Kelly Holmes’ double gold at Athens 2004, cyclist Chris Hoy’s treble gold at Beijing 2008 and swimmer Becky Adlington, who aged 19 in Beijing became the first British woman to take a swimming gold since 1960 – she went on to a second gold days later. Britain’s ”Super Saturday” at London 2012, when Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won individual golds within 44 minutes, is also on the list.

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The public has until 10am on 25 July to vote. Television presenters Clare Balding and Gabby Logan will count down the moments during a special BBC One programme from 1.15pm on 25 July, on what should have been the opening weekend of Tokyo 2020.

“We will be counting down with them via a live text, so get involved with your favourite moments using #bbcOlympics,” said the spokesman.

To vote, visit the BBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/53221821

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A Badminton win, an Olympic medal and 11 five-star completions – we celebrate Paulank Brockagh’s career in 19 lovely photos

Pippa Roome — Tue, 12 May 2020 15:24:08 +0000

Earlier this week, we received the news that the 2014 Badminton winner, Dinah and Steve Posford and Jules Carter’s Paulank Brockagh, has been retired and returned to her breeders in Ireland.

The 17-year-old mare known as “Brocks” was a stalwart of the top-level eventing scene with Sam Griffiths, recording four top-10 five-star results in addition to her Badminton victory and leading Australia to team bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

We take a look back at her career…

Brocks joined Sam in 2010 and the pair finished eighth in the seven-year-old World Championships at Le Lion d’Angers that autumn. But she first really caught the eye the following spring when she claimed second in the CCI2* (now CCI3*-L) at Houghton Hall in Norfolk (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

A showjumping clear secured the runner-up spot for the pair on that occasion at Houghton (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Badminton final scores

Later that year, Brocks was Sam’s mount for the London Olympic test event. A clear across country with just 1.2 time-faults landed them a finish inside the top 20 (Image credit: TREVOR MEEKS)

By the spring of 2012, Brocks was ready to be competitive at CCI3* (now CCI4*-L). Here she is en route to fifth place at Bramham, jumping the Yorkshire event’s iconic ice cream cone fence (Image credit: Trevor Meeks)

The mare stepped up to the top level in 2013 and she put in a competitive performance at Burghley, helped by a nearly 10-mark improvement in her dressage from Badminton that spring (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Sam and Brocks take on the Cottesmore Leap at Burghley 2013 and finish 13th (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Brocks’ day of days came at Badminton 2014 and it was an extraordinary competition. She lay 25th after dressage – not a likely position for a winner in the modern sport – but came into her own on a tough, wet cross-country day when only around half the starters finished the course (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

No one really expects to move up to win Badminton with a showjumping down – but that’s exactly what happened. There wasn’t a single penalty-free round on the final day at Badminton that year (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, that autumn was another tough competition, with heavy going on the cross-country, but Brocks battled through to land 16th individually, the second-best finish of the fourth-placed Australian team (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Sam and Brocks were back to defend their title at Badminton 2015, where they finished 10th (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Another Burghley that autumn – another Cottesmore Leap shot. The pair improved on their previous Burghley placing with ninth and a double jumping clear, the mare’s first at this level (Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

Pats after dressage at Badminton 2016… (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

But maybe Sam’s face tells the story at the final horse inspection. An annoying 20 penalties across country kept the pair out of the top echelons on this occasion (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Sam and Brocks were called up for the Australian team at the Rio Olympics in the summer of 2016 and the mare put in one of her best performances, kicking off with a 46.3 dressage (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

A fast clear cross-country over Pierre Michelet’s influential course elevated them up the order (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

And in the showjumping ring, Brocks put in two clear rounds, leading the Australians to team bronze and finishing just out of the individual medals herself in fourth (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Justified delight for Sam as he clears all the poles in the team round (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

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Brocks recorded strong results at the Continental five-stars in her final years competing, notching up eighth place at Pau in 2017 and seventh at Luhmühlen in 2019. In between, she completed a final Badminton in 2018, taking 15th. Her record of six consecutive Badminton finishes is only bettered by Lenamore’s seven, with Merry Sovereign also having six completions on his record (Image credit: www.sarahfarnsworth.co.uk)

Pictures by Peter Nixon, trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk, Lucy Merrell, Hamish Mitchell and sarahfarnsworth.co.uk

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‘Few horses have won so much for their country’: farewell to multiple medal-winner

Polly Bryan — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:18:27 +0000

The multi-medalled British para dressage horse LJT Lucas Normark has been put to sleep aged 18.

With rider Anne Dunham, the Knabstrupper stallion won nine championship medals for Britain, including team gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2013 and 2015 Europeans, as well as a total of six individual silver medals.

“There are very few horses out there who have won so many medals for their country,” said Anne who, as a grade I rider, was a stalwart of the British para team until her retirement from competition in 2016.

“Lucas had a long-term problem with one of his back legs, which was getting worse. He was much loved and fussed over; it was a very hard decision to take, and terribly sad.”

A Danish-bred son of Ravaldi, Lucas, who featured on the cover of H&H magazine in December 2016, was owned by the Lady Joseph Trust and Henrietta Cheetham, without whom Anne said none of their success together would have been possible.

“The Lady Joseph Trust has done more for para dressage than almost anybody,” she said.

“Lucas was a star, though not an angel — he could occasionally nip and although he was very good to ride, being a stallion he did sometimes makes trot-ups interesting!

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“He could be hard work sometimes, but I’ll never forget my first test on him at the Rio Paralympics — it was so hot and we were both streaming with sweat but Lucas just set off in his rhythm and never wavered from it. He was a lovely boy.

“He had his own fan club, and because of his colour we could never go anywhere incognito. But that was one of the things I loved about him — that he always stood out in a crowd,” Anne told H&H.

Lucas’ final competitive outings were in 2018 with the triple European gold medallist Suzanna Hext. The pair were unbeaten in their three shows together, scoring up to 79% in grade II.

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One year to Tokyo: from bullets to Pokemon — 17 things you’d forgotten from the Rio Olympics

Pippa Roome — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 06:25:52 +0000

It’s a year today until the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and we just can’t wait!

While we try to contain our excitement, let’s look back on some of the things you’d forgotten that happened during those two crazy weeks in Rio three years ago…

1. Both the German and New Zealand eventing teams had to make a late change to their line-ups, substituting in their travelling reserve horse after the first trot-up.

2. There was a Russian dressage rider who read her horse love stories to calm him down. Maybe we could try that before our prelim tests?

3. The amazing national uniforms on display at the eventing trot-up, particularly the Swedish ladies’ get-up.

4. We got shot at in the press centre. Well, a bullet came through the roof, I’m still not sure if it was actually aimed at us…

5. The defending Olympic showjumping champion Nino Des Buissonets, ridden by Steve Guerdat, was held at the trot-up before the competition started.

6. The Australians held the eventing team and individual gold medal positions after cross-country, with Chris Burton in the lead individually on Santano II.

7. The French dressage horse who had a wee in the arena. Everyone has to do it, but there’s a time and place, surely?

8. Phillip Dutton’s Mighty Nice — the eventual individual eventing bronze medallist for the USA — was held at the final trot-up.

9. Skelfies.

10. Robbie Sanderson, a British groom working for the German team, was kicked in the head at the team medal ceremony.

11. Mark Todd could have secured eventing team gold for New Zealand with a showjumping clear… but four rails down left the Kiwis outside the medals altogether.

12. Travelling reserve Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum was called into the German showjumping team at 7am on the day of the first round. The team eventually won team bronze.

13. Judy Reynolds became the first Irish dressage rider to qualify for the freestyle at an Olympics, riding Vancouver K.

14. Eight riders failed to finish in the first round of the showjumping, including eventual French team gold medallist Penelope Leprovost.

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15. Nick Skelton and Big Star — the individual showjumping gold medallists for Britain — were penalised for touching the tape at the water jump in the team competition. The decision was appealed by the British team, but unsuccessfully.

16. Adelinde Cornelissen retired Parzival after just a couple of movements in the grand prix as he was running a high fever.

17. Carl Hester’s Nip Tuck saw a Pokemon at P.

Roll on Tokyo!

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

A year ago today! 10 moments that had us cheering our hearts out en route to Skelton’s glorious gold

Jennifer Donald — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 07:25:33 +0000

One year ago today (19 August) we reached the end of the emotional rollercoaster ride that was the Olympic showjumping in Rio. After Great Britain’s team disappointment, and some close-shaves along the way, it was the heroic pairing of Nick Skelton and Big Star’s turn to shine. To celebrate the anniversary of this momentous day, we relive some of the highlights of their epic journey to Olympic gold — you may just need those tissues once again…

1. Oh that jump!

Nick Skelton GBR riding Big Star, during the 1st Qualifier of the individual Show Jumping competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro near Rio, Brazil on 14th August 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Big Star began his Olympic campaign with three surprise four-fault rounds. Nick put it down to being “a bit rusty” after a long spell on the sidelines. But there was no denying the 13-year-old stallion’s will to clear every maximum height fence – knees up! “He hadn’t jumped anything that big for a long time,” said Nick. “I’d done some fairly decent stuff at home, but it’s nothing like going in the ring — you need the adrenalin and the excitement. But I always had total belief in him.”

2. Into the blue

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 14: Nick Skelton of Great Britain riding Big Star competes during the Jumping Individual and Team Qualifier on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Equestrian Centre on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite this dazzling image of the pair clearing the open water, the obstacle caused a bit of controversy for the pair in the second round. On team day, pathfinder Nick had been furious to be given four faults for touching the tape at the 4.3m wide water. “That horse has never been in a water jump in his life and I didn’t think he was in that one,” he said. The Brits appealed, but unsuccessfully — it would not have affected the result, however.

3. Soaring through to the individual final

Despite the disappointment of the British team crashing out of contention, Nick and Big Star were progressing through sweetly as individuals. “When he had the vertical down [in the treble combination] in the second round of the team competition, I thought, ‘That’s it he’s never going to hit another one’,” said Nick. “When you walked in the ring on Big Star, you had no worries — he felt as if he could jump absolutely anything.” The pair squeaked through as one of the final 35 individual riders where, crucially, they all began on a clean sheet.

4. The ‘runaway train’ at full pelt

The pair’s confidence was sky high coming into the individual final and, according to Nick, Big Star was jumping better than ever. He didn’t touch a pole over the next two rounds and, with six combinations remaining faultless, the Olympic medals would be decided in a race against the clock. “Just before I set off in the jump-off, I thought ‘Well, this is it. It’s my last chance — there ain’t going to be another time!’” said Nick, who acted as trailblazer. Big Star’s owner Gary Widdowson once described his pride and joy’s way of going as a bit like a “runaway train”, but the 13-year-old stallion’s electrifying turn of speed lit up the Deodoro arena. We all held a collective breath as the lightning quick Eric Lamaze entered the arena on Fine Lady 5 — then erupted with joy when, agonizingly for the Canadian, that penultimate rail fell. Nick and Big Star were Olympic champions.

5. Riding the emotional wave

Nick Skelton GBR riding Big Star in the Individual Final of the Show Jumping Competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro near Rio, Brazil on 19th August 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Is that a speck of dust in your eye, Mark Beever? After a lifetime in the saddle and 16 years after breaking his neck, Nick had fulfilled the ultimate comeback — and we don’t blame his lifelong groom for shedding a tear or two. “I’m glad it was sunny so I could have my sunglasses on, because I had such red eyes!” said Mark. “But to win gold was just the best thing to ever happen and an amazing feeling to walk in there knowing it was because you were gold medallists. I just wanted to let out a big scream!”

6. Thank you, Henry!

Nick Skelton GBR riding Big Star in the Individual Final of the Show Jumping Competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro near Rio, Brazil on 19th August 2016 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

This heartfelt image summed up everything about the Olympic spirit — winning a medal is the ultimate accolade for any athlete, but, when it comes to the equestrian events, it’s all down to an absolute partnership between horse and rider, meaning there’s always one more person to thank. “I always thought Big Star was something special and if there was a horse that could win gold, it was him,” said Nick.

7. ‘It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy’

Canada's Eric Lamaze (R) and Britain's Nick Skelton greet each other after the final round of the individual equestrian show jumping event at the Olympic Equestrian Centre during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 19, 2016.Skelton riding Big Star won the individual show jumping gold. / AFP / John MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images) (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Despite missing out on Olympic gold by the cruellest blow, bronze medallist Eric Lamaze joined the new champion for this touching moment. Nick chose this picture as one of his favourite images from the Games and Eric has a print hanging on his wall at home. “Eric said to me: ‘Unbelievable — it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy’,” said Nick.

8. GOLD!

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock (5839620c)Gold medalist Britain's Nick Skelton (C), silver medalist Sweden's Peder Fredricson (L), bronze medalist Canada's Eric Lamaze attend the awarding ceremony for the jumping individual of Equestrian at the 2016 Rio Olympic GamesRio 2016 Olympic Games, Equestrian, Olympic Equestrian Centre, Brazil - 19 Aug 2016 (Image credit: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)

After a career spanning over four decades and having represented his country at every Olympics since 1988 bar one (Sydney 2000, when he’d broken his neck), one of the sport’s most popular riders finally won the individual title that had been the driving force behind his twilight years in the saddle. In 2012, when Nick was part of the gold medal-winning team, he was in such a rush to step up on the podium he jumped the gun and gave us all a giggle, but this time around the podium pro was perfectly poised for his victory salute.

9. ‘I’ve had a long, long career and to do it now is unbelievable to me’

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

The ice cool showjumper melted on that podium as the national anthem belted out around the world – and an entire nation wept with him. If anyone deserved that gold medal it was Nick and Big Star and together they wrote the perfect final chapter in what is one of the sport’s greatest stories.

10. Rule Britannia

Britain's Nick Skelton celebrates with his gold medal in front of the Olympic rings after the individual equestrian show jumping event during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 19, 2016. / AFP / John MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images) (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

At the age of 58, Nick Skelton, became Great Britain’s first individual Olympic showjumping champion and Britain’s oldest Olympic medallist since 1908. One thing’s for sure, we’ll never forget that magical day in Rio…

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

British Olympic dressage horse sold abroad

Alice Collins — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 17:10:22 +0000

Fiona Bigwood’s Rio Olympic medallist horse Atterupgaards Orthilia has been sold to the Danish international grand prix rider Agnete Kirk Thinggaard, and the horse has already moved abroad.

After winning team silver at the Rio Olympic Games, Fiona credited the bouncy Gribaldi x Donnerschlag mare — now 12 — for her return to riding after a career-threatening accident in which she fell from a horse in April 2014. She now competes in an eye patch to help mitigate the double vision caused by the accident.

Together Fiona and ‘Tillie’ were on the British team at the 2015 European Championships in Aachen (Germany), as well as in Rio. They helped secure team silver on both occasions.

Fiona Bigwood riding Atterupgaards Orthilia at the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany on 12 August 2015 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

“It was a very hard decision but Tillie is in the prime of her competition career and I want the best for her,” said Fiona. “My home commitments mean I can only do around four top level shows a year and she deserves to have her full potential realised.

“She’s the most talented, generous and clever horse I’ve ever ridden, but I know she’ll have the best home and chance of success with Agnete. We waved her off yesterday on her journey to her new home in Denmark.”

Fiona and her husband Anders Dahl have recently located to a new base near Haywards Heath in West Sussex — with a guide price of £6m — which needs major renovation and will take up much of Fiona’s time.

However she has no plans to retire any time soon.

Article continues below…

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“I love training and competing, so my career is far from over. I have some exciting youngsters at home and am currently looking for another so I’m not ready to hang my boots up just yet!” she added.

“My priority is my family and home so while I won’t be out competing at the big internationals for a while, I’ll still be busy at home working on producing a future Olympic champion for Britain.”

Fiona has recently bought a new horse, the rising six-year-old Oldenburg gelding Daytona Platinum (Dante Weltino x Charon), who finished sixth at the 2016 bundeschampionat in Germany.

On Tillie’s sale, British Dressage’s chief executive Jason Brautigam said: “I’m sure everyone in the dressage community will be sad to see Tillie go and break this magic partnership. She’s hugely talented and still has great potential for the future, so this is a big loss to Team GBR.

“On behalf of British Dressage, we would like to thank both Fiona and Tillie for their significant contribution to the two team silver medals in 2015 and at last year’s Olympics.

“While this combination will be much missed, Fiona’s stable of exciting youngsters will hopefully mean that she’s back as part of our medal-winning teams in the near future.”

6 reasons showjumper Peder Fredricson may be your next life crush

Madeleine Silver — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 17:28:37 +0000

Nick Skelton winning the Olympic gold medal in Rio was somewhat distracting for those of us watching from the sofa at home. All eyes were firmly on Nick. And Big Star. And no one else.

Which meant we weren’t paying a huge amount of attention to Sweden’s silver medallist Peder Fredricson as he took to the podium. But now we’ve had time to breathe, we’ve realised we may have missed a trick there. Here are six reasons we are (just a little bit) in awe of him…

1. He’s no one trick pony

Thirty-four-year-old Peder may have clinched the individual silver medal for showjumping in Rio aboard H&H All In in August last year, but he made his Olympic debut as an eventer with Hilly Trip in Barcelona in 1992, when he finished 14th as an individual.

2. He juggles top-level sport and fatherhood with aplomb

Peder has three children (Carsten, Hjalmar and Bill) with his wife Lisen, who is also a showjumper. And he has high hopes for them — he’d love it if at least one of his children followed him into the sport.

3. He’s a hit with the public

Earlier this week (16 January), Peder scooped up the ‘Jerring Prize’ at the Swedish Sports Gala — Sweden’s most prestigious sports award for an athlete who has had particular success in the past year. The Swedish public cast their votes for the nominees — and Peder managed to fight off all the competition including one of the world’s best golfers Henrik Stenson.

4. He has a back-up plan

While most of us would be happy if our talents stretched to Olympic-level showjumping, Peder is also a graphic designer. He won a competition run by the FEI to design new pictograms for each of the seven sports the federation governs and he also designed the logo for the Sweden International Horse Show. Oh, and he is effortlessly eloquent, speaking German as well as Swedish and English.

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Nick Skelton and Big Star win GOLD in Rio showjumping showdown

The ultimate Whitaker quiz: have you got the legendary showjumping family sussed?

5. Model-looks

There’s a reason that Peder was snapped up to be H&M’s poster boy…

6. His horses come first

Peder’s horses can kick back in the fields at his stunning yard in southern Sweden, complete with sea views — and the stable walls have windows to allow the horses to interact.

Don’t miss our exclusive interview with Peder Fredricson in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (19 January 2016)

Irish eventer’s Rio ride to be sold at auction

Lucy Elder — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 18:36:41 +0000

Irish eventer Clare Abbott’s Olympic ride is set to be sold at auction in November.

Euro Prince (“Sparky”), who is owned by his breeders Cormac McKay and his father John, is in the line-up for the Goresbridge “Go For Gold” sale in Co. Wexford on 14-16 November.

“The owners feel the time is right now to sell him on,” Clare told H&H today (26 September).

“The horse is absolutely in great form.”

The pair finished 37th individually at this year’s Olympics and helped Ireland to eighth place in the team competition.

“I would love to keep the ride on him, we have built up a great partnership over the years,” she added.

Clare has been riding the striking chestnut since his first season of eventing as a five-year-old in 2008.

The part-time maths teacher, who made her Olympic debut at Rio, has enjoyed a string of success at top-level competition with Sparky.

The combination won Ballindenisk CCI3* on their dressage score in 2014 and finished ninth at Pau CCI4* last October.

They also jumped clear across country round Badminton in both 2014 and 2015; and their record together is full of top-10 placings at national and international events.

In a statement on Clare’s Facebook page, the 29-year-old said the sale is due to “no fault” of Sparky’s.

“My team and I are devastated about this as we have formed a fantastic partnership over the last seven years and I would most certainly like to keep the ride,” she said.

“I had planned on contesting Badminton 2017 and future championships.”

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In an interview with H&H ahead of the Olympics, Clare said the call-up to the squad was “a lifetime ambition achieved”.

“I feel a great sense of satisfaction that it’s possible to do it with a small team of horses — all you need is one great horse with supportive owners and the right team at home,” she said.

“You don’t need a big yard or fancy facilities. I have a professional approach, get the best training I can and do the best job I can with the horses. I hope that inspires people that you can do it.”

Top-class care: who looked after our horses in Rio?

Madeleine Silver — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 12:33:52 +0000

As this summer's Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro come to a close, we go behind the scenes at the 1,000 sq metre horse clinic located at the Deodoro stables, to take a look at the world-class veterinary and farriery care that was on tap for our equine athletes. The clinic included the latest pathology, endoscopy, radiography and ultrasonography technology, as well as a dispensary, emergency surgery facility with padded recovery boxes, and specialist treatment stables. The facility was manned by a 130-strong team of veterinary surgeons, anaesthetists, imaging specialists and medical professionals from Brazil and around the world

H&H’s eventing editor Pippa Roome: A timetabling nightmare H&H VIP

Pippa Roome — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 08:00:21 +0000

There is no doubt that the Event Rider Masters (ERM) is bringing a great deal to our sport. The prize money is impressive and the aim of presenting eventing in a way that is TV-friendly is fantastic.

However, it does bring significant on-site challenges when trying to integrate this class with existing events. I don’t envy the scorers at Blair last weekend trying to timetable Sunday — there were three CCI classes coming to a head in the showjumping, alongside the jumping and cross-country phases of the CIC3* and ERM.

The sad casualty of this was the climax of the CCI*, in which overnight leader Jonelle Price was the only one of the top six after cross-country who actually jumped at the end as all the others had to perform early before dashing off to the ERM cross-country.

After her clear round, Jonelle trotted straight back to the stables to make her ERM cross-country time. The prize giving took place without any of the top three present.

While I appreciate the weekend days are the prime time, maybe ERM could be timetabled here in the same way as at Bramham, with the dressage on Friday and the jumping phases on Saturday?

Elsewhere at Blair, event director Alec Lochore designed the cross-country for the first time and all four courses rode well on good ground. He had used many of the feature fences from last year’s Europeans, but with tweaks where necessary and a complete reroute of the tracks. A particular positive was the tidying up of the previously confusing loops around the flat ground at the start and finish.

The Olympic experience

Lots of people have asked about Rio since we’ve been home and every time I’ve said that for H&H’s two journalists and photographer it was a good experience.

The set-up for journalists at the equestrian centre was great, with the press stand, the media centre and the mixed zone (for interviewing) close together. As well as having televisions, we could see the arena from the mixed zone, which is a rare luxury.

The internet worked at both the venue and our accommodation, and the buses between the two were pretty efficient. We were in the Olympic bubble 95% of the time and with armed military personnel everywhere, I never felt security was an issue.

Our flat in the Deodoro Accommodation Village (DAV), which housed press and officials for all the venues in this area, was basic but clean. The only glitch was that it took a couple of days to sort out the hot water. There was decent food available in DAV and we made a few trips by taxi to restaurants nearby.

There has been much discussion about poor crowds at the dressage and eventing. The official figure of 78% of available tickets sold for the eventing dressage simply doesn’t match up with the empty seats we saw — I’d say at most the stands were 40% full.

Our experience was that it was difficult actually to buy tickets. On the last Thursday of the Games, we went to a ticket booth, but were told unless we wanted to pay astronomical prices, nothing was available at any venue.

Soon after, we bought seats online for fencing (the seeding round of the modern pentathlon) and the gold medal men’s hockey match for a total cost of about £30 per person. The fencing was virtually empty, so it wasn’t a case of tickets not being on sale because of a near sell-out. If this was the case for equestrianism, no wonder spectators were sparse.

Ref Horse & Hound; 1 September 2016

Nick Skelton ‘amazed’ by calls for him to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Amy Mathieson — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 18:08:41 +0000

Nick Skelton has told H&H he is “amazed” by the support he’s received after his gold medal-winning performance at Rio 2016, especially by the calls for him to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

A SPOTY campaign has quickly gathered on social media, with equestrian fans and supporters posting “#skelfies” with Nick.

Even 20-time champion jump jockey Sir AP McCoy is backing Nick for the accolade.

Nick told H&H: “It’s fantastic the support I’m getting from people young and old; and even from Sir AP. It would be an honour for showjumping.”

At 58 years old Nick became Britain’s second-oldest Olympic gold medallist when he won the individual showjumping at Rio last week (Friday 19 August). The only person older was Joshua Millner, who was 61 when he took shooting gold in 1908. Nick’s victory was also Team GB’s first individual showjumping medal since 1972 when Anne Moore won silver.

“Nick is as good a showjumper as there’s ever been,” said AP in his William Hill blog today (Tuesday 23 August).

“To go to seven Olympic Games and win gold with possibly his last chance is an incredible feat. If I could pick one person, I would love to see Nick Skelton win Sports Personality of the Year. I’ve known him a long time and have always thought he’s a brilliant rider. I have great respect for him. He’s very gifted.”

Nick made his Olympic debut in 1988 and missed only one, Sydney 2000, after he broke his neck. He was forced to retire from showjumping in 2001, but after recovering he returned to the sport in 2002.

Forty-two-year-old AP, who retired in April 2015, joked: “With Nick winning a gold medal at the age of 58, I was thinking maybe I retired too early. Could I go for a career switch? I wouldn’t mind riding Big Star.”

But it’s a tough year for SPOTY. Brits won 67 medals in 15 different sports at Rio, finishing second in the medal table behind the USA.

AP, who was crowned SPOTY in 2010, thinks that tennis star Andy Murray is likely to take the award, for a third time.

“I’d like to see Nick win Sports Personality, but who do I think will win it? Andy Murray is favourite and if he hadn’t already won it twice, I’d say he was a good thing,” he continued.

“Maybe he deserves to win it again though, winning Wimbledon and Olympic gold in the same year.”

Nick is currently a 50/1 shot with the bookmakers. Andy Murray is favourite at 11/10 and Mo Farah is 2/1.

Gold medal-winning dressage star Charlotte Dujardin also has a slot in the bookmakers’ odds at 100/1.

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AP is one of just four riders to have won a SPOTY, alongside David Broome in 1960, Princess Anne in 1971 and Zara Phillips in 2006.

Charlotte Dujardin finished fourth in 2014, despite a huge push by the equestrian industry and an army of dressage fans.

British combination withdraw from Olympics

Lucy Elder — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:23:08 +0000

Michael Whitaker has withdrawn from the remainder of the Rio Olympics after his ride Cassionato showed signs of colic.

The 11-year-old grey stallion put a foot in the water to incur four faults and picked up one time fault in yesterday’s first team qualifier, leaving them in 42nd place.

Together with Ben Maher and Nick Skelton, the combination had qualified for today’s (17 August) showjumping round as individuals.

The decision to withdraw Cassionato was made after the horse showed signs of discomfort after yesterday’s round.

“Obviously we’re all very, very disappointed for Michael and owners Gary and Beverley Widdowson,” said team manager Di Lampard last night.

“Cassionato is being treated in the veterinary clinic this evening and is in very good hands. It just shows the effort the horse put into today’s round.”

The withdrawal does not affect Britain’s position as a team — faults from all members yesterday left the Brits on a total of 13 faults and in 12th place.

As only the top eight teams progress through to the next round, the London 2012 team gold medallists are unable to defend their title.

An unfortunate stop together with several rails down and time faults left John Whitaker and Ornellaia on 23 faults and out of the rest of the Games.

However Ben, Nick and Michael had all qualified as individuals.

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The two remaining Brits will jump today with the aim of reaching the top 35 to qualify for the individual final on Friday, when all combinations will start on clean slates.

Jumping begins at 10am (2pm BST) today, with Nick and Ben eighth and ninth respectively in the starting order.

The USA, Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands are leading the team competition with scores of zero.

Welcome back: Rio horses return to home soil

Gemma Redrup — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 12:10:40 +0000

It seems like only yesterday that the first batch of horses heading to the Olympics took to the skies to Rio. But those who have already been out and competed, and even those who were travelling reserves but who weren’t called upon, have returned home.

Here we take a look at those who have returned to more familiar surroundings.

Kitty King’s home team welcome her back to Wiltshire

It's lovely to be back home, Ceylor LAN traveled back really well and is very happy to be back. #Rio2016 #TwoHearts pic.twitter.com/xAqIcAYTA6It's lovely to be back home, Ceylor LAN traveled back really well and is very happy to be back. #Rio2016 #TwoHearts pic.twitter.com/xAqIcAYTA6— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) August 12, 2016— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) August 12, 2016

Spotted: the plane that brought the first of the horses back to the UK

So they have landed. Just waiting for them to be unloaded! @GTeventing #TwoHearts #PrincessPebbles pic.twitter.com/bcewq3ZlbKSo they have landed. Just waiting for them to be unloaded! @GTeventing #TwoHearts #PrincessPebbles pic.twitter.com/bcewq3ZlbK— Charlotte Overton (@overton_c) August 11, 2016— Charlotte Overton (@overton_c) August 11, 2016

Pippa Funnell’s Billy The Biz looks perky as he prepares to fly home

#billythebiz has left the building and on his way home?????.@TeamGBR @pippafunnellTPT pic.twitter.com/eH4AlkB8r3 #billythebiz has left the building and on his way home?????.@TeamGBR @pippafunnellTPT pic.twitter.com/eH4AlkB8r3— Frankie Murrell (@frankidoodle1) August 11, 2016— Frankie Murrell (@frankidoodle1) August 11, 2016

Rufus, the horse of dressage travelling reserve Lara Griffith arrived home last week, as soon as it became evident he wouldn’t be required

A photo posted by on

Horseware Hale Bob looks less like an eventing team silver medallist and more like any other horse here

Home sweet home after a long trip. :-))Rio 2016 Olympics Olympiamannschaft Sportdeutschland#twohearts #equestrian #wirfuerd #silbermedaillePosted by Ingrid Klimke on Saturday, August 13, 2016

Tom Bombadill, the ride of British-based Brazillian eventer Ruy Fonseca, looks none the worse for wear for his long trip

He arrived ?? really well in☀️?? after Rio2016?? and will be ready for next target #TwoHearts #tombombadill ? pic.twitter.com/J8zBJBXUwqHe arrived ?? really well in☀️?? after Rio2016?? and will be ready for next target #TwoHearts #tombombadill ? pic.twitter.com/J8zBJBXUwq— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) August 12, 2016— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) August 12, 2016

The yard of event rider Mark Kyle get into the spirit of things upon his return

Mark Kyle

A lovely welcome home for Mark & Flicka. what to say…Obviously we are disappointed all did not go to plan, Flicka went superbly, she did as good as a test as she could, a super XC round spoilt by…

Supporters of the French eventing team go all out for their return

un accueil plus que parfait !!!! (chaud au coeur) ! Merci à tous pour cet accueil complètement fou ! Des passionnés,…Posted by Astier Nicolas Eventing on Thursday, August 11, 2016

How did the Horse & Hound Olympic issue get put together?

Aimi Clark — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 07:25:31 +0000

The Backstreet Boys, Haribo, Brazilian junk food and plenty of caffeine were key ingredients in putting today’s Olympic eventing issue to press overnight on Tuesday 9 August, ready for the finished product to be on the shelves today (12 August).

With a four-hour time difference between the UK and Rio de Janiro, H&H eventing editor Pippa Roome and Aimi Clark, former assistant editor of Eventing magazine, talk through the process.

Pippa, in Rio de Janeiro:

6am: I get up, have a shower (cold — hot water is yet to be reliably sorted out in our apartment in Deodoro Accommodation Village). Breakfast is in the food tent and then I catch the 7.05am bus to the equestrian venue. During the bus journey, I answer questions from the team in the office about the cross-country copy which I filed before I went to bed at 1.45am this morning.

7.30am: I’m through security and at my laptop in the press office, answering emails and bouncing pdfs of some of the pages to and fro with our art editor Garry Ashton-Coulton, including confirming what the graphic showing which fences caused most problems will look like.

8am: I watch the final horse inspection and tweet it from the H&H account. Then I head into the press office, write a web story about it and post it to H&H’s main and eventing Facebook accounts. I also send our news editor, Eleanor Jones, some quotes from William Fox-Pitt from dressage day which she can use in our magazine story about William’s remarkable comeback.

10am: I head up to the press stand to watch the first few horses in the team jumping, marking on my course plan the striding and what colour the fences are so I can easily recognise them once I’m watching in the mixed zone later without the benefit of an aerial view.

Once Gemma Tattersall has jumped, I head down to the mixed zone. Working alongside journalists from all over the world, as well as a reporter for the Olympic news service, I speak to riders after their rounds and add their comments to our H&H Live service. I’m also trying to mark down which fences the riders hit, but I know I have a back-up, a very rare luxury in this job — my colleague Alice Collins is watching in the stands and also taking notes.

As the competition concludes we are waiting and waiting for Astier Nicolas, who has just clinched team gold for the French team. I become aware there is only an hour until the individual competition starts and I have to publish a web story before then, so I WhatsApp Alice and ask her to come and wait for Astier while I head into the press office.

1pm: I write my web story about the team competition, publish it and get it up on facebook. I’m also bouncing some new quotes from William over to Eleanor and updating her that Lauren Kieffer, the American rider who fell yesterday, has sprained her thumb, but not broken anything — information gleaned from the US press attaché in the mixed zone this morning.

Alice comes in with the news that Astier didn’t come to the mixed zone, but she got a quote from French chef d’equipe Michel Asseray, which will also be useful. I quickly type up my quotes from this morning so they are ready and to hand later.

2pm: It’s up the stands again to get a feel for the course for the individual final decider. Once William Fox-Pitt has jumped, I head down to the mixed zone and interview him, then it’s the same routine of watching and interviewing as the competition comes to a head.

William Fox-Pitt speaks to journalists after his dressage test at the Rio Olympics. The BEF’s Pippa Wade is with him, with H&H’s Pippa Roome in the green dress on the corner of the railings. Picture by Peter Nixon (Image credit: creditUnknown)

The journalists all help each other — in the morning Chris Burton and Mark Todd came in at the same time and I grabbed Burto and Mollie Bailey (Chronicle of the Horse) grabbed Toddy and then we swapped the quotes afterwards. It would be lovely to get exclusives, but that isn’t really possible at a championship, so it’s all about what you do with the material that counts.

3.30pm: The individual competition is over and I’m back in the press office. Alice has helpfully made me a skeleton story in the back end of our website to speed things up and I speedily write my update into it.

At the same time the riders come into the press tent for a press conference — it’s a little chaotic with microphones not working and translation for the French riders, but we get some material from it.

4pm: I write my box about the Brazilian riders and file it — I’m aware that this is sitting on the cross-country pages of the report and the team back at home have everything for those pages apart from this. I don’t want to hold things up. Aimi Clark — our showing, veterinary and point-to-point editor who also has great eventing knowledge — is co-ordinating the pages in the office in my absence, choosing pictures and masterminding the workflow. There’s a split shift in the office today because we’re going to press through the night (it’s already 8pm there), but Aimi is certainly working more than her share of hours and I know it’s in safe hands.

4.15pm: I email a bunch of quotes from the French team, individual winner Michael Jung and the British riders over to Eleanor. To do this, I have to work out which quotes I want to use in my report and which sit better in news. Decision time.

5pm: I write my team showjumping copy. On the schedule I laid out before I left home I said I would file by 6pm my time (it’s already 10pm at home) and I just hit the deadline. There’s a bus back to our accommodation at 6.05pm and we decide to jump on that and carry on working back there.

6.05pm: Bus back to our little flat — I use the journey to review the pdfs of the dressage and thrills and spills pages. Once we arrive and I’m back online, I bounce the annotated pdfs back to our subbing team —Briony Reed and Polly Bryan are on the night shift.

6.30pm: I review a couple of news stories for Eleanor on email. Alice and I then record our Today at Rio video. For the first time, we don’t manage to nail it in one take — annoying as I’m under pressure to deliver this magazine copy, but it’s worth re-doing it as the second version is much better.

7pm: I’m working on my individual showjumping copy and again aware that I set myself an 8pm deadline for this. I manage to file by 8.15pm.

8.15pm: Content director Sarah Jenkins and I are bouncing emails about what’s the most efficient order to do things — I need a couple of hours of headspace to write up my copy for the opening summary pages, which is 1600 words and has to review the whole competition. It’s due by 10pm my time, which is do-able, but tight.

We decide I should read the cross-country pages first and that if I bounce some of my fact-checking questions to the office (When did Phillip Dutton change nationality? When did France last win an individual Olympic medal), someone there can work on them while I’m writing.

Sarah is also kindly looking after the cover while I’m away, something I usually co-ordinate, and we catch up on the latest on picture choice, lines and design.

9.40pm: I’ve got my head well down in my copy for the summary pages, but there’s another 500 words to go and then a bit of tidying up to do. I tell the office to expect the copy at 2.30am their time, rather than 2am.

Alice and our photographer, Peter Nixon, come back from having dinner in the food tent and bring me a pudding and various junk food from the strange little shop at our base. Peter, who has already sent over all his pictures for the magazine to Storm Johnson on the picture desk, sorts out the photos for the video and Alice starts editing that.

10.38pm: I file my summary copy, 38 minutes later than planned. Phew. I compile the info for the last box on these pages — Alice has prepped some of it for me and Eleanor and Sarah the rest. I ping it straight to Emily Secrett, our deputy art editor.

10.46pm: I read the showjumping and every fence pages, plus the opening news spread, sending annotated pdfs back to the office. I also see final options on the cover — happily, my choice aligns with Sarah’s, so there isn’t much to debate.

00.08am (Wednesday): I read the scoreboard and summary pages, the last ones. The team in the office have done an amazing job — the pages look brilliant and they’ve had a very long night of it.

1am: I check there is nothing further the team want from me and head to bed. I’m under strict instructions from Alice not to turn up at the venue before 11am the next day, so I set my alarm for my cold shower for 9am — definitely a lie-in!

Meanwhile, Aimi is at H&H HQ in Farnborough, Hampshire…

Patriotic cake in the office (Image credit: creditUnknown)

12.30pm

Normally I start at 8.30am, but today I arrive in the office later as I plan to be here all night. I start sifting through various emails from Pippa, who tells me cross-country copy has already landed and her first thoughts on who she wants to use pictures of with the summary pages. I start looking at images for the cross-country section.

The first half of Mark Phillips’ column is already in my inbox, so I pass that on to our subs team. Sarah Jenkins is already on the case choosing dressage pictures.

1.30pm

The dressage pages land on my desk for reading, so I take a temporary pause from sifting through cross-country images. I’ve also started looking for those needed for our two spreads of every fence. It’s not straightforward because we want to use a range of riders in this section so that as many are included as possible. Lucy Merrell, a freelancer helping out on our picture desk, is piecing together some sequence shots — these are a brilliant way to show the combinations, but time consuming to do.

1.34pm

Mark Phillips rings to check all is OK with his column. We plan to talk again this evening, when he will add his comments after the competition has finished.

2pm

There are hundreds of pictures to look through, which the picture desk has done a great job of narrowing down to the “best” ones. I have a list of those I need but can’t find, so get Lucy and our senior picture researcher, Bex Pattenden, on the case. I have the showjumping playing on my iPad next to my computer, but I’m trying not to let my productivity decline too much…

3.15pm

The every fence pictures are ready to put on page, and art editor Garry Ashton-Coulton starts piecing together the “jigsaw puzzle”.

3.50pm

I’m finally ready to do an art brief for the cross-country pages. I’m a little bit in limbo now; there is plenty still to do but nothing I can physically do myself right this moment. I make a cup of tea and grab a few Haribo from H&H’s “fat shelf”.

4.46pm

Mark Phillips calls and dictates his comment about the team showjumping result. He says, “I’ll ring you back later after Michael has won”.

5pm

The cross-country pages land on my desk for reading. I notice that two pictures need to be swapped around because these riders need to move up to the summary pages. Currently I don’t know who I’m going to put in there.

6pm

Garry comes over to discuss the every fence spreads with myself and Sarah. He’s struggling to fit everything in because there are several sequences. We come up with a plan b — make the influential/more interesting fence pictures bigger and those that didn’t cause any problems smaller — and Garry goes away to rework the pages.

6.30pm

We gather around the big screen near our kitchen area to watch the final stages of the showjumping. I’m on my second (or is it the third?) cup of tea.

7pm

Back at my desk, I need to start typing the results on to a scoreboard. However, I realise I don’t have a log in for the Rio website — I meant to get it from Martha Terry, another of H&H’s subs who was on the day shift — before she finished earlier. I start trying to contact her.

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7.30pm

Garry brings over his tweaked every fence layout. We have a few more thoughts that he goes away to work on.

7.34pm

Mark Phillips calls back with his final comment. I type this as he talks.

8pm

Website editor Carol Phillips saves my bacon and I finally have a log in for the Rio website. I print out a breakdown of the final results and start typing. I’ve moved on to coffee — and I’ve lost count of the amount of Haribo I’ve consumed.

8.12pm

The remaining copy for a box on the cross-country pages comes in from Pippa. I really need to make a decision on who I want to replace those two pictures with.

8.30pm

Eight hours in and I order Dominoes for the team. We’re not the healthiest lot — Haribo, Jelly Babies and a brilliant patriotic cake, baked by picture researcher Storm, is our overnight fuel.

9.15pm

I run down to reception to pick up the pizza. I’m still writing the scoreboard, in between bites.

9.55pm

Team showjumping copy is in raw. Using my print out of the results I mark whose pictures I want to use where, taking guidance from Pippa on who she’s leading with (the French team gold medallists or individual superstar Michael Jung?) The answer is the French, so individual silver Astier Nicolas gets the main spot.

11pm

Storm has got a list of the missing pictures we need, and she starts chasing Peter Nixon for them. Meanwhile, subs are working on captioning the every fence pages.

11.05pm

I print out the scoreboard for sub-editor Polly Bryan to read and double check — at this time of night and with the results sheet in such a small font, I want to be sure there’s no mistakes.

12am

I make a cup of tea. I still feel alert and awake though. The team showjumping pages arrive with me for reading.

1.41am

An email lands from Pippa: her summary copy will be in more like 2.30am, rather than the planned 2am. Either way, I’ve already sorted images for this. We’re just waiting on incidentals for the scoreboard.

2am

All pictures are chosen, except one for the cross-country. Storm chases Peter.

2.06am

I start thinking that I’m a little tired. Storm says the incidentals are in, so I make a shortlist before asking Emily to put them on page.

2.20am

The early hours is doing crazy things to us: we’ve just been debating whether it should be cream or jam first on a scone (I’m team Devon — cream first). Storm and Emily are singing along to the Backstreet Boys. I’m reading the individual showjumping pages.

2.38am

Summary copy lands. “Whoo-hoo” I cheer across the room. My head is feeling a bit fuzzy. The last cross-country picture is in, so those pages can be finalised.

3.45am

A final read of the scoreboard — I can see the light!

4.05am

It’s amazing how quickly time flies at this hour. I’m ready the summary pages and I realise that it will be light soon. We realise that the graphic showing how the team placings changed during the competition isn’t quite right, so Emily comes over to tweak it.

5am

It’s light! And, nearly 17 hours after I arrived, I can go home. I’m surprised by the amount of traffic on the M3 and roll into bed at 6.15am — 15 minutes before I would normally be getting up. I’m tired, but it’s been brilliant to be part of H&H’s Olympic press night. It all starts again next week…

H&H magazine out on FRIDAY this week

Eleanor Jones — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 05:58:30 +0000

If you’re on your way to the newsagent to pick up your copy of Horse & Hound, hold your horses!

For this week only, the magazine is coming out on a Friday (12 August).

This is to allow inclusion of full coverage of the Olympic eventing in Rio, which finished on Tuesday night (9 August).

Thanks to the efforts of our three journalists — eventing editor Pippa Roome, dressage editor Alice Collins and photographer Peter Nixon — who are in Rio for the duration of the Games, you can read full reports, comment and analysis on all three phases.

Where medals were won and lost, which cross-country fences caused problems — and what positives can be drawn from a disappointing result for Britain — are all covered in 27 pages of reports from Rio.

“We started discussing changing our on sale date for this issue back in May last year,” Pippa said.

“We normally go to press on Monday and come out on Thursday, but to do that with the Olympic eventing finishing on Tuesday would be to do our readers a huge disservice — we’d be reporting half a competition one week and the other half a week later, when it’s old news.

“For London 2012, we went to press through the night on Tuesday after the eventing and came out on Friday, this time there was a time difference to contend with as well, which meant the team back at home worked split shifts in order to staff the office though the night and get the magazine to press by 7am on Wednesday morning.”

Related articles:

As well as the Rio coverage, there will be the normal quota of news, including the issue of showing riders who are too big for their mounts and reaction to new tack allowed in BD competition, as well as features, comment and reports from all disciplines.

H&H content director Sarah Jenkins said: “Every other week of the year, Horse & Hound goes to press on a Monday evening in order to be able to reach the newsstand and subscribers’ door mats on Thursday.

“With the eventing action in Rio not finishing until Tuesday evening, the team had to work through the night to get our 27-pages of Rio eventing report to press by 5:30am on Wednesday. By the time this is then printed and delivered, it will not be possible to get it out on Thursday, which is why we have this Friday on sale date on this one occasion.

“We know for many of our readers Thursday is ‘Horse & Hound day’, and so we are sorry to break with tradition on this one occasion, but we hope readers will agree it is worth the wait in order to bring you the extensive coverage of the competition in Rio. Our 27 pages of coverage include a pretty punchy comment from Mark Phillips, further expert insight from Tina Cook and Ruth Edge, fence by fence analysis of the influential cross-country track and coverage of every phase.

“We dissect Michael Jung’s brilliance as well as assessing why the British team, despite their best efforts, did not come home with a medal this time.”

H&H out Friday, 12 August.

World number two out of Olympic showjumping due to injury

Lucy Elder — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 15:21:30 +0000

Simon Delestre is out of the Olympics due to an injury to his selected ride.

The world number two revealed the disappointing news on his Facebook page this afternoon (10 August).

“It’s with deepest regret that I announce the forfeit of Ryan for the Olympic Games,” he said.

“Last exams have revealed a micro-fracture of the hock. An unfortunate injury that ends all my Olympic dreams, and those of Ryan’s family but our priority is his health.

“All team will take prior care of him so that he comes back in perfect shape for the next major events.

“I’ll support my teammates of the France team along their way through these Olympic Games.”

The combination would have been among the favourites to win a medal.

They won individual bronze at the European championships in Aachen last year and have had two runner-up spots on the Longines Global Champions Tour this season.

The horse had arrived safely in Rio, but is believed to have picked up the injury in the stable.

“Ryan had a wrong move yesterday in his stable,” Simon said today.

“He is closely followed by the vet team. His condition has already well improved during the last 24 hours.

“We will do more exams today, but we sure won’t take any risk for his health. Thank you for the support you show me and Ryan.”

Related articles:

Simon and the 11-year-old gelding will be replaced by France’s travelling reserve Philippe Rozier, riding Rahotep De Toscane.

This will be Philippe’s third Olympics and his first for 16 years, having previously ridden at Los Angeles 1984 and Sydney 2000. Rio 2016 will be the 11-year-old grey stallion’s first senior championship.

Where things went wrong for the British Olympic event riders

Gemma Redrup — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 19:19:30 +0000

The cross-country course at the Rio Olympics proved a little troublesome for our British riders.

On a day which was packed full with action, only three riders jumped clear inside the optimum time of 10mins15sec; Chris Burton (Santano II), Michael Jung (Sam FBW) and Astier Nicholas, who was second out on course, riding Piaf De B’Neville.

First of the British team riders to go was Gemma Tattersall riding the grey mare Quicklook V. They encountered their first problem at fence four, the first of the four water complexes. Gemma’s horse ran past the ‘c’ element of the combination, which was a narrow log. Gemma then incurred another 20 penalties at the influential PanAm Wall Combination at fence number 11ab and 12, when the mare couldn’t quite make the forward three strides required from part a (a step up), to part b, an angled brush.

Next out on course was William Fox-Pitt riding the stallion Chilli Morning. Unfortunately after a good start, things went wrong for this combination at the Ski Jump combination at fences 19 and 20ab. Chilli jumped quite boldly over the first element, a hanging log, and subsequently made the forward three strides to a triple brush but then ran past the third element, another narrow brush.

Third out on course for Team GB was Pippa Funnell, riding the eye-catching grey, Billy The Biz. Things were all going so well for this pair until Billy The Biz nipped out to the side of a narrow frog fence at the fourth and final water complex.

The final combination for the British team was Kitty King riding Ceylor LAN, but like Gemma Tattersall, their hopes of a clear round came to an end at the PanAm Wall Combination.

Full 25-page report on the eventing from Rio 2016 in H&H next week — out Friday, 12 August. H&H is published on Friday instead of Thursday next week only to allow us to report the full competition from the Olympics.

How does Pippa Funnell prepare for an Olympic Games?

Amy Mathieson — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 08:06:36 +0000

With the first horse inspection for the Olympic eventing happening today (5 August), find out how British team member Pippa Funnell prepares for an Olympics

When I’ve been preparing for an Olympics in the past, I’ve had to remind myself to treat it like any other championship. In your head it’s the Olympics and that’s huge, but you need to keep your feet on the ground in the run-up to the Games; it can be easy to overtrain.

Stick to your routine

I’ve always kept to the same plan with my horses ahead of any Olympics, right down to feeding. At the Games I’ve given them what they would have at home or very similar, as I have seen how a richer type of haylage can affect temperament.

With all the Olympic hype surrounding the horses, it is also essential they are still given space and allowed time to relax.

Preparations

It’s a crucial balance to get right: not to overdo the preparation, nor underdo it. Stick to what has worked for your horse. Some horses might need a fun run, others a big run.

Fitness for rider

It’s important you are as on form as your horse. The nature of eventing keeps you pretty fit, simply by riding a large number of horses daily. I now do Pilates, which I didn’t before the other Olympics I’ve been to, but I find it helps with focus and core strength.

Travelling anxieties

The most anxiety I felt was when Supreme Rock was travelling to Australia. I wasn’t able to travel with him, but you do know they are in good hands with a team of top vets on the flight.

The heat is another factor. Ahead of Athens we did a lot of canter work in special rugs that included neck covers to acclimatise the horses.

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Rio Olympics eventing teams: confirmed riders

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Controlling the nerves

I’ve had hideous nerves, but as it’s an Olympics everyone does. It’s a huge honour to represent your country and the team spirit is fantastic. The horse doesn’t know it’s any different, so you need to make sure you don’t pass tension on.

It’s easier said than done in the atmosphere. You need to be mentally strong so the horse picks up the positive vibes.

Don’t miss our 24-page pull-out form guide in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine (4 August 2016)

Walk the Rio Olympics cross-country course: pictures of every fence

Pippa Roome — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 13:00:35 +0000

Want to walk the Rio Olympics cross-country course but your bank account wouldn’t quite allow for the airfare to Brazil? No problem! Our fence by fence pictures are the next best thing to taking a stroll around the Deodoro venue yourself.

The track has been designed by France’s Pierre Michelet and in line with the rules for the the modified four-star format used at the Olympics the optimum time will be between 10 and 11 minutes.

The Olympic eventing starts on Saturday (6 August) with two days of dressage. The cross-country takes place on Monday (8 August) with the final showjumping on Tuesday (9 August). Swat up on the format here.

Fence 1: Copacabana Flower Bed

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Fence 2: Arch Of Lapa

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Fence 3: Picnic Table

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Fence 4abcd: Botanical Garden

Fence a

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Fence 4bc

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Alternative fence 4c

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Back of alternative fence c

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Fence d

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Fence 5: Pine Wood Ramp

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Fence 6ab: Corners Question

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Fence 7: Burghley Fence

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Fence 8abc/9: Sugar Loaf

Fence 8ab

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Fence 8c

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Fence 9

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Fence 10: Bamboo Keyhole

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Fence 11ab/12: Pan Am Wall Combination

Fence 11a

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Fence 11b

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Fence 12

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Fence 13: Amazonian Log

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Fence 14ab: Narrows Wood Piles

Fence 14a

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Fence 14b

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Fence 15: Log Pile And Ditch

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Fence 16abc: Old Water Complex

Fence 16a

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Fence 16b

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Fence 16c

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Fence 17: Palm Tree Question

Fence 17a

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Fence 17b

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Fence 18: Flower Box

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Fence 19/20ab: Ski Jump

Fence 19

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Fence 20ab

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Fence 21: Wood Pile Launch

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Fence 22: White Oxer

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Fence 23/24: Malmesbury Cottage

Quick route over fence 23

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Slow route over fence 23

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Fence 24

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Fence 25ab: Web Water Jump

Fence 25a

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Fence 25b

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Fence 26: Bamboo Vertical

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Continued below…

Related articles:

Fence 27: Fruit Wagon

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Fence 28/29ab/30: Fisherman’s Lake

Fence 28

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Fence 29ab

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Fence 30

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Fence 31: Knowledge Bridge

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Fence 32: Brush Fence

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Fence 33: Sambodromo

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Full report of the Olympic eventing from Rio in H&H next week, out on Friday, 12 August. H&H is published on Friday instead of Thursday next week to allow us to report the full eventing from the Games.

Fans urged to support equestrian sport during Rio to secure Olympic future

Rachael Turner — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 13:08:23 +0000

Equestrian fans have been urged to share their passion for the sport during Rio 2016.

The Games, which kick off on Friday (5 August), are particularly important for equestrianism as the sport’s popularity will determine its future in the programme of the Olympics.

From 29 July-28 August the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will assess how engaged fans are.

The IOC will explore print, broadcast and online coverage, as well as engagement on social media. This will demonstrate how widespread the appeal is of each Olympic event.

Both the British Equestrian Federation and FEI have launched online campaigns, Join the Journey and Two Hearts, to help engage fans.

The organisations, along with British Dressage (BD), British Showjumping (BS) and British Eventing (BE), are calling on equestrian fans for their support.

“Whether you are spectating, volunteering, competing, training or simply enjoying the sport we want to know how you are following Rio 2016,” said a BE spokesman.

“Through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram tell us how you are keeping up with the action and what you are loving about the 2016 Olympic Games.”

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‘Our chance to showcase our sports’

A BD spokesman added: “Being part of the Olympics is vital to equestrianism – it’s our chance to showcase our sports to the world.

“We need to work together to show just how loved the three sports are so call on everyone who loves horses to support the social media campaigns and tune in to all the great equestrian action during the Games.”

Fans are encouraged to use one or all of the following hashtags: #equestrian, #eventing, #TwoHearts and #JointheJourney

9 challenges that Team GBR will face in Rio

Cathy Comerford — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 11:25:55 +0000

Richard Waygood MBE, Chef d’Equipe for the British dressage team and guest speaker at the Saracen Horse Feeds summer trade conference – a prelude to Rio (26 July) discusses just how different Rio will be for Team GBR at the 2016 Olympic Games

1. The language barrier – the people of Rio speak Portuguese, and 90% do not speak any English

2. The time difference – the team are advised to turn off their mobile phones before they go to bed, as it is amazing how many people will forget the time difference and call or text during the night to wish them good luck

3. The Olympic village is a huge distraction in itself – even the food hall has over 25 different restaurants inside

4. The weather – obviously the climate is very different in Brazil compared to at home. Although the team have been training properly and have had access to heat chambers, Rio will still be a bit of a shock for both the horses and riders

5. The opposition – no one knows how the opposition will perform in Rio, so it all comes down to what will happen on the day

6. The crowd – although many equestrian enthusiasts will fly over for Games, local people still attend and they may not know how to behave sympathetically around horses. For example, they could use flash photography, clap or cheer at the wrong time and spook the horses

7. The flight – the dressage horses travelled from Belgium on a flight lasting for 11 hours 40 mins yesterday afternoon (1 August). It will take them at least two days to fully recover. There are between 35 and 45 horses on each flight, and most flights leave from Belgium as 90% of the horses competing are based in Europe

Continued below…

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

Olympic horses touchdown in Rio: take a look behind the scenes

‘Business class’: How horses are flown to the Rio Olympics H&H VIP

Irish Olympic eventers don’t travel light: 2.5 tonnes of kit flown to Rio

8. The adjustment– alongside the journey and the heat, the horses may not like the water so special precautions have to be taken, as it contains a much higher chlorine level

9. Travel arrangements– the Olympic village is a distance away from the venue, so travel arrangements and traffic must also be carefully considered each day

Make sure that you don’t miss a minute of the action this summer with Horse & Hound’s extensive coverage

Jonelle Price: why you should push yourself out of your comfort zone

Horse & Hound — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 07:25:28 +0000

Eventer Jonelle Price will be representing New Zealand in Rio with Faerie Dianimo. Here she tells Sue Polley about her top tips for success — from keeping things simple to pushing yourself out of your comfort zone

It all comes back to getting the basics right and keeping things simple.

To do this you have to understand what the basics are, what they look and feel like, and understand why they matter.

For me, it means the horse being soft in their way of going, rounded through their back and pushing through from the hindleg evenly into a good contact. If you touch a rein, the horse must follow it and if you put a leg on, they must move forward or away from it.

I like to do a lot of transitions, between and in the pace. As an example, I’d expect an advanced horse to have several gears within the paces, while the four-year-olds are starting to develop those gears by opening up in the canter and then turning into a 10m circle, which requires them to close the stride again.

As they get older they can progress to more lateral work to develop the softness and throughness. Travers is useful as an exercise, on a circle or even in counter-canter. I want energy to flow from the hindleg through a soft back to the contact and feel I can go in any direction, at any time, in any shape.

Pounding the roads

All our horses spend the first four weeks following their winter holiday walking and trotting up and down the two-mile lane outside our yard. It’s old-fashioned but I’m a firm believer that it builds strength in tendons and muscles, and contributes hugely to soundness in the long term.

Seize the day

I’ve always been quite tough mentally, so I find it fairly easy to keep calm on tough days at big events. I try to reverse tough situations and look at them as a golden opportunity. I think

this is the natural fighter in me and it certainly paid dividends at the World Games in 2014, where I was able to seize my chance when others struggled in the conditions.

Dare yourself

Although I often make the time across country, this is not something that comes naturally to me. I have learnt that achieving speed across country is a result of establishing a good rhythm, riding direct lines and touching the reins the least amount of times possible.

This takes practice. You have to push yourself out of your comfort zone and dare yourself to ride at fences like this.

Obviously you need to be sensible — don’t start by practising over stone walls! Instead, try a couple of brush roll-tops. Practise riding them out of a forward canter on say 15 strides, then 14 and then 13 until you are comfortable travelling on the more open distance.

Like this? You might also enjoy reading these:

‘Repetition is key’ — Jonelle Price’s top tips for solving cross-country problems

‘He made Burghley feel like a novice’: Jonelle Price pays tribute to The Deputy

Ditch the emotion

By learning to remove emotion from my riding I’ve been able to see things and act much more objectively.

In turn, this has helped me to develop patience, which wasn’t something I initially had in abundance.

Don’t miss our 24-page pull-out form guide in the 4 August issue of Horse & Hound magazine

Olympic horses touchdown in Rio: take a look behind the scenes

Gemma Redrup — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 11:25:03 +0000

On Friday evening (29 July), shortly before midnight local time, 34 event horses arrived at Rio’s Galeao airport.

This followed an 11-hour flight from London Stansted airport on a cargo Emirates Boeing 777. This was the first of nine flights in total which will carry around 200 horses from Leige in Belgium and Miami in Florida.

According to the FEI, New Zealand rider Tim Price’s horse Ringwood Sky Boy was the first to disembark the plane onto Brazilian ground.

This batch of horses, whose riders represent Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Brazil and Zimbabwe, were then escorted by police on a bio-contained route to the Olympic equestrian venue at Deodoro.

See how the horses are settling into their championship digs:

The sole Zimbabwean eventing representative, British-based Camilla Kruger, grazes her horse Biarritz II in his travel suit at Stansted

Fasten your seatbelts the first @Olympics horses are off to @Rio2016! #TwoHearts #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/lLBJbHZjaaFasten your seatbelts the first @Olympics horses are off to @Rio2016! #TwoHearts #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/lLBJbHZjaa— The FEI (@FEI_Global) July 29, 2016— The FEI (@FEI_Global) July 29, 2016

Loading up the first batch of Olympic horses

All aboard for #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/VhT3AzR1TcAll aboard for #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/VhT3AzR1Tc— Jonathan Agnew (@Aggerscricket) July 29, 2016— Jonathan Agnew (@Aggerscricket) July 29, 2016

US rider Clark Montgomery watches as his team’s horses depart Florida, including his mount Loughan Glen

And they're off for the final leg of our trip to Rio! See you down there Sally and Glen! pic.twitter.com/Bak2zy27vVAnd they're off for the final leg of our trip to Rio! See you down there Sally and Glen! pic.twitter.com/Bak2zy27vV— Clark Montgomery (@MontgomeryEques) July 29, 2016— Clark Montgomery (@MontgomeryEques) July 29, 2016

The mighty German squad arrive in Brazil

The German horses have arrived @Rio2016_en #TwoHearts #equestrian #JoinTheJourney #eventing pic.twitter.com/wbRXpCxWy9The German horses have arrived @Rio2016_en #TwoHearts #equestrian #JoinTheJourney #eventing pic.twitter.com/wbRXpCxWy9— German Eventing (@luhmuehlen2017) July 31, 2016— German Eventing (@luhmuehlen2017) July 31, 2016

Tina Cook’s Billy The Red and Pippa Funnell’s Billy The Biz enjoy a pick of grass

The horses enjoying a graze and a leg stretch, feeling relaxed @Rio2016 @teamGBR #equestrian pic.twitter.com/dRmrZFCdOgThe horses enjoying a graze and a leg stretch, feeling relaxed @Rio2016 @teamGBR #equestrian pic.twitter.com/dRmrZFCdOg— Liz Brown (@LizBrownVet) July 30, 2016— Liz Brown (@LizBrownVet) July 30, 2016

The British eventing team enjoy some sightseeing

Team bonding ???? pic.twitter.com/Om717jVlcwTeam bonding ???? pic.twitter.com/Om717jVlcw— Kate Davis (@TherapiesKJ) July 31, 2016— Kate Davis (@TherapiesKJ) July 31, 2016

British eventing team vet Liz Brown welcomes the horses as they arrive

Hooray we have finally arrived, horses all settling in nicely enjoying their breakfast! @TeamGB @TeamGBR #equestrian pic.twitter.com/GGR0VaJs8GHooray we have finally arrived, horses all settling in nicely enjoying their breakfast! @TeamGB @TeamGBR #equestrian pic.twitter.com/GGR0VaJs8G— Liz Brown (@LizBrownVet) July 30, 2016— Liz Brown (@LizBrownVet) July 30, 2016

Gemma Tattersall gives her horse Quicklook V (Pebbles) a warm welcome

We have arrived!! It's amazing! Pebbles travelled beautifully! Going to go and see her and @marcytatt later! pic.twitter.com/jqK0qQz7BOWe have arrived!! It's amazing! Pebbles travelled beautifully! Going to go and see her and @marcytatt later! pic.twitter.com/jqK0qQz7BO— Gemma Tattersall (@GTeventing) July 30, 2016— Gemma Tattersall (@GTeventing) July 30, 2016

Lovely first day @Rio2016_en just awesome place and facilities. Ponies travelled so well and are happy and settled. pic.twitter.com/MUN4NOVBCgLovely first day @Rio2016_en just awesome place and facilities. Ponies travelled so well and are happy and settled. pic.twitter.com/MUN4NOVBCg— Gemma Tattersall (@GTeventing) July 31, 2016— Gemma Tattersall (@GTeventing) July 31, 2016

The British eventing team check out the village where they will be staying

Having a little look around the village this morning! @TeamGBR @TeamGB @uk_sport @BEventing #JoinTheJourney #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/SuFRx7FT17Having a little look around the village this morning! @TeamGBR @TeamGB @uk_sport @BEventing #JoinTheJourney #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/SuFRx7FT17— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) July 30, 2016— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) July 30, 2016

There is a graffiti wall for athletes to write a message to mark their stay

Graffiti in village @TeamGBR @TeamGB #JoinTheJourney #TwoHearts #roadtorio#bringonthegreat pic.twitter.com/fbukvHUHLsGraffiti in village @TeamGBR @TeamGB #JoinTheJourney #TwoHearts #roadtorio#bringonthegreat pic.twitter.com/fbukvHUHLs— Kate Davis (@TherapiesKJ) July 30, 2016— Kate Davis (@TherapiesKJ) July 30, 2016

Quicklook V has a look at the main arena where much of the equestrian action will unfold

Quicklook checks out the main arena… @GTeventing @TeamGB @Olympics #twohearts pic.twitter.com/L2REqK4uzbQuicklook checks out the main arena… @GTeventing @TeamGB @Olympics #twohearts pic.twitter.com/L2REqK4uzb— Marcelle Tattersall (@marcytatt) July 31, 2016— Marcelle Tattersall (@marcytatt) July 31, 2016

Brazilian event rider Ruy Fonseca gives us an insight into the Olympic village

One of nicest Olympic Village that I ever been well done Brazil and Equestrian facilities it's fantastic #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/fUu7es6YibOne of nicest Olympic Village that I ever been well done Brazil and Equestrian facilities it's fantastic #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/fUu7es6Yib— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) July 30, 2016— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) July 30, 2016

And this is the home-side’s team camp

Good Morning from Brazil "Bom Dia " #twohearts @FEI_Global @Rio2016_en @timebrasil #equestrian #eusoutimebrasil ?? pic.twitter.com/PsngQPqQMWGood Morning from Brazil "Bom Dia " #twohearts @FEI_Global @Rio2016_en @timebrasil #equestrian #eusoutimebrasil ?? pic.twitter.com/PsngQPqQMW— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) July 31, 2016— Ruy Fonseca (@RuyFonseca) July 31, 2016

Kitty King’s ride Ceylor LAN (or Sprout as he is known at home) relaxes into his new digs

Ceylor LAN has traveled over really well & is now enjoying some R & R! #Rio2016 #JoinTheJourney #twohearts pic.twitter.com/LNuNQ3DCPxCeylor LAN has traveled over really well & is now enjoying some R & R! #Rio2016 #JoinTheJourney #twohearts pic.twitter.com/LNuNQ3DCPx— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) July 30, 2016— Kitty King (@kittyeventing) July 30, 2016

The Irish team arrive in Rio (l-r: Mark Kyle, Padraig McCarthy, Camilla Speirs, Clare Abbott and Jonty Evans)

They have arrived. The Irish Eventing team are now in Rio. This time next week the competition starts #goteamIRL pic.twitter.com/iDUhd08yxSThey have arrived. The Irish Eventing team are now in Rio. This time next week the competition starts #goteamIRL pic.twitter.com/iDUhd08yxS— Team IRL Equestrian (@TeamIRLEq) July 30, 2016— Team IRL Equestrian (@TeamIRLEq) July 30, 2016

Don Geniro, the mount of Chinese event rider Alex Hua Tian, poses with his team

A photo posted by on

Pippa Funnell’s groom Frankie Murrell gives us a look behind the scenes

#billythebiz @Rio2016 all settled with rest of his @TeamGBR pony friends @pippafunnellTPT ????? pic.twitter.com/g54yvZio73 #billythebiz @Rio2016 all settled with rest of his @TeamGBR pony friends @pippafunnellTPT ????? pic.twitter.com/g54yvZio73— Frankie Murrell (@frankidoodle1) July 30, 2016— Frankie Murrell (@frankidoodle1) July 30, 2016

New Zealander Jock Paget’s horse Clifton Lush takes in his surroundings

Lush approves of the Rio life. He's already trying to find the XC course tho. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/RzW1gB8VvzLush approves of the Rio life. He's already trying to find the XC course tho. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/RzW1gB8Vvz— Jock Paget Eventing (@JockPaget) July 31, 2016— Jock Paget Eventing (@JockPaget) July 31, 2016

The full Horse & Hound Olympic preview is out now (28 July issue)

Carl Hester: Kit collection was like an upmarket supermarket sweep H&H VIP

Carl Hester — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 07:55:40 +0000

“Four years ago I compared collecting my kit for London 2012 with my first Olympic experience, of Barcelona 20 years earlier, as 20 times more sophisticated,” Carl told H&H. “So, how about preparing for Rio 2016? Well it was another level entirely on our trip to the NEC for briefings and kit collection.

“After the statutory drug and doping talk we spent a really good hour with the BBC’s James Pearce. All the riders were interviewed and then we went through it with James. I may be used to giving interviews but there is nothing worse than sitting in a room with your mates and having to watch yourself.

“Apparently each quote should last 30-40 seconds, which is easy if you’re a yacker like me. I have the opposite problem — when to add the full stop. With no advertising on the BBC it’s a real opportunity to get your point across if you’re asked for an interview. Remember we are selling a product, which is, of course, the sport we all love, dressage. And smiling is the best way to show enthusiasm.

“Then it was kit collection. Imagine being let loose in a glamorous department store, a sort of upmarket supermarket sweep. We came home with three great big cases each and a fantastic selection of Christmas presents for my godchildren to try after I’m done with them — although it would be interesting to try and ride dressage in the hiking boots.

“We also stopped at the Aldi munchies store to fill up with snacks. Unfortunately they only had healthy ones. With Alan, Charlotte, me and all our gear in the car we really should have organised a bus to bring it home.”

All fired up for Rio?

“With a room full of sponsors with whom we were encouraged to engage and chat, it brought a whole different process to bringing out the Olympic spirit. The horses leave on 31 July. Ours will be in Alan’s care, with Charlotte and I following our leader Dickie Waygood with the rest of the team on a BA flight two days later. So yes, we’re Games-ready.

“And while Dickie was wearing the smallest pair of shorts at the London kit-out; this year he’ll be more suitably attired.

“Hartpury was superb preparation for the home side. Looking to the opposition, Aachen made very interesting viewing. What a German team! They look super-strong in quality although it was disappointing that the marks did not reflect the mistakes — and without a JSP (judges’ supervisory panel) there was no correction. They certainly look the team to beat.

“It was also interesting to see Edward Gal popping out of the woodwork on Voice despite his non-appearance at Rotterdam and only doing the grand prix (which they won) at the Dutch Championships, to give the Dutch team a boost.

“The one to watch from Aachen is Spain’s Severo Jurado López on the 10-year-old chestnut Lorenzo. I have known Severo since he was a working pupil at my friend Anne van Olst’s yard in Holland. He’s someone who has stuck with it and worked hard. They burst onto the scene as a combination in February this year and they’re on the up. Alongside Spanish champions Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Delgado they’ll be putting Spain in with a shout of a medal.

“Hopefully the home side will all have a great trip and take the very best of British luck with us.”

• Carl was interviewed for his column this week to comply with Olympic regulations

Ref: Horse & Hound; 28 July 2016

‘Business class’: How horses are flown to the Rio Olympics H&H VIP

Horse & Hound — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 07:55:58 +0000

The figures are mind-boggling: 311 equine athletes from across the globe, representing 50 nations, to be transported to Rio ready to deliver the performance of a lifetime. It’s an operation in which international shipping agency Peden Bloodstock can claim unrivalled expertise.

“This will be my eighth Olympics,” says managing director Martin Atock, whose team oversees the whole operation. “Our goal is not only to deliver the horses in peak competition fitness, but to ensure their health and welfare from the point of leaving their home stables to when they return.”

The shortlisted horses (233 for the Olympics and a further 78 for the Paralympics) have been readied for export as part of ongoing preparations. Blood tests for diseases including Glanders and West Nile virus have been submitted; vaccinations have been checked and lists of equipment, permitted feeds, supplements and veterinary medicines have been approved.

With paperwork finalised and passports and microchips in place, the journey can begin.

Air miles

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Many of these elite-level horses are frequent flyers, so arriving at a busy airport should be nothing new.

“The horses are examined by an FEI vet at the airport before they leave,” says Martin. “This enables a swift transfer to the stables upon arrival in Brazil.”

The UK-based eventers will fly the 5,756 miles from Stansted, while dressage and showjumping horses depart from Liège in Belgium. Each Emirates Airlines 777 freighter carries around 34 horses, loaded into custom-built containers called air stables.

“The horses travel ‘business class’, in wide stalls that provide sufficient room for them to correct their balance,” says Martin. “This also allows much better airflow through the cargo bay. We don’t pack more horses in as the additional manure and urine produced would soon affect air quality.

“A considerable amount of body heat is generated by 34 eventers, each weighing roughly 520kg, so air temperature is maintained at 17°C.”

As there are no seatbelts to fasten during take-off, great care is taken not to knock these unsuspecting passengers off their feet.

“The aircraft uses the whole runway for take-off,” says Martin. “With live animals on board, transit must be smoother and gentler with no steep turns — it’s no different from driving a horsebox.”

Handling with care

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

An expert team on board comprises National Olympic Committee (NOC) vets and Peden’s flying grooms.

“The horses have the very best care and the optimum seats,” says Martin. “They’re monitored for signs of dehydration or colic; the grooms check them regularly and pre-empt problems where possible. Some teams give their horses intravenous fluids before the flight, but most drink well throughout the journey.”

In-flight catering is tailored for digestive health.

“We give them hay, positioned at a low level to keep their heads down to allow nasal discharge,” says Martin. “Hard feed increases the risk of constipation but a sloppy bran mash can be fed during the flight.

“These horses are experienced travellers and generally cope well,” he adds. “Only five or six of the 312 horses that flew to Hong Kong in 2008 had slightly raised temperatures upon arrival, all returning to normal within 24 hours.”

After a gradual descent into Rio Galeão (GIG) airport, the onboard team delivers the cargo to the waiting ground crew.

Martin explains: “The horses are lifted off the aircraft in their air stables before being unloaded and walked across the transfer ramp. After a brief visual veterinary inspection and with formalities completed, they’re loaded onto pre-screened trucks and driven the 26km to their stables at the Deodoro Olympic Park.”

The jet-setting athletes can then stretch their legs before being reunited with their grooms and settled into team camps. With luck, and a few steady days, they’ll be ready for the challenge ahead.

Flight data

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

How will the horses cope with an 11hr 20min journey and a four-hour time difference? Eventing team vet Liz Brown MRCVS, who will be on board with the horses, explains:

Circulation

Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) is not a common problem. Because horses are standing, blood flow is not compromised by spending hours immobile in a seat. They wear travel boots and tail guards rather than bandages, however, because any “filling” during flight could make bandages tighten and cause circulation issues.

Air pressure

Chewing hay is the equine equivalent of sucking a sweet during take-off and landing — the swallowing action helps to equalise ear pressure and reduce any discomfort. A horse has bigger sinuses and a relatively large air space inside his head. Sinus pressure could be worsened by increased mucus levels, so we’ll be closely monitoring the horses we take to Rio for signs of airway problems.

Air in the bowel can expand, as it does in humans, which could lead to colic. We ensure that there are no trigger factors to increase gas build-up, such as overeating before the flight.

Turbulence

Flying is very much like standing in a stable for a horse, so most travel calmly. Minor turbulence is usually no worse than bumping over potholes in a horsebox. Reassuring an anxious horse is usually enough to settle him.

Jet lag

While they don’t share our diurnal rhythms, horses are thought to suffer some body clock disturbance. They do need to catch up on rest after a long flight. The equine body has evolved to snap into athletic work quite quickly, however, so they seem naturally able to adjust to different work patterns. They’ll have six days to acclimatise before the trot-up.

Living in a bubble

“A bio-security ‘bubble’, or ‘island’ is in effect an area where incoming competition horses are maintained in isolation from resident local horses for the duration of their temporary stay,” explains Dr Richard Newton of the Animal Health Trust.

“This extends to the routes by which the animals are brought in, including consideration given to transfers from aircraft and transport vehicles, and at stopovers, which may be potential weak links in the system. These measures are maintained until these animals depart the bubble in a similar, safe manner and move on to the next bubble — which may be their home premises.

“Whenever horses are moved internationally from a wide range of countries to one place for an event, and kept in relatively close proximity to one another for a period of time, spread of equine infectious diseases is a significant concern.

“The good news is disease prevention is eminently manageable through good biosecurity planning and implementation. Where possible, only healthy horses are transported. This relies on measures including high standards of vet care, health certification, use of isolation/quarantine/screening tests and vaccination.

“If local horses have been cleared from the Olympic site and there has been appropriate cleaning and disinfection, then the risk from Glanders and other equine diseases for these incoming animals should be extremely small. As long as all the associated measures for operating the ‘high health, high performance horse’ (HHP) concept are maintained, the Games should bring no greater risk of spread of equine infectious diseases.”

Ref: Horse & Hound; 28 July 2016

Canada’s top eventer awarded place on Olympic team after appeal

Lucy Elder — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:21:45 +0000

Canada’s leading international event rider Jessica Phoenix has won her appeal for a place on her country’s Olympic team.

British-based Canadian Kathryn Robinson had been chosen to ride on the team with her own Let It Bee ahead of Jessica, who was listed as reserve with two horses — A Little Romance (pictured) and Bentley’s Best.

Following the initial selection, Jessica and the horses’ owners appealed the decision through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC)— which they won in a hearing dated 11 July. The summary of proceedings was released on Monday (25 July).

Following the publication, Canadian eventing team coach Clayton Fredericks said he stands by his statements explaining why Jessica was left off the team.

“We have a great group of riders in their final preparations for Rio and as a coach I am looking forward to the Games and helping our riders perform at their best,” he said afterwards.

“As the eventing team coach my focus has always been on the performance of the athletes and helping them achieve their personal best in competition.

“The aim this year was to have as many combinations as possible achieve their qualification for Rio and be in form and ready for a major games such as the Olympics.

“It is never an easy job selecting and particularly so this year with so many great combinations available to represent Canada.

“As a selector I had to consider both the soundness and performance information available to me and that, ultimately, is what I based my decision on.

“While I respect the appeal process and eventual outcome, I stand by my statements and the process that was followed.”

Eva Havaris, CEO of Equestrian Canada, said the organisation “respects and supports” the appeal process.

“One of the great things about our country and our Canadian sport system is that we have a process in place that honours fair play and integrity,” she added.

“We look forward to seeing a full team of Canadian eventing athletes kick off the equestrian portion of the Games.”

What happened?

According to the notes of the SDRCC hearing, Equestrian Canada recommended five targeted competitions for prospective team members during 2016, but no particular event was compulsory.

Jessica and her owners submitted that she has been Canada’s leading eventer for the last 10 years and satisfied “all nomination criteria” to be on the team.

They argued the selection panel did not properly apply nomination criteria and should have chosen Jessica with Pavarotti or A Little Romance (two of her possible four rides).

In a statement, Clayton Fredericks said Jessica’s withdrawals at Carolina International CIC3*, Kentucky CCI4* and Bromont CIC3* were not part of a team decision and “went against” his advice as team coach.

“In each instance the withdrawals were communicated to me by [her] on the day of cross-country close to competition time,” he said.

“This pattern of withdrawals has raised concerns regarding Jessica’s level of competitiveness and her readiness to be competitive at the Olympic Games.”

He added he has had concerns regarding the fitness programme of Jessica and her declared horses.

The hearing heard that although Clayton had concerns, he had not reviewed vet reports of Pavarotti or A Little Romance between Jersey Fresh in May and the selection panel meeting on 22 June.

Clayton acknowledged he thought Pavarotti and Bentley’s Best should have run at Bromont, but denied that he told Jessica failing to run the horses would prevent her from being on the team, as she claimed.

He also denied telling Don Good (owner of Pavarotti and Bentley’s Best) at Bromont that he thought he and Jessica were hiding something from him regarding Pavarotti’s soundness.

Jessica argued that she and Pavarotti’s owner were concerned the recovery time between Bromont and Jersey Fresh — a little over three weeks — was too short, so chose not to run him across country.

Jessica testified that Clayton arrived at the barn in Bromont and was “very agitated”.

“He told her, ‘you were in the driver’s seat for this selection and now you have completely ruined your chances not just on Bentley’s Best and Pavarotti but on the other two mares as well,’” read the summary of proceedings.

“Ms Phoenix testified that Mr Fredericks said ‘he could no longer help but was going to spend his time preparing the people who wanted to do this’.”

Graeme Thom, a former chef d’equipe and chair of the eventing high performance committee, testified that Jessica’s scores on all of her horses beat Kathryn’s.

“That Kathryn completed Badminton is very impressive and normally this type of an outing would trump any three-star result,” he said. “However, Kathryn’s time penalties were so numerous (53.2) that her four-star result is not impressive enough to stand on its own.”

He added “neither of the three horses” (Pavarotti, A Little Romance and Let It Bee) will win an individual medal, but the question is which will contribute most to the team’s overall placing.

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The decision

Arbitrator the Hon Robert Armstrong QC summed up that he accepts Clayton “earnestly believed” both of Jessica’s horses needed another cross-country run before the selection panel met.

“However, he became a man with a mission on this issue and my assessment, unfortunately, is that he lost it,” he said.

He added “all the evidence” shows Jessica to be Canada’s leading event rider and ruled that she be included in the team along with A Little Romance, with Kathryn moved to reserve.

The three other eventers on the Canadian Olympic team are Rebecca Howard (Riddle Master), Colleen Loach (Qorry Blue D’Argouges) and Selena O’Hanlon (Foxwood High).

The BIG Olympic quiz: are you set for Rio?

Madeleine Silver — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 16:25:29 +0000

With the Rio Olympics fast approaching put your knowledge of Olympic trivia to the test with these brain teasers... And don't miss our bumper Olympic preview in the 28 July issue of Horse & Hound magazine

The Olympics: When things are happening and how you can keep up to date

Pippa Roome — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 07:25:12 +0000

Keep this handy guide close to make sure you don’t miss a moment of the action. All times shown are British time (which is four hours ahead of Rio). Rio times are shown in brackets.

All the equestrian action will be shown on the BBC red button and on the BBC sport website. The following sessions may also appear on the main BBC TV channels: cross-country, eventing showjumping, showjumping team round two (team final) and individual final, dressage grand prix special (team final) and grand prix freestyle (individual final).

Friday 5 August

Eventing first horse inspection: 12.30-1.55pm (8.30-9.55am)
Opening ceremony: 11.30pm (7.30pm)

Saturday 6 August

Eventing dressage: 2-8pm (10am-4pm) H&H Live with Matt Hicks

Sunday 7 August

Eventing dressage: 2-8pm (10am-4pm) H&H Live with Matt Hicks

Monday 8 August

Eventing cross-country: 2-7pm (10am-3pm) H&H Live
Dressage horse inspection: 7.45-8.55pm (3.45-4.55pm)

Tuesday 9 August

Eventing second horse inspection: Noon-1pm (8-9am)
Eventing team showjumping, eventing individual showumping, eventing team and individual medal ceremonies: 2-7.30pm (10am-3.30pm) H&H Live

Wednesday 10 August

Dressage grand prix: 2-8pm (10am-4pm) H&H Live with Emile Faurie

Thursday 11 August

Dressage grand prix: 2-8pm (10am-4pm) H&H Live with Emile Faurie

Friday 12 August

Showjumping horse inspection: 11.30am-1pm (7.30-9am)
Dressage grand prix special team final and team medal ceremony: 2-8.30pm (10am-4.30pm) H&H Live with Richard Barrett

Saturday 13 August

Showjumping training session: 2-6.50pm (10am-2.50pm)

Sunday 14 August

Showjumping first qualifier (team and individual): 2-5.45pm (10am-1.45pm) H&H Live

Monday 15 August

Dressage grand prix freestyle and individual medal ceremony: 2-6pm (10am-2pm) H&H Live with Hayley Watson-Greaves

Tuesday 16 August

Showjumping team round one: 2-5.30pm (10am-1.30pm) H&H Live

Wednesday 17 August

Showjumping team round two and team medal ceremony: 2-4.45pm (10am-12.45pm) H&H Live

Thursday 18 August

Showjumping horse inspection: 8-8.30pm (4-4.30pm)

Friday 19 August

Showjumping individual final and individual medal ceremony: 2-6.45pm (10am-2.45pm) H&H Live

Sunday 21 August

Closing ceremony: 11.30pm (7.30pm)

Get all the action from H&H

H&H is sending two journalists and a photographer to Rio so that we can provide the best possible coverage of the Games both on our dedicated Olympics microsite and in the magazine.

H&H Live (up-to-the-minute interactive written commentary, find links above) from every session of sport, including expert analysis from celebrity guests including Emile Faurie, Hayley Watson-Greaves, Matt Hicks and Richard Barrett
Reports on all the action
Interviews featuring fascinating competitor stories
Daily video round-up of the competition
Blogs from our journalists on the ground in Rio

Magazine issues

4 August: Olympic pull-out form guide — including every rider and horse, plus scorecards to fill in
12 August (H&H is published on Friday this week to allow us to report the full Olympic eventing, which finishes on Tuesday, 9 August): Olympic eventing report
18 August: Olympic dressage report
25 August: Olympic showjumping report
1 September: Olympic commemorative issue
Our bumper magazine reports will feature full analysis, beautiful pictures, exclusive columns from the likes of Mark Phillips, Ruth Edge, Tina Cook, and many more plus special features, such as photos of every cross-country fence, showjumping course plans, thrills and spills, and dressage test sheets.

Russian riders’ Rio places hang in the balance

Lucy Elder — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 11:54:48 +0000

A decision on whether all Russian athletes – including riders – will be banned from taking part in next month’s Olympic Games has been postponed while “legal options” are considered.

A call for a ban was made by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following the publication of an investigation into doping practices in the country on Monday (18 July).

Russia currently has two individual dressage riders and an eventing team entered for the Olympics and three riders entered for the Paralympics.

The main equestrian sports of dressage, showjumping and eventing were not reviewed in the report, but modern pentathlon was mentioned.

However, if Russia is thrown out of the Games it could affect all of its qualified riders.

Heading the Russian equestrian team is world number five dressage combination Inessa Merkulova and Mister X. There is no evidence to suggest Inessa or any other of her team members are involved in the scandal.

The “shocking” McLaren Report, commissioned by WADA, found “unprecedented levels of doping and subversion” in Russia.

The international Olympic committee (IOC) executive board yesterday decided to “explore the legal options” with regard to a collective ban of all Russian athletes for the 2016 Olympics.

“This is on the one hand between a collective ban for all Russian athletes and on the other hand, the natural rights to individual justice for every clean athlete in the world,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

The IOC plans to wait and consider the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the outcome of a different Russian doping appeal tomorrow (21 July) before a decision is made.

But the IOC executive board did make several immediate decisions yesterday, including denying Rio 2016 accreditation to any Russian ministry of sport officials or anyone implicated in the report.

What is the report about?

The McLaren report is an investigation into allegations of doping in Russian sport at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and took Professor Richard McLaren and his team 57 days to complete.

Although its focus was looking into allegations of state-run doping at Sochi 2014, it also looked at the wider picture of what was happening across a range of sports and samples taken and tested at the Moscow Laboratory.

“Shamefully, the McLaren Report corroborates the allegations, exposing a modus operandi of serious manipulation of the doping control process in the satellite laboratory set up in Sochi for the 2014 Games; and, the Moscow laboratory since 2011 and after the Sochi Games,” said WADA president, Sir Craig Reedie.

Mr Bach added the IOC “will not hesitate” to take “the toughest sanctions available” against any individual or organisation implicated.

“The findings of the report show a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games,” he said.

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Meanwhile, WADA’s athlete committee described the findings as “truly shocking” and backed calls for a Russian ban at Rio.

“All athletes have a right to clean sport and a right to compete clean,” added the statement.

“Now is the time for sporting organisations to stand up against doping and affirm in the most robust ways possible their commitment to protecting clean athletes and zero tolerance.

“This can only be achieved through the collective sanctioning (of athletes, officials and organisations) that has been recommended.”

Weather, flight time and facilities: what will be the conditions in Rio for our riders?

Martha Terry — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 09:47:39 +0000

Isn’t it British to be talking about the weather in Rio? But while any Olympian is focused on rivals and tactics, there’s a glut of other factors — weather included — that are far less peripheral than one may imagine.

Past Olympics abound with tales of flooded courses, volcanic terrain and horses dying in transit. Stifling temperatures in Barcelona 1992 provoked a four-year study into the effects of heat and humidity — leaving a lasting legacy in how we cool horses today — while in Mexico City 1968 riders collapsed due to the high altitude only a week before the event.

So what can our riders expect in Rio next month?

What is the flight time? 12 hours

What is the time difference? Four hours behind the UK

What is the temperature in August? Average 22°C, max 26°C (London 19°C, max 23°C)

What is the humidity in August? 75% (London 65%)

How far away is the rider accommodation from the equestrian site? 40 minutes

Where are the stabling facilities? On-site

The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) is not envisaging challenging conditions in Rio.

“Acclimatisation will be relatively quick given that the Olympics and Paralympics are taking place during Brazil’s winter,” says the BEF’s Pippa Wade.

“The climate at its hottest is like a hot summer day in England, and can be much cooler.”

The British horses are set to travel at least five or six days before the trot-up.

“The flight time and time difference are not thought to be of much concern for the horses,” Pippa adds.

“In general they deal with these incredibly well, and after a day or two of rest will be ready to begin their final preparation for the Games.”

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The stabling, training areas, vet clinic and grooms’ accommodation are on-site, which is important to preserve biosecurity measures and safeguard the horses’ health.

However, the British riders will be based in the Olympic village, 40 minutes away, and will use the official Olympic transport.

Alice Collins’ Rio blog: the incredibly weird Olympic team announcement

Alice Collins — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 20:38:59 +0000

Yesterday’s Olympic rider list is the most hotly anticipated news of the year. I’ve never been to one of these live team annoucement events before as it’s all usually done via email with a fairly pedestrian press release for major championships, but the Olympics is The Big One.

It was only at the end of last week that we learned that there would be a live declaration. The BEF’s cryptic communication — which stressed that the information was for planning and not for publication — cryptically just gave “Wiltshire” as the location.

For “planning” purposes, we asked where in Wiltshire it would take place (I mean, Wiltshire is 1,346 square miles so they wouldn’t exactly be spilling the secret beans by saying which end of it we were dealing with here).

We were given short shrift and reminded that the initial communication had said the information would be shared on Monday. I mused about the lack of information over the weekend, but when I got the address on Monday morning, a quick google revealed why they didn’t want to share it earlier. It was to be at Kitty King’s base near Chippenham at 11am the following day. So she was on the list.

The showjumping team had been leaked over the weekend, so the major question marks remaining were over William Fox-Pitt’s selection and who the fourth rider would be to join Carl, Charlotte and Fiona for dressage.

Bear in mind then that all invited journalists who have google (yep, all of us) knew that Kitty had been selected since seeing the address and could have made that information public.

But there is a big dollop of trust involved with these things, and nobody squealed. It was disappointing then that @eventingstig shared a screenshot from Kitty’s sister Lucy’s Facebook account at 10.37am on Twitter, letting the Kitty out of the bag about her selection — 27 minutes before the waiting journalists were given the green light to go public.

Sometimes, in this job, we are in possession of information that it is not prudent to share. When I pulled into Kitty’s, I saw Fiona Bigwood. I could’ve blurted about it on social media, but that’s just not cricket (this is an unsubtle nod to Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew who, as a newly-minted equestrian journalist preparing to commentate on all the horsey sport from Rio for the BBC, was also at Kitty’s. His number plate is even TMS — perhaps he can replace it with H0R5E after the Olympics?).

Which way to turn?

Meanwhile, back at Kitty’s base. It’s 10.55am, five minutes until The Big Reveal, and we’re asked to assemble in the back garden. There’s a buzz among the journalists — about 30 of us, and a good mix of equestrian and non-equestrian media. My colleagues in the office and I had set up a Whatsapp group called The Big Announcement so that I could communicate with them and, from their desks, they could whack the stories up live online within seconds of the names being uttered.

Presumably the BEF performance director Dan Hughes is going to stand before us and read them out, I thought. Nobody is even sure which way to face. Will the riders come through the house? Or across the immaculate lawn? Or come hidden in a massive red white and blue Olympic cake? Or or or? The excitement was almost too much, even for the hackneyed old hacks.

11am came and went. The tension.

We’re all still milling about, heads swiveling to try to be the first to pick up on any signals of who might have made the cut. At 11.04am, I become aware of a lady in an official team top (there were a fair few of them about) among us with a sheaf of papers. She asks me if I’d like a press release. Sure I would.

I look at the release and my heart surges like 10 espresso shots. Bloody hell, this is it! The names! The horses! They were all there right in front of me. The Big News. And no ceremony.

The Big Announcement (Image credit: creditUnknown)

In my haste to send the info to my waiting in-office colleagues (who were sending messages like ‘Eeek SO EXCITED’) on the Whatsapp group, I inadvertently send them a wild-hair selfie rather than a picture of the list. Hate it when the phone does that.

An awkward, accidental selfie (Image credit: creditUnknown)

With shaking, stabbing fingers I finally get the information over to them in a modern version of short-hand (one message simply read: Ben Nick JW MW) and, by 11.08am, all three of our team announcement stories were live and shared across social media.

Then Dan appeared and announced that a number of the riders were on-site. But not Carl or Charlotte as they were preparing for Hartpury Festival of Dressage, where they are taking about a dozen horses between them.

The riders appeared and trooped over from the corner of the garden. It would be unfair on them to say it was a let-down. But it was a little anti-climactic.

They were spearheaded by John and Michael Whitaker, flanked by Nick Skelton and Ben Maher. None of them looked wildly excited, but then again they had had days for the information to sink in. We journalists were still fizzing with fresh, child-like excitement.

The eventers and two of the dressage riders stood at the back. They’d all been dressed in official blue Adidas tracksuits. In the sun, they were a bit shiny. Yes, they are all supreme “athletes” and athletes can rock the tracksuit look, but most of them looked like fish out of water. Or like people heading to the corner shop hoping not to be seen by anyone they know en route.

Athletes heading to the 2016 Rio Olympics (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Unfortunate tracksuits aside, it really is a remarkable group of repaired humans (head injuries, broken neck, brain haemorrhage etc etc) that we’re fielding for Rio.

Announcement day might have been really weird, but there’s nothing odd about the stunning talent of these selected athletes. And, make no mistake, whatever injuries they have sustained and overcome, these astonishingly talented people truly are athletes at the pinnacle of the possible.

Please make sure they are kept away from all naked flames between now and their respective big days; those outfits look awfully flammable.

‘I am happy to concede’: Mark Todd hands over most senior New Zealand Olympian crown

Lucy Elder — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 09:55:03 +0000

Kiwi dressage rider Julie Brougham will pip Mark Todd to the “elder statesman” record at this summer’s Olympics.

The New Zealand Olympic committee had said that Mark, 60, would become their most senior Olympian.

But it has been revealed that Julie, who will make her Olympic debut in Rio, edges him by “a year or so”.

“It’s an age old issue of whether you should ask a lady her age . . . well, in keeping with those manners it transpires Sir Mark Todd may not be the oldest in the New Zealand Olympic team after all,” said a statement from the organisation.

Julie, 62, will become the third New Zealander in the history of the Olympics to compete in the dressage.

She rides her own and her husband David’s Vom Feinsten, a 13-year-old chestnut gelding with whom she holds the Australasian grand prix freestyle record (76.3%).

“I had tried to keep my age on the down low, but hey, now I’m an Olympian I may as well embrace it,” she said.

“But really, I am the newbie in all of this. Mark has more Olympic experience that would be hard to match.

“I am happy to pass the mantle back as the one we should all take advice from and aspire to.”

The combination have also won numerous national titles and earlier this year made the long journey from their home in Manawatu, New Zealand, to Germany to prepare for the Games.

Mark added: “I did quite enjoy being the elder statesman of the team, but am happy to concede.”

Julie and Mark are joined by eventers Jonelle Price, Clarke Johnstone, Jock Paget and reserve Tim Price as the Kiwi equestrian squad heading to the Olympics.

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New Zealand Olympic team CEO Kereyn Smith said for the first time athlete numbers are swaying towards women.

“While Mark may still be our most capped Olympian, it’s great to see a female athlete take over the coveted ‘most senior’ spot,” she added.

“Gender balance is really having a positive impact within our team.”

Rio drug-testing laboratory’s accreditation suspended weeks before Olympics

Lucy Elder — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:06:11 +0000

Rio’s drug-testing laboratory has had its accreditation suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The organisation suspended the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory in Rio on 22 June due to “non-conformity” with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL).

With just weeks to go until the Olympics start, the laboratory is banned from carrying out any anti-doping analysis on urine and blood samples.

Olivier Niggli, incoming director general at the agency, said it is “working closely” with the Rio laboratory to “resolve the identified issue”.

“Athletes can have confidence that the suspension will only be lifted by WADA when the laboratory is operating optimally,” said Mr Niggli.

“The best solution will be put in place to ensure that sample analysis for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games is robust.”

He also said samples that would have gone to the Rio laboratory will be taken “securely, promptly and with a demonstrable chain of custody” to another accredited laboratory in the world.

WADA declined to comment further on which laboratories are likely to be used instead and a WADA spokesman told H&H yesterday (30 June) that it has “no further comment to make at this time”.

An FEI spokesman said they have been told by Rio organisers that they are working with the relevant authorities to resolve the issue.

“The Rio 2016 organising committee and the FEI are totally committed to a clean Games,” he added.

The provisional suspension lasts for six months or until WADA decides to reverse it, based on a recommendation by the disciplinary committee for the ISL.

But the directors of the laboratory have released a statement, which says they expect its operations to be back to normal in July.

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The Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) has stressed the importance of the laboratory conducting tests at this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“ABCD trusts the work done by the laboratory — with over 2,500 tests conducted since opening – and is confident that the institution will take all the necessary measures for the provisional suspension imposed as a prevention by WADA to be reviewed as soon as possible,” said an ABCD spokesman.

Confusion surrounds conflicting statements over British Olympic showjumping selection

Hannah Lemieux — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 16:27:34 +0000

Confusion has mounted over the selection of the Olympic showjumping team following a statement released confirming Scott Brash will not be at this summer’s Games in Rio — a week before the team selection announcement was due and when he apparently still has Hello Forever on the long-list.

The statement from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) stated that two — not all three — of Scott’s top horses, Hello Sanctos and Hello M’Lady, have been taken out of potential team selection due to ongoing injury problems.

However, the owners of the Hello-prefixed horses, the quartet of Lord and Lady Harris and Lord and Lady Kirkham, said that they were “extremely disappointed that we are unable to help team GB in their quest to win another team gold medal at this year’s Olympics”.

This would appear to suggest that all three horses owned by the Harris/Kirkham partnership are out of the running for Rio selection. So why were only two of their horses which were long-listed for the Rio Olympics mentioned by the BEF in their statement?

The exclusion of Scott Brash from the selection race — which appears wide open after disappointing performances in the Nations Cup in Rotterdam, where the British team finished last — would deal a major blow to British hopes of a team medal in Brazil, where the team will defend the gold won in London 2012.

The BEF would not comment on the situation, saying that they were “not able to divulge specific information from the selection process” ahead of the public announcement next Tuesday.

Their statement said: “We greatly regret that showjumper Scott Brash is unable to be selected to compete at the Rio Olympics. Scott’s top two Olympic hopefuls Hello Sanctos and Hello M’Lady picked up minor injuries at the start of the season and are still not back into full competition work and therefore will be unable to reach full fitness in time for Rio.”

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Four team riders — plus a travelling reserve — will be announced on Tuesday, 5 July. However, the recent statements seem to indicate that Scott has not made the team for Rio.

Mark Todd set for eighth Olympics as New Zealand team announced

Lucy Elder — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 12:55:50 +0000

Mark Todd heads the list for New Zealand’s Rio eventing team and will make history as his country’s most senior Olympian.

Rio will be the eighth Olympics for the eventing legend, who has two horses on the list — his London 2012 team bronze medal-winning ride NZB Campino and Leonidas II.

“I am very excited about it,” he told H&H. “I think we have a pretty good team — there are no real weak links. We are a pretty even, strong team and that is going to be our strength.”

He added he will ride Leonidas II at Barbury (9-10 July) and NZB Campino is entered for Aachen (15-16 July), after which the decision will be made about which horse he will take.

The 60-year-old is also set to break his country’s record for its most senior Olympian.

“I don’t think about it really — I don’t feel my age, what are you meant to feel like at my age?” he said.

Joining him on the team are Jonelle Price, Jock Paget and Clarke Johnstone, with Tim Price as travelling reserve. The final horse selection has not yet been revealed.

New Zealand’s individual dressage place at this summer’s Games goes to Julie Brougham on Vom Feinstein.

“It has been an incredibly difficult process for selectors for both dressage and eventing,” said Equestrian Sports New Zealand high performance director Sarah Dalziell-Clout.

“But when selection is difficult, it’s a positive sign for New Zealand’s equestrian sport for the future.

“There were a lot of solid performances at the highest level from our eventers over the past 18 months, with the majority of riders having successful performances on multiple horses.

“For dressage, it has been an exciting time as new levels have been reached by our two high performance combinations (Ms Brougham and John Thompson).

“With such a hard-fought contest for this single place, it was disappointing to not be able to have selected them both.”

Jonelle and Jock were both on the London 2012 team and Clarke won team bronze at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

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“To have athletes selected who can draw on multiple Olympic medal-winning experiences from previous campaigns is a powerful thing,” added New Zealand Olympic committee CEO Kereyn Smith.

“I would like to congratulate Sir Mark Todd on continuing to raise the bar ahead of his eighth Olympic Games appearance and wish every one of the athletes selected today all the very best in Rio.”

The team riders and their horses are as follows:

Mark Todd (NZB Campino or Leonidas II)
Jonelle Price (Faerie Dianimo or Classic Moet)
Jock Paget (Clifton Lush)
Clarke Johnstone (Balmoral Sensation)

Reserve:

Tim Price (Bango or Ringwood Sky Boy)

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Jonelle said with the season drawing to a close the time had come to officially call time on the “incredible” mares – and “break the news to Molly that she won’t be going to Badminton”.

“You never want to go one too many. It was a difficult decision to make, both have come through this year remarkably well. They’re both obviously still at the top of their game, but it’s better to stop one less, than [go] one more,” Jonelle told H&H.

“They’ve both just been such stalwarts and kept going. For Molly to do both Badminton and Burghley in her 19th year is pretty phenomenal. If you’d told me we were going to do that 12 or 24 months ago I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

“Of course it’s very sad, but you’ve got to look at all the positives we’re taking away and just remember how lucky we are.”

Classic Moet, who features in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine spotlight (on sale Thursday 10 November), made her mark on the world stage in 2014 at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, when Jonelle was called up as a reserve individual rider. The pair finished fourth.

“Her cross-country record speaks for itself, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Jonelle said both mares have returned to Trisha and will be used for breeding duties in the future. Maggie, who was bred by Trisha, is by Dimaggio and out of Faerie Dazzler VII, who is also a mother to Tim Price’s five-star ride Xavier Faer.

“It will be interesting what they can produce. If they’re half as good as their mothers then everyone will be happy,” said Jonelle.

“Maggie comes from a pretty impressive line of horses from her mother. We just took Faerie Magnifico through to four-star, so it’s been a very good family and hopefully Maggie will carry on that line.”

Jonelle said it will be different not having those two mares on the circuit next year.

“They’re irreplaceable. I’m not being derogatory to my present horses or what will come along, but over the past nine years they’ve just been five-star stalwarts for me. They’ve never missed a beat really and that will be very hard to replace for sure,” she said.

“I will miss them hugely and forever be indebted to them for all that they did for me.”

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The German-bred mare was produced in her early years by US rider Maggie McAlary and Belgium’s Francois Mathy Jnr, before Princess Haya sent her to John Whitaker in 2015.

“She was a really positive mare, always with you in the ring, and you could turn back to fences knowing she was going to get to the other side. She was great,” John told H&H.

“She just got better and better with confidence, she kept finding more. She probably achieved more than she was capable of really. She was always a trier, a real fighter, and very consistent. She was a really nice horse in the stable, too.”

“We were last to go and had to jump clear in order to win the Nations Cup – it was serious stuff,” John said. “She jumped brilliantly and we pulled it off. That was exceptionally good.

“She also finished second in the grand prix in Basel, which was big and difficult with a very fast jump-off and I was only a fraction behind the winner. It was a really good class and she jumped unbelievably well. I was leading rider of the show as well.

“I’ll look back fondly on our time together, it was a really good time.”

After leaving John’s stable in 2018, Ornellaia went to Finnish showjumper Anna-Julia Kontio followed by Ireland’s Peter Moloney, before Sienna Charles took over for her final seasons.

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“Megan was about to go to university to study psychology, but she made the decision she wanted to ride instead. She started competing Wanadoo in young riders, then went on to the under-25 grand prix and we went round Europe,” said Coral.

In 2019 Megan and Wanadoo won the Somerford Park premier league under-25 grand prix and the pair also took a number of top-10 placings including at the Hickstead and Gothenburg internationals.

“He had the most amazing half pass and used to get very good comments for that. He could move sideways and with so much cadence. It always just felt amazing, and he had a really good piaffe – the sort of piaffe you want to bottle and keep for ever,” said Coral.

Coral said the decision has now been made to retire Wanadoo from competition. He is sound and well, and will continue with some light hacking.

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They helped the side to fourth place and made it through to the individual final, toppling their only pole of the Games during the gold medal jump-off.

“She is one of a kind because she was not a horse that anyone thought could reach the level that she did,” said Eric.

“With Hickstead, he was favoured to win an Olympic medal and it was up to me to make a mistake. With Fine Lady, it was the partnership that we developed and the trust we had in each other that earned us the Olympic medal.”

The pair’s other major achievements included winning the €300,000 Rolex International Jumping Riders Club top 10 final that year at CHI Geneva. It was here, five years later, that Fine Lady officially bowed out of the sport.

Her first “husband” is set to be Eric’s star stallion Dieu Merci.

“I love that cross together, so we’re going to collect some embryos and go that way,” he told H&H in a recent interview.

Eric, who also won individual gold and team silver from the 2008 Olympics with Hickstead, added that Fine Lady is a horse he will “never forget and will be greatly missed” from his string.

“Winning a medal with that horse means a lot to me,” he said, thanking co-owners the Zieglers for their support over the years.

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“Julie has been many things to many people within our sport – a fellow athlete, a friend, judge and an inspiration in everything she strived for and achieved,” said a spokesman for Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ).

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